Yes, it is worth training on purpose. A 2026 review of 15 trials in older adults found that training built around the lowering phase improved lower-body strength and power. It worked about as well as regular strength training, not better, and it has not been tested in people in their 40s and 50s.
Every rep has two halves. You lift the weight, and then you lower it. Most people put all their attention on the first half. The second half gets treated as the trip back to the start.
I see it in gyms every week. A clean press, then the bar drops. A solid drive out of the bottom of a squat, after a descent that looked more like a fall. Twenty-five years of coaching has taught me to watch the way down as closely as the way up.
What the Lowering Phase Is
Lifting the weight is the concentric phase: the muscle shortens as it works. Lowering it under control is the eccentric phase: the muscle lengthens as it brakes the load.
You use the lowering phase all day. Sitting down into a chair. Walking down a flight of stairs. Setting a heavy box on the floor without dropping it.
Why This Matters After 40
The question I care about for people over 40 is simple. Will you still be capable at 70? Getting up from a low chair. Climbing stairs with a bag in each hand. Moving quickly when you need to.
Two qualities drive those tasks. Strength is how much force you can produce. Power is how quickly you can produce it. In my view, the 40s and 50s are when you are either building that reserve or spending it.
For the bigger picture on why muscle carries so much weight as you age, read why muscle matters for longevity after 40.
What the Research Shows
A 2026 review pooled 15 randomized trials, 438 older adults in total, that used training built around the lowering phase (Lan et al., 2026). The authors concluded it showed “promising potential” for lower-body strength and explosive power. They were more confident about power than about strength.
The comparison that matters most: against regular strength training, it worked about as well, not better.
So the lowering phase is a useful tool to train on purpose, alongside regular strength work. Nothing here says it should replace that work.
The limits, in plain terms. The people studied were older adults, not people in their 40s and 50s. The trials were small. The review also looked at walking and balance, but I am not reporting a result there because the verified record does not give a clear one. Because these were randomized trials, this is stronger evidence than a simple observed link, and the authors still chose their words carefully. I am doing the same.
Where the Lowering Phase Fits
Strength loading is one of the eight signals I track for every LFS client. The lowering phase is already part of every strength rep you do. The question is whether you are training it on purpose, or letting gravity do the work.
How hard to push it, and how it fits with the rest of your week, depends on your history, your joints and how you recover. That part is coaching, and it is individual. For the principle of keeping the demand rising over time, read progressive overload after 40.
Lowering-focused work tends to leave more next-day soreness than people expect, especially at first. If you have heart or joint concerns, talk to your physician and get a medical risk assessment before you add strenuous loading.
What to Do This Week
- Notice the lowering half of your next few strength sessions. On each working set, ask whether you controlled the weight on the way down or let it drop.
- Check your power at home: stand up from a low chair without using your hands, and notice how quickly and smoothly you can do it. Note it so you can compare later.
- Ask whoever writes your program whether the lowering phase is trained on purpose. If nobody writes your program, book a consult and I will look at where it fits for you.
Sources
- Lan C, Lei B, Huang W, Li J, Gou B. (2026). Effects of eccentric overload training on lower-limb muscle strength, gait performance, balance, and explosive power in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Experimental Gerontology, 224, 113305. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2026.113305 PMID 42660338.
Client stories may combine details from more than one person, with identifying details changed for privacy. This article is educational and is not medical advice.
Also published in Built to Endure, our free weekly publication.