This is quite a controversial subject for many people, especially people in the body building scene. And I would like to start off by saying I have nothing against body building if that is your passion and that is what you like to do. I just have a problem with people adopting body building techniques who are not body builders and want to become fit and healthy. And especially people who go to someone for a rehabilitation or injury prevention training program and think they are doing “functional training” or “core training” but are really using a muscle based approach no different to body building. This type of training has taken over almost all of the gyms you go into these days, and even in the rehab world itself with physiotherapists, specialists, Pilates even, there is still a real emphasis on muscle based training. I myself used this approach early in my career as a personal trainer 20 years ago. And although some people recovered well from some injury or pain, there were many people that never really improved or seemed to be continually re-injuring themselves, myself included.
Why Isometric and Eccentric Strengthening Is Used In Rehab To Improve Joint Stability
We all know that strength training is a great way to build muscle and improve the way we move. However, it does come with great risk if you move poorly or exceed your body’s ability to withstand the resistance. These risks are much greater with beginners and people recovering from injury as there is a high chance that they do not have great technique to begin with or a good understanding of how much their muscles and joints can tolerate. This is where the value of using isometric and eccentric training can be of great benefit to this population for the loads are much lighter and easier to control allowing for incredible strength gains without the risk of injury or loss of form. It also is one of the best ways to rebuild load tolerance into injured tendons and connective tissue to ensure full recovery from injury. In this article, we take a close look at several ways you can use these training methods to improve your overall strength and joint stability.