Concentric (lifting phase)

Concentric: what is it?

The concentric is what most people picture when they think of a rep: the muscle contracts, shortens and moves the weight against gravity. It is also the phase that fails first. A client who can no longer press the bar up can still hold it and still lower it, which is why the concentric sets the ceiling on load. Understanding where the concentric gets hard, and how to train it fast or slow, is a large part of writing good strength and power work.

The sticking point

On most compound lifts the concentric is not equally hard from start to finish. There is a position, usually a few inches into the ascent, where leverage is worst and the bar slows down or stops. On the bench press it sits just off the chest to mid-range; on the squat it is a little above parallel; on the deadlift it is often just below the knee. That is the sticking point, and it is where heavy reps are won or lost.

Coaches attack sticking points in a few ways: pausing just below the sticking point so the client has to drive through it from a dead stop, using pin presses or block pulls that start the lift in the weak position, or adding accommodating resistance (bands or chains) so the bar is lighter where the client is weak and heavier where they are strong.

Concentric speed and power

The intent to move the bar fast on the concentric is what separates strength and power work from hypertrophy work. Even when the bar moves slowly because the weight is heavy, the client should be trying to accelerate it. In tempo notation the concentric is the third digit, and an "X" in that position means "as fast as possible". Jump squats, Olympic lift variations, medicine ball throws and speed work with 50 to 70 percent of max are all concentric-focused for that reason.

Concentric-only training

Some exercises have almost no eccentric: sled pushes and drags, hill sprints, rowing, kettlebell swings where the bell drops freely, and lifting a weight with two limbs then dropping it. Because the eccentric is what causes most muscle damage, concentric-only work allows a lot of volume with very little soreness. That makes it useful during a competition week, for in-season athletes, for high-frequency conditioning, and for clients returning from a layoff who need to work hard without being wrecked for three days.

• Sled push and drag: load the legs heavily with no next-day soreness.
• Concentric-only deadlift from blocks, dropped or reset each rep.
• Step-ups where the client steps down rather than lowering under control.
• Rowing and cycling for conditioning with minimal damage.

Common mistakes

The main error is using momentum to hide a weak concentric: bouncing a squat out of the hole, swinging a curl with the hips, heaving a row. The muscle skips the hardest part of its range and the sticking point never gets trained. The fix is usually a pause at the turnaround, or simply less weight.

The second is confusing bar speed with effort. A slow grinding concentric on a heavy set is normal and productive. A slow concentric on a light set because the client is not trying to accelerate is wasted power work. Cue intent, not just movement.