You can get just as strong by pushing weights up as by lowering them slowly—even if lowering them doesn’t make your muscles sore or damaged.
Scientific Claim
Strength gains from eccentric and concentric resistance training are comparable after 10 weeks of matched-volume, maximal isokinetic exercise in untrained men, indicating that muscle damage is not a prerequisite for hypertrophy or strength adaptation.
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 randomized controlled design with direct comparison of strength outcomes supports causal inference. The claim is conservative and matches the data: gains were comparable, not that damage is irrelevant in all contexts.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Eccentric exercise per se does not affect muscle damage biomarkers: early and late phase adaptations
Even though eccentric exercises caused more muscle soreness at first, after 10 weeks, both types of exercise made people just as strong—and the soreness went away. That means you don’t need to be sore or damaged to get stronger.