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Back to Study: Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle d...
mechanistic
Analysis v1
58
Pro
0
Against

Just because your muscles aren’t sore or your blood doesn’t show damage markers doesn’t mean you’re not getting stronger—your body can adapt without those signs.

Scientific Claim

Muscle damage biomarkers such as creatine kinase and delayed onset muscle soreness are not reliable indicators of long-term training adaptation or strength potential in eccentrically trained individuals.

Original Statement

“After the 10th week of training, no alterations in muscle damage biomarkers were observed after either exercise protocol... strength gains at the end of the training period were comparable between the two groups.”

From study:Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle damage biomarkers: early and late phase adaptations

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 direct comparison of biomarker absence with strength presence in the same subjects provides strong evidence for this mechanistic insight.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

58
58

Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle damage biomarkers: early and late phase adaptations

Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2021 Feb

The study found that even when muscles stop getting sore and enzymes stop leaking (signs of damage), people still get stronger — meaning soreness and enzyme levels don’t predict long-term strength gains.

Contradicting (0)

0
No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle damage biomarkers: early and late phase adaptations

Score: 58
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-020-04528-w

Similar Assertions

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.

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81%

You don’t need to feel sore or have high blood markers to get stronger—your muscles can adapt and grow without damage.

58
0
80%

You don’t need to tear your muscles to make them stronger—your nervous system and muscle fibers can adapt and grow without damage.

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78%

The first time you do hard eccentric exercises—like slowly lowering a heavy weight—your muscles get way more sore and damaged than if you just push the weight up.

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58
76%

How much your biceps stretch during your first hard workout tells you how sore and weak you’ll feel the next day—but not how much enzyme leaks into your blood.

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