Lifting tempo and its benefits

Lifting tempo and its benefits

When you hit the gym to lift weights, have you ever paid attention to the speed of your reps or the pause between each one? Many people focus closely on exercise selection, load, rep ranges, and rest periods, but most fail to notice lifting tempo.

Even many experienced lifters or athletes with years of training experience go through their workouts without realising their rep speed. What’s the deal with tempo? Is there real muscle hypertrophy happening, or are there other benefits beyond muscle mass gain from following a tempo protocol?

Focusing on tempo can offer significant physiological benefits over time. Ignoring it can negate certain benefits for sure.

As mentioned earlier, most discussions about lifting tempo centre around gaining muscle. In this context, mechanical tension is one of the primary drivers of muscle hypertrophy. Typically, there are two main ways to increase mechanical tension during a workout:

– Increase the weight you are lifting.

– Increase the time you spend lifting the weight.

Slowing down your rep speed