Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kiel DiGiovanni, Co-founder
FACT CHECKED
And a one, and a two, and a…Wanna take your training to the next level? Tempo training might be able to do that, but you'll need to use it correctly. Tempo training refers to a training method that alters a rep's speed and duration. Proponents believe this will unlock new gains and optimize your training. However, after looking at research, tempo training doesn't seem to work as well as some would have you believe.
Will pushing a barbell slower or faster really build more muscle mass and strength? This article will tell you, and more importantly, how you can actually use tempo training to increase mass and strength.
What Is Tempo Training?
If you've ever been to the gym and lifted weights, you have almost 100% definitely practiced tempo training. Have you ever intentionally slowed down a rep during a bicep curl or bench press? Congratulations! You have used tempo training!
At its core, tempo training is a method that uses a bar's speed as a variable to modify your training. You have probably been told to "Slow down!" when training at least once in your life. Well, that's kind of what tempo training is, but it's a bit more involved than randomly slowing down a curl.
So what is it, and why do people do it?
Tempo Training: Another Training Variable
When considering different variables you can use to alter your training, there are generally four that most people think about.
- Load: The amount of weight you lift based on a percent of your 1RM
- Reps: The amount of times you perform an exercise
- Sets: The number of times you perform a
- Rest: The amount of time you recover in between sets
Well, now you have a fifth, tempo training. As mentioned, tempo training refers to adjusting the speed of your rep for a specific duration. When prescribing, tempo training involves a specific sequence of four numbers that dictate the duration of the four phases during a lift; we'll review those in the next section.
Most people associate tempo training with slower reps to increase muscle growth. This is 100% true and is generally how most people use it. For example, have you heard of time under tension (TUT)? This is essentially a proponent of tempo training.
TUT refers to the total amount of time that it takes to complete a set as the muscle is "under tension" during this time. For example, if you performed 10 reps and each rep took 4 seconds, the time under tension would be 40 seconds.
The theory behind using TUT says that increasing the duration of TUT essentially increases the amount of work placed on the muscle. More work equals more muscle growth.
However, tempo training can also be for strength and power. In fact, using time under tension to increase strength might be even better evidence. We'll get into that later.
How Is Tempo Training Prescribed?
If you were to use tempo training in your workout program, each exercise would have a sequence like 2-1-2-0. The number represents durations (in seconds), and the order represents the different phases of a rep.
Here's a detailed breakdown of how that breaks down:
- Eccentric Phase (Descent): The first number represents the time spent lowering your body weight. This is a controlled descent, such as squatting down or lowering yourself during a pull-up.
- Bottom Pause: The second number indicates the duration of the pause at the bottom of the movement, such as the bottom of a squat or bench press. If the number were "0," this simply means there's no rest.
- Concentric Phase (Ascent): The third number denotes the time spent lifting the weight or yourself up. In some cases, you might see an "X" instead of a number, which means to explode upward as quickly as possible. In rare occurrences, you might see an "A," indicating an assisted lift such as a cheat rep.
- Top Pause: The fourth number represents the pause at the top of the movement. Again, if you see a "0", this means there is no pause.
Keep in mind these numbers are consistent regardless of the exercise. For example, the deadlift is unique as it begins with the concentric rather than the eccentric. Still, the tempo would still be given in the same format, so you would start the deadlift with the third number (concentric phase).
That said, tempo training would then seek to adjust the tempo of an exercise to alter the adaptations. But does tempo training work?
We're going to look at some research to answer that, but we'll separate tempo training for muscle growth from tempo training for strength and power. Muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength work through different adaptations, so we would expect to see tempo training affect them differently.
And they do.
Tempo Training For Muscle Growth
It seems that the majority of people who talk about tempo training do it for muscle growth. Unfortunately, in general circumstances, there is little research supporting the use of randomly altering the tempo to increase muscle growth.
Realize that the main driving factors of muscle growth are increasing volume as well as mechanical stress. Most people will then assume that if you slow down a rep, it increases the amount of stress and volume in the form of doing more work. This is true, kind of.
Let's take two people doing bicep curls with the same weight and the same sets and reps. In this scenario, the person using slower reps would likely have better adaptations as they would have more work done. The problem is this isn't how real life works.
Multiple studies have shown that increasing the duration of a rep causes a significant drop in the number of reps.¹ This makes sense, as your muscle fatigues due to the amount of total work, whether this is one rep that takes 30 seconds or six reps that take 5 seconds each.
Other factors decrease the number of reps, such as a decrease in the amount and intensity of the stretch shortening cycle (CCS). The CCS occurs when your muscles are extended during a movement, stretching your tendons and storing energy. Upon reversing the motion, this energy is released and helps generate more power.
Regardless, it seems that when you decrease tempo, you are sacrificing reps, leading to similar amounts of total work performed, known as time under tension.
In fact, a comprehensive meta-analysis indicates that muscle growth can be similar regardless of whether the total duration of a repetition is between 0.5 and 8 seconds, as long as other factors are controlled.²
The key is reaching muscle failure, which can be achieved with both slow and fast repetitions. This also assumes you're using controlled reps.
Eccentric Training
Now, one method of using tempo training that does have research to support it is eccentric training. There's a pretty good chance that you've heard of eccentric training, which is essentially tempo training; you perform the eccentric contraction for an extended duration.
Research has found that eccentric muscles play a greater role in stressing muscle and muscular adaptations, mainly muscle growth when comparing concentric to eccentric muscle contraction.
