A recent study has discovered that eccentric exercises like downhill hiking appear to be effective at reducing body mass index or BMI and inflammation, as well as pose benefits for glucose tolerance.
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| Photo: Downhill Hiking | InStyleHealth |
What Are Eccentric Exercises?
Eccentric exercises are defined as slow, muscle-lengthening
contractions that are for a specific muscle area. Eccentric strength refers to
tension being applied to a muscle as it lengthens, when the muscle’s
force-producing capacity is most optimal. Eccentric exercise results in less
oxygen consumption, greater force production, and less energy expenditure.
Eccentric exercises are repetitively doing eccentric
muscle contractions. For example, in a biceps curl the action of lowering the dumbbell
back down from slowly rather than letting it drop. Eccentric exercises are an
important and often overlooked component of strength training.
These eccentric exercises are characterized by the
lengthening of the muscle-tendon complex, show several unique features compared
with other types of contractions, which may lead to unique variations. Because
of its specific properties both physiological and mechanical, there is an
increasing attention in utilizing eccentric muscle work for clinical purposes
and for rehabilitation.
But, uncommon eccentric exercise is known to trigger
muscle damage and delayed pain, known as “Delayed-Onset Muscular Soreness” or DOMS.
Currently, the most beneficial strategy to avoid these undesirable effects
consists of repeating sessions involving submaximal eccentric contractions
whose intensity is progressively raised over the training duration.
Regardless of an increased number of research concentrating
on the eccentric contraction, a significant gap still remains in the knowledge
of the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the initial damage response and
subsequent variations to eccentric exercises.
Research covered 127 healthy sedentary individuals who
were assigned to either an active group, which was requested to walk downhill through
a predetermined route 3 to 5 times a week for 2 months, or a matched control
group who remained sedentary.
Compliance in the active group was good, with a median
weekly frequency of walking of 3.2; average exercise duration was 40 minutes.
There was no significant changes in intake of energy, fat, and carbohydrates
were observed in either group.
The eccentric exercise led to a significant decrease
in the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, as did fasting glucose.
No such significant reductions were observed in controls. Furthermore, fasting
insulin levels were lowered in the intervention group with borderline
significance, while controls saw a significant increase.
Significant impacts were also observed on postprandial
metabolism, where walking downhill significantly improved glucose and
triglyceride tolerance; no such effects were noted in the control group.
Even though no changes in the diet, body mass index or
BMI was significantly reduced in the eccentric exercise group, so was the level
of C-reactive protein.
According to researchers that insulin sensitivity,
glucose, and lipid metabolism, and markers of inflammation, as well as body
weight, are significantly improved by a simple and practically feasible
exercise regimen. At a time when lowering triglycerides and inflammatory
markers gain renewed therapeutic interest, the available data are encouraging
for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Source: Sci Rep 2021;11:14503