Tempo training, while not new, is still one of the hottest trends and buzzwords in the fitness industry. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this concept, it was first used in modern training programs by Australian strength coach Ian King and was popularized here in North America by Canadian strength coach Charles Poliquin. Tempo training simply refers to the practice of prescribing a certain length of time to each portion of a repetition. It's an extremely useful tool to use in program design.
Typically a tempo will be expressed with numbers, for example 3-1-1. The first number represents the eccentric (lowering) portion of a repetition, the second number represents the amortization phase (the amount of time between the eccentric and concentric contractions), the third number represents the concentric (raising) contraction and the fourth number represents how long you rest at lockout before starting the next repetition.
The above tempo (3-1-1) would break down like this (we’ll use the bench press in this example). Lower the bar to your chest to a count of three, pause for a count of one at the bottom, then raise the bar to a count of 1. Once you reach lockout immediately reverse the movement and start to lower the weight again. There are numerous tempos that could be prescribed but, in the hands of someone who doesn’t truly understand the implications of the tempos they are using, this concept can quickly become counterproductive.
By adding a second here or subtracting a second there to a prescribed tempo you can dramatically change the imposed stress and the resultant adaptations. Without realizing what those changes are, you can easily undermine all your time and effort in the gym. Once you hit upon a tempo that meets your needs, you still have to be careful of using it too much and negating its effects. The constant use of one tempo can cause stagnation and plateaus, making it necessary to change tempos from time to time. As you can see, tempo training has its more technical side, but this shouldn’t stop you from using this concept. It simply means that you should evaluate what different tempos can do and then decide how to best use them for your needs.
The easiest way to evaluate the effects of a tempo is to take a look at each portion of a repetition. Note how they interact, and what training effect different tempos can elicit. Once you have a basic understanding of this, you can look at a tempo in its entirety. Decide if it is a sound tempo recommendation and, if it is, what effect it will have.
Part 1: The Eccentric (Lowering) Phase
Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that using a relatively slow eccentric (3-5 seconds) is an effective method for increasing muscle mass by manipulating the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). The SSC is a phenomenon where your tendons store elastic energy as they lengthen and this elastic energy is used to help propel the weight back up. By lowering at a slower tempo you effectively diminish how much the (SSC) contributes to lifting the weight requiring more work to be done by the muscle itself. However, some trainees may find that this type of training is in fact counterproductive for their ultimate purposes.
If you participate in a sport, odds are that the SSC is a very important part of your athletic performance. For example, if you slowly cock your arm back before throwing you won’t be able to generate nearly the power and distance that you would if you cocked back quickly. This is directly related to the SSC and demonstrates how important this quality is to an athlete. Since you want your strength training to be specific to the needs of your athletic activity, you would want to spend time developing your SSC, making the total elimination of it in your strength training a bad idea.
The best thing to do is alternate between the two styles. By alternating, you achieve the best of both worlds while avoiding plateaus and burnout. An eccentric tempo of three seconds or more is usually prescribed to eliminate the SSC, so alternating between a 1-2 second eccentric tempo for power and a 3-5 second eccentric tempo for strength/ hypertrophy would effectively take advantage of both styles. In my opinion any more than 5 seconds for this part of the tempo is unnecessary except for specialized sports applications.
Part 2: Amortization Phase
Most exercisers automatically reverse the weight at the end of the eccentric phase without thinking much about it. However, this is another phase that can be manipulated to bring about a totally different training effect, and much like the eccentric portion, the SSC is at the center of those changes.
Just like a quick descent, a quick reversal of the movement takes advantage of SSC and is best paired with the 1-2 second eccentric tempos for that very reason. Conversely, pausing for a second or two will help counteract the SSC’s effect. As you can probably guess, this tempo is best paired with the 3-5 second eccentric tempos.
Phase 3: The Concentric Phase
If there was one phase tempo that I wish people would not mess with, it would be this one. Performing your concentric phase in an explosive manner has numerous benefits and far more functional carryover than a purposefully drawn out one does. Since your leverage changes throughout an exercise movement, the only way to maximally stress the muscle through its entire range of motion is to accelerate with the weight as fast as you can.
While the sheer weight used sometimes makes it impossible to move quickly, you should still try to apply maximal force throughout the entire range of motion, instead of contracting your muscles to fit in a specific time frame. If anything, during the periods when you are working on power, instead of training to momentary failure, you should stop doing reps whenever you're unable to accelerate the weight quickly.
Usually an explosive concentric phase is expressed as an "X", as in 2-0-X-0 and simply means to accelerate the weight as fast as it will let you.
Putting it All Together
With the points above taken into consideration, here are four typical goals of a strength-training program and some of the tempos I usually prescribe for each:
Training Goal Hypertrophy Absolute Strength Anaerobic Endurance Power
Prescribed Tempo(s) 3-2-x-0
4-0-x-0 2-0-x-1
3-0-x-1 3-0-x-0
2-0-x-0 1-0-x-1
1-0-x-0
Obviously you could come up with many more possible combinations based on the above considerations. In addition, by applying the above examples and experimenting on your own, you will discover other tempos to meet other goals not covered above.
Blind application of any concept will lead to inferior results, so be flexible, and stay within the realms of reason. Remember, strength training program design is as much an art as it is a science. Proper use of tempo training will allow you to add a degree of both to your programs.
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James Wilson is the creator of the MTB Strength Training System, the first strength and conditioning program designed exclusively for mountain bike riders. Those interested in learning more about his unique program can visit www.MTBStrengthCoach.com. He offers a free e-mail newsletter which includes 2 exclusive bonuses when you sign up.
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