This phenomenon has led bodybuilders or others interested in muscle growth to exaggerate the eccentric with longer durations—they may even use slightly heavier loads and lower the weight as slowly as possible.
Therefore, if muscle growth is your number one concern, eccentric training should be your primary focus with tempo training. Keep in mind this doesn't mean tempo has no role. You still need to use slow and controlled reps.
Faster Tempos Increase Muscle Mass?
To further muddy the water, studies also demonstrate that a faster, not slower tempo can increase muscle mass. For example, a 2009 study found that lifters who performed a one-second concentric contraction experienced greater biceps growth compared to those who took three seconds.³ This suggests that faster repetitions, which reduce time under tension (TUT), can be more effective for muscle growth than the slower reps typically recommended.
Tempo Training For Strength And Power
Let's turn our attention to tempo training for strength and power. Strength and power adaptations are unique as neuromuscular adaptations control them. The easiest way to explain this is that the muscles learn to speak more efficiently with the brain and can produce more force at a faster rate.
When most people think of tempo training, they think of performing their reps slower. However, to increase strength and power, you should go faster—in fact, as fast as you can.
In addition to assigning a number to the tempo (i.e., 3-1-3-1), you may also see an "X." This implies you should perform the exercise as fast as possible. Outside of the world of tempo training, this may also be referred to as "maximal intent" or "maximal velocity"; this just implies you should try to move the load as fast as possible.
Pushing the same load faster requires more force production, which would theoretically cause more favorable muscle adaptations. Several studies have shown this to be the case, such as this one.⁴ The researchers demonstrated that while performing the bench press at both low and maximal speeds will increase your 1RM, you will get better strength gains when your reps are performed at 100% velocity.
Another study found similar results when training the lower body using squats.⁵ Two groups of trainees were split into a medium-tempo group and a fast-tempo group. In this study, the fast group didn't use maximal intent but rather a 1-0-1-0 tempo, while the medium-tempo group used a 2-0-2-0 tempo.
Both groups saw improvements and saw similar increases in their maximal strength. They also both increased their power output, but the fast group saw greater improvements. To be clear, the faster group only saw better improvements in power output. Strength improvements were similar.
We should also note that this paper found slightly more significant improvements in strength when using a slower eccentric of 4 seconds vs. 2 seconds.⁶ This falls in line with a slow eccentric for muscle growth as well.
Final Guidelines With Tempo Training
Even though tempo training has become quite popular, it doesn't really seem to be as effective as some may have you believe, especially for muscle growth, at least in the manner most people use it. By this, we mean the tendency to increase time under tension.
A 2021 review of studies on tempo speed found that neither slow nor fast movement tempos definitively offer greater benefits for muscle hypertrophy.⁷ This means that the tempo doesn't really matter when you take all other factors into account. As mentioned, training to failure is key.
However, this doesn't mean that the tempo has zero role; it just means there are a ton of variables at play. When taking all things into consideration, we can offer some basic guidelines:
- Eccentric Phase: Slow and controlled, with 2 seconds being the fastest. You could possibly see greater adaptations going longer.
- Concentric Phase: Perform as fast as possible if strength is your priority.
- Eccentric training: Use with prolonged eccentric contractions or heavy loads.
Also, remember to always perform your reps with a controlled movement!
Now, we should also state that tempo training also won't necessarily hurt you, at least for muscle growth. Using longer reps can be a bit of a new stimulus to keep things interesting, so you could still give it a go.
And if you don't want to make a big deal out of it, just focus on the last couple of reps. For example, if you're doing bicep curls, do your reps and perform your last eccentric as slowly as possible.
When considering everything, we don't think you need to worry too much about tempo training other than the above guidelines. Train with intensity and push yourself to lift more weight and do more reps; the tempo will work itself out.
Now that you know about tempo training, learn about velocity training to boost max strength!
References
- Wilk, Michal, et al. “The Influence of Movement Tempo on Acute Neuromuscular, Hormonal, and Mechanical Responses to Resistance Exercise—a Mini Review.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 34, no. 8, 19 June 2020, pp. 2369–2383, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000003636.
- Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. “Effect of Repetition Duration during Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Sports Medicine, vol. 45, no. 4, 20 Jan. 2015, pp. 577–585, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0304-0.
- Nogueira, W., et al. “Effects of Power Training on Muscle Thickness of Older Men.” International Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 30, no. 03, 6 Feb. 2009, pp. 200–204, https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0028-1104584.
- González-Badillo, Juan José, et al. “Maximal Intended Velocity Training Induces Greater Gains in Bench Press Performance than Deliberately Slower Half-Velocity Training.” European Journal of Sport Science, vol. 14, no. 8, 15 Apr. 2014, pp. 772–781, https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2014.905987.
- Lu, Wei, et al. “Fast and Medium Tempo Resistance Training with a Low Number of Repetitions in Trained Men: Effects on Maximal Strength and Power Output.” Journal of Human Kinetics, vol. 87, 17 Apr. 2023, pp. 157–165, https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/161472.
- H.S.M. Azevedo P, G. D. Oliveira M, J. Schoenfeld B. Effect of different eccentric tempos on hypertrophy and strength of the lower limbs. Biology of Sport. 2022;39(2):443-449. doi:10.5114/biolsport.2022.105335.
- Wilk, Michal, et al. “The Influence of Movement Tempo during Resistance Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy Responses: A Review.” Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), vol. 51, no. 8, 27 May 2021, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34043184/, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01465-2.
Garett Reid
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