Today I want to address a variable of strength training that is often overlooked. That is Workout Tempo. Tempo is literally the Italian word for time. If you’re familiar with playing music, you know that tempo refers to the speed at which the music should be or is, played. You may be asking, ‘so what does that have to do with workouts?’ Well, actually it has a lot to do with workouts. Before I get into this though, let me clarify something. In the running world there is a specific workout called a ‘tempo run workout.’ That’s not what I’m talking about here. I am referring to the tempo of strength training workouts. However, that does sound like a good subject for future articles.
The workout tempo for weight lifting, or bodyweight exercises or refers to the different tempos or speed patterns that you perform each exercise in. A basic exercise such as a squat can deliver different physiological benefits based on the speed at which you perform it. For example, doing 10 squats as fast I can is much different than doing 10 squats while moving at a rate of 10 seconds up and 10 seconds down. Finding the right tempo all depends on what kind of workout you’re performing.
A strength athlete such as a powerlifter, sprinter, or football player should focus on a fast tempo. In fact, I think that all athletes should include that type of tempo in their workouts from time to time. Even endurance athletes for the most part, should keep a good pace but use higher reps in many of their workouts. Every athlete strives to develop certain kinds of strength, speed, and stamina. The possible benefits of a slow tempo haven’t all been discovered. For the most part however, an athlete should stick to fast tempos.
Take for example an endurance athlete such as a marathon runner. Those athletes are tough. They endure many many miles of roadwork, for most if not all days of the week. A marathon is 26.2 miles in length. That is a long run. And long runs mean that they have to pace themselves. On the flip side, a sprinter who is running 100 yards needs to move as fast as possible. It might make sense then, for a distance runner to lift weights at a slow tempo as if they were somehow ‘pacing’ themselves. But I don’t think that’s necessarily true, because a distance runner needs to be able to do two things. Finish the race, and finish it swiftly. They’re constantly trying to move faster each time they compete.
If slower tempos aren’t the best for strength athletes, and they’re not the best for endurance athletes then who the heck are they good for? In my opinion, slower tempos are great for beginners, bodybuilders, and anyone who just wants to add muscular size to their body. I wouldn’t go beyond 5 seconds down, and 5 seconds up. I don’t know for sure though. I haven’t experimented with it much, nor do I know people that have. What I do know, is that slowing down is really good for learning a movement properly, and building muscle.
So far I’ve only mentioned the up and down phases of weight lifting. These are also called the concentric and eccentric phases. However, there are two other spots that are worth mentioning when creating a workout tempo. These are the point at the very top, and the point at the very bottom. At these points you can hold the weight, making it an isometric exercise. Bodybuilders like to do this because it is another way to add tension and build muscle. I think that it can also be useful for grappling sports like jiu-jitsu.
In the end, what we have for a workout tempo is going to look something like this 3/1/1/0. That would mean that the lifter lowers the weight in 3 seconds, pauses for 1 second at the bottom, lifts the weight up in 1 second, and pauses for 1 more second before beginning the process all over again. It could just be me, but I’ve always seen complicated tempos to be more of a hassle than a help. When counting the many seconds, I have often lost track of my reps. It works much better with a workout partner, though. And depending on your specific goals, a complicated workout tempo could be worth it.
