Science has shown time and again that eccentric overload is one of the most powerful forms of training, not only for building incredible levels of functional strength and hypertrophy, but also for reducing the risk of injury. Although it is fairly easy to apply this concept to various upper body movements (e.g. negative assisted by a partner on the bench press), this can be tricky to apply to lower body strength training, particularly to compound movements.
Supramaximal squats, deadlifts, lunges, and hip hinges can be quite daunting and often semi-risky. But then we show you the best eccentric exercises to train your legs.
What are the benefits of eccentric leg training
What you're doing by eccentric phase with one limb is providing more eccentric overload during that eccentric or negative movement. Unfortunately, this technique is often limited to machines (i.e. leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses), especially when it comes to lower body training. However, by strategically applying this method, we can get the same effectiveness from lower body compound movements.
By classifying them into levels of movements based on the level of difficulty, we can make several inferences regarding the load of each movement compared to the others.
For example, most lifters can handle at least 25-30% more total load in traditional two-leg squats and deadlifts compared to single-legged. Additionally, most people can also handle at least 25-30% more total load in split squat movements compared to single leg squats and single leg deadlift.
Eccentric exercises for the lower body
One leg squats
In addition to producing extreme eccentric overload, an added benefit of these is that they also provide a very knee-friendly method of performing single leg squats. Single leg squats are known to be hard on the knee joint. However, knee tension is predominantly created from the concentric phase of movement, not the eccentric phase. In fact, the eccentric phase is usually quite therapeutic on the knees, not to mention the rest of the body.
In this video we see how they hold the descent of a squat to one leg, make a short stop, put their foot down, and raise the load with both feet supported.
Dead weight
Eccentric training can also be applied to deadlifts and glute bridges. Simply choose a load that represents approximately 70% of your dead weight. Lift the load in a traditional deadlift and then perform a slow, controlled eccentric lowering with the same load before placing the bar back on the ground.
This should represent a load that is approximately 25-30% of your maximum single leg deadlift. As well as directly targeting the entire butt, including the glutes and hamstrings, this also works wonders for improving posture, as well as hip mobility and stability .
Lunge + Squat
Basically what you're doing is performing an eccentric max stop lunge followed by an explosive Anderson squat and stop. To do this, set the stops so you can reach a 90-degree position in your stride, then select a load that is approximately 20-25% of your maximum split squat weight. Stride in a slow and controlled manner, allow the bar to settle gently on the stops, adjust your body to a bilateral squat position, and then squat the bar back to the top position. Repeat this sequence for 1 to 4 reps per side.
Hamstring curl with band
Do you want to burn your hamstrings? Try this brutal eccentric accentuated leg curl with resistance band. The Sliding Band Resisted Single Leg Eccentric Leg Curl provides the ultimate combination to eccentrically overload the posterior chain in a functional way. With that said, this is a very advanced variation that pulverizes your hamstrings and glutes. Before moving on to this variation, it is best to start with an eccentric accentuated leg exercise without bands.
