If you do the same tough muscle workout (like lowering weights slowly) once a week for 10 weeks, your muscles stop getting sore and stop showing signs of damage—even compared to easier workouts—because your body gets used to it.

If you do a tough workout that stretches your muscles hard (like lowering weights slowly), then wait four weeks and do it again, your muscles won’t hurt as much or get as damaged the second time—they adapt and get tougher.

Your muscles learn to handle hard eccentric moves quickly—after just 10 weekly sessions, they stop getting damaged even if you do them at max effort.

If you do hard eccentric exercises like lowering weights slowly once a week for 10 weeks, your muscles stop getting sore and damaged—even though the exercise is tough—because they get used to it.

When healthy young men do a tough new workout that involves lowering weights slowly (like lowering a dumbbell), their muscles get sore and some blood markers go up, but within five days, everything goes back to normal—even if they’ve never done that workout before.

When you do a new, super tough workout that stretches your muscles (like lowering weights slowly), your body gets sore and inflamed—but if you do it again every week for 10 weeks, your muscles adapt and don’t get as damaged. The key isn’t the type of movement, it’s that your body wasn’t used to it.