How slow lowering weights affects your muscles and hormones
Impact of differing eccentric-concentric phase durations on muscle damage and anabolic hormones
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The 2-second eccentric tempo (not the slowest) produced the highest anabolic hormone response.
Common belief is that longer time under tension = more hormones, but the slowest tempo (4s) caused the most damage—not the most hormones.
Practical Takeaways
Try using a 2-second lowering and 1-second lifting tempo on bench press and squats if your goal is to maximize post-workout hormone spikes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The 2-second eccentric tempo (not the slowest) produced the highest anabolic hormone response.
Common belief is that longer time under tension = more hormones, but the slowest tempo (4s) caused the most damage—not the most hormones.
Practical Takeaways
Try using a 2-second lowering and 1-second lifting tempo on bench press and squats if your goal is to maximize post-workout hormone spikes.
Publication
Journal
Isokinetics and Exercise Science
Year
2023
Authors
Fatma Kızılay, Muhammed Emin Kafkas, M. Çağatay Taşkapan, Ali Haydar Demirel, Z. Radák
Related Content
Claims (6)
To figure out whether speeding up or slowing down the lifting vs. lowering part of a weight workout makes your muscles grow more, scientists need to test each part separately—not at the same time.
If you slow down the lowering part of weightlifting, your muscles might get more damaged and your body might release more of the hormones that help build muscle—this is what the claim says about guys who lift weights.
For guys who lift weights, doing the lowering part of a lift slowly (2 seconds) and the lifting part quickly (1 second) might boost certain hormones more than other lifting speeds.
When men who lift weights do a slow downward motion (4 seconds) on exercises like squats or bench presses, their muscles seem to get more damaged afterward than when they do faster or slower movements — and this shows up as higher levels of a certain protein in their blood.
After doing weightlifting with different speeds for lowering and lifting the weights, your body’s LDH levels don’t go up or down in a meaningful way — they just stay about the same.