If you train by lowering weights slowly, you get stronger at lowering them—not at pushing them up—and vice versa, even if you do the same total amount of work.
Scientific Claim
Muscle strength adaptations to eccentric and concentric training are mode-specific, meaning gains occur primarily in the type of contraction trained, even when total work is matched.
Original Statement
“Additionally, strength gains at the end of the training period were comparable between the two groups and were mode-specific.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The study directly measured multiple torque modes and found mode-specific gains, which is a precise, quantifiable outcome supported by the RCT design.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle damage biomarkers: early and late phase adaptations
People who trained by pushing weights up got stronger at pushing up, and those who trained by lowering weights slowly got stronger at lowering—each group got best at the exact movement they practiced, even though they did the same total amount of work.