A girlfriend of mine, who I played hockey with and who went on to play at almost every level below the National team, sent me an email with this question. I thought it would be a worthy one to share with all of you especially since I am big on individualized training, and with there being so many different fitness trends and classes out there.

She said her gym offered these 2 classes and wanted to know which would be the best fit for her- who is working hard, just like many of my other female ex hockey player friends, to lean out and shed some of that built up muscle bulk leftover from years of lifting heavy weight for specialized hockey training (especially in the legs!)
This was my response. Hope it sheds some light on your own questions regarding the type of training suitable to you:

Hey,

So I checked it all and hope you’re aware that eccentric training is when you focus solely on the negative part of the movement of an exercise.This is often used for athletic strength and for gaining power.

Regarding findings on eccentric training, here is an excerpt: While energy costs remain low, the degree of force is very high. This leads to muscles that respond with significant increases in muscle strength, size and power  So I’m thinking not so much for your specific goals right now 😉

Eccentric training is geared toward specific athletic goals and/or for rehabilitation -> There is less stress on joints since you’re not working the concentric part of the movement, which is usually the more challenging part. To paint an image, think of the simple DumbBell bicep curl – It is much easier to lower the DB (eccentric part of the curl) vs lifting the DB (concentric part).

I think yoga in general is a great choice for people like us who have done mostly high intensity power sports. All those hockey type moves we’ve done over the years- ie sprinting, explosive movements etc.. have gotten our fast twitch muscles to be very strong and dominant but the backlash is that our muscles become extremely tight and as a result connot lengthen out… I STILL have problems getting full extension in my leg on a hamstring stretch – hence why I think yoga, and especially the hot variety is beneficial. The increased room temperature will help warm and in turn loosen up your muscles quicker, and is the better workout for you body type!!! 

Hope this helps!
Just