Can Eccentric-Only Resistance Training Decrease Passive Muscle Stiffness While Increasing Size and Strength of Hamstrings?

Purpose: Resistance training may be empirically believed to increase passive muscle stiffness. Meanwhile, a recent study showed that the passive stiffness of a specific hamstring muscle acutely decreased after eccentric-only resistance exercise at long muscle lengths with a long contraction duration (LL). To extend this finding, the present study investigated the chronic effects of eccentric-only resistance training with LL at different weekly frequencies on the passive stiffness of the biarticular hamstring muscles.

Methods: Thirty-six healthy young males were assigned into two training groups with two and three weekly sessions (W2 and W3; n = 12, respectively) and a control group (CON; n = 12). The participants in both training groups performed eccentric-only stiff-leg deadlift at 50%-100% of exercise range of motion (0% = upright position) with 5 s per repetition for 10 wk. Before and after the intervention period, the shear moduli of the biarticular hamstring muscles, maximal voluntary isometric torque of knee flexion, and volumes of the individual hamstring muscles were measured.

Results: In W3, the shear modulus of the semimembranosus (-11.4%) significantly decreased, whereas those of the other biarticular muscles did not change. There were no significant changes in the shear moduli of the biarticular hamstring muscles in W2 or CON. The isometric torque (20.3% and 26.2%, respectively) and semimembranosus volume (5.7% and 7.4%, respectively) were significantly increased in W2 and W3.

Conclusions: Passive stiffness of a specific muscle could be chronically decreased when eccentric-only resistance training with LL is performed at a relatively high weekly frequency with a high total training volume. Our training modality may be a promising strategy for decreasing passive muscle stiffness while increasing muscular strength and size.