Concentric Phase
What is the Concentric phase of an exercise?
The concentric phase of a movement is the flexing of muscles to shorten a joint angle. If you think about a bicep curl, the concentric phase happens when you flex your bicep to bring your hand up towards your shoulders, shortening the angle at your elbow joint.
You can also think of the concentric phase as the phase where your muscles contract to push or pull against gravity or an external force. In a multi joint exercise like a squat, the concentric phase is the portion of the movement where you stand up. In a lat pulldown, the concentric phase is the portion of the movement where you pull the bar down.
What do Concentrics-Focused lifts look like in a training program?
Examples of concentric-focused movements would be deadlifts where you drop the bar at the top (eliminating the eccentric) or running up stairs. Read this article to learn more about tempo in programming.
