Seated and prone leg curls reduce the risk of muscle damage from eccentric exercise to the same degree, even though they stretch the muscle differently. The total amount of training done matters more...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Training your muscles enough times makes them build more tiny contractile units in a line, so they can stretch farther without tearing. This protection happens no matter how you do the exercise—as long as you do enough total work, your muscles become tougher during forceful stretching.
Most probable mechanism
When muscles are trained repeatedly, they add more tiny contractile units in a row, which lets them stretch further without tearing. This makes them stronger and less likely to get damaged during forceful stretching, no matter how the exercise is performed, as long as enough total training is done.
Repeated resistance training stimulates the addition of serial sarcomeres along muscle fibers, increasing fascicle length
Increased sarcomere number allows muscle fibers to operate at longer lengths during eccentric contractions, reducing strain per sarcomere
Lower strain per sarcomere decreases sarcolemmal disruption and calcium influx during forceful lengthening
Reduced structural damage prevents edema formation and preserves contractile force output after eccentric challenge
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
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Greater Hamstrings Muscle Hypertrophy but Similar Damage Protection after Training at Long versus Short Muscle Lengths
Contradicting (0)
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Gold Standard Evidence Needed
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