A lifting tempo refers to the speed of lifting a given load. Tempo can be used to increase the effectiveness and difficulty of many exercises. Unfortunately, most trainees ignore tempo or always use the same tempo. If you are currently not using tempo in your training, read on to find out how even a beginner can incorporate tempo into his or her training today for improved results!
Some Definitions
Before you get started on the rest of the article, we will have to get some definitions out of the way. Concentric contraction occurs when muscle contraction is paired with muscle shortening. This is the actual lifting of a weight against gravity. Eccentric contraction occurs when muscle contraction is paired with muscle lengthening. When lowering a weight, a muscle working eccentrically. Isometric contraction occurs when a muscle is contracting but there is no movement. This happens briefly (or longer if intentional) with every repetition when the weight changes directions. Every time you do a single repetition, all three types of muscle movement are involved.
Tempo Notation
The most common notation (how you write out tempo on a piece of paper) is a "A/B/C/D" format. "A" refers to the amount of time (in seconds) spent on the eccentric portion of the lift (lowering the weight), "B" refers to the amount of time spent paused at the bottom of the lift, "C" refers to the amount of time spent on the concentric portion of the lift (raising the weight against gravity), and "D" refers to the amount of time spent paused at the top. If an "X" in place of a number, it means "as fast as possible".
An example:
Pull-up - 3/0/X/1 tempo
To execute a pull-up with 3/0/X/1 tempo, you would lower yourself over a 3 second duration(the 3), have no pause at the bottom (the 0), explode to the top (X), and pause for 1 second at the top of the pull-up (the 1).
If you have read my training log at all, you may have noticed this notation next to several exercises.
Uses for Tempo
There are literally endless ways to use tempo in training. Since most muscle damage occurs during the eccentric portion of the lift, many bodybuilders routinely slow down the eccentric portion of the lift to increase muscle damage in hopes of spurring on more muscle growth (1). Additionally, time under tension (which is considered by some as an important variable in building muscle) can be increased by slowing down both concentric and eccentric portions of the lift. Furthermore, pauses can be used during repetitions to work through sticking points on certain lifts.
How to use Tempo in your Program
All this may sound pretty complicated, but it does not have to be! There are several ways which you can immediately use tempo in your workouts today.
1. Tempo can be used as a means of progression
By adding tempo to a lift, the difficulty of movement can be increased without the need for additional weight. This is great for people who are working out at home with limited equipment or people recovering from injury that can not tolerate excess loads. Here is an example:
Push-up
Even for relatively casual trainee, or a more serious female trainee, doing a push-up gets easy pretty quickly. However, the push-up is great for increasing shoulder stability and is an excellent way to work the pecs, triceps, and anterior deltoids. On top of that, when done properly, push-ups result in little strain on the shoulder. One way to make the movement more difficult is to add weight and bands. However, this is not always convenient or possible with a lack of a training partner. Additionally, some shoulders may not tolerate the increased load. Fortunately, the difficulty of a push-up can be increased without equipment by adding tempo.
If you can do 10 good push-ups, try using a 3/1/X/0 tempo. This would involve taking 3 seconds on the way down, a brief pause at the bottom (with the chest barely off the ground), exploding to the top, and repeating without rest. From week to week, rather than increasing the amount of reps, the length of the pause can be increased. A 5 second pause for 10-20 reps will be challenging for even the most fit individuals, especially if done towards the end of a workout. This can be a great way to get some blood flowing to the muscles after some sets of heavy pressing.
2. Tempo can be used to learn new lifts
Doing a bodyweight chin-up can be a daunting task for many female (or male) trainees. Accentuated eccentrics can be used to help speed up this learning process. Start by jumping up or getting assisted to the top of a chin-up bar. Now, lower yourself as slowly as possible to the bottom. Jump back up to the top and do this for several reps.
From workout to workout, add a rep to each set. Eventually, you can drop the reps down and increase the eccentric duration. For example:
Workout 1: 10 sets x 3, 2 second eccentric
Workout 2: 10 sets x 4, 2 second eccentric
Workout 3: 10 sets x 5, 2 second eccentric
Workout 4: 10 sets x 3, 3 second eccentric
Progress like this for 4-8 weeks. If done properly with enough frequency (at least twice per week), a normal chin-up should result (depending on base strength levels and bodyweight). This can also be used for learning to do a "guy" push-up, a pull-up, or any other challenging body-weight exercise.
3. Tempo can be used to enhance functional and prehabilitative exercises
This is one of my favorite uses for tempo. The term prehabilitative exercise is used to describe typical physical therapy exercises applied before injury takes place. After all, why wait to get injured to strengthen important stabilizers or mobilize stiff joints?
Functional exercise was originally intended to describe exercise with carryover to real life or sporting activities. Lately, the term "functional" has been applied to just about everything under the sun, despite lack of carryover. In this instance, I am referring to the former definition.
Many muscles typically targeted by rehabilitative exercise do not take into account the way the muscle functions in the gym or in every day activities. For example, the lower portion of the erector spinae musculature is not used to extend the back but rather to prevent the lumbar vertebrae from shearing forward (literally falling towards the ground when bending over) (2). For many lifts and every day activities, this generally involves isometric contraction, or very small concentric and eccentric contractions of the lumbar erector group. Additionally, high levels of endurance of the low back musculature has been shown to decrease injury risk, where differing levels of strength has not (3). In other words, people with high low back endurance were less likely to experience back pain and injury, but the raw strength of low back muscles has not been linked to injury prevention.
Therefore, an exercise using the lumbar erectors can be more functional (or have more carryover) if performed with a slow tempo.
So as an example, with the back extension, if you normally grab a weight and do a lot of fast reps, try leaving the weight behind, and adding a 2/0/2/0 tempo. Once you increase the repetitions to 15, slow the tempo down and drop the number of repetitions. At a point, you can even add in pauses at the top and bottom. So one month you might do 2/0/2/0, the next month 4/0/2/0, then 4/1/2/0, and finally 4/2/3/1.
The same thing can be done for the upper body. The external rotation is one of the most commonly prescribed exercises for shoulder pain. The infraspinatus and teres minor muscles, which are targeted by this exercise, often do not contract rapidly during gym lifts. For example, during the bench press, one of their main functions is to prevent the head of the humerus from over-rotating, as contraction of the pecs and lats results in internal rotation. Strengthening the external rotators of the humerus with varying tempos can increase their capacity to act as stabilizers, resulting in more force production during lifts which require these muscles to act as stabilizers (like the bench press).
*Side note: Using tempo for assistance exercise is not always ideal. For example, in a baseball pitcher, the external rotators must eccentrically contract at high speeds to slow down the pitching arm once the ball has been released. For this population, it is not be appropriate to always do upper body assistance work with a slow tempo.
Conclusion
By incorporating tempo into a training plan, a trainee can increase the intensity of exercise an exercise without adding weight, increase the variety of stimuli the body is exposed to, increase the functionality of certain exercises, and learn new exercises that were previously out of reach. With all these potential benefits, what are you waiting for?
References
1. Miles, M.P & Clarkson, P.M. (1994). Exercise-induced muscle pain, soreness, and cramps. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 34(3): 203-16.
2. McGill, S.M., & Norman, R.W. (1987) Effects of an anatomically detailed erector spinae model on L4/L5 disc compression and shear. Journal of Biomechanics, 20(6): 591.
3. Biering-Sorensen, F. (1984). Physical measurements as risk indicators for low-back trouble over a one-year period. Spine, 9: 106-119.
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