Increasing eccentric contraction duration enhances resistance exercise‐induced inhibitory control improvement while reducing the exertion perception: A pilot study in young men

Low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement and tonic force generation (LRST) effectively improves cognitive inhibitory control (IC) while heightening the subjective perception, which is a barrier to exercise adherence. Compared with concentric (CON) contractions, eccentric (ECC) contractions have greater brain activation related to cognitive functions while decreasing subjective perception. Therefore, we examined whether LRST with a longer duration of ECC contraction (ECC-LRST) could further enhance exercise-induced IC improvement while reducing the subjective perception, compared with traditional LRST. Fourteen healthy, young males performed both ECC-LRST and LRST, with 30% of their one-repetition maximum. The subjective perceptions of exertion and pain associated with exercise were assessed. IC was evaluated at baseline, immediately post-exercise, and 15-min post-exercise. IC improved immediately after both ECC-LRST and LRST (both Ps < 0.05). However, the improvement in IC persisted until 15 min post-exercise for ECC-LRST compared with baseline (p = 0.031) but not for LRST, which showed a significantly smaller improvement than ECC-LRST (p = 0.042). A lower perceived pain (p = 0.039) and a trend toward a lower perceived exertion (p = 0.078) were observed during ECC-LRST than during LRST. ECC-LRST is an effective resistance exercise protocol for improving IC while reducing the perception of exertion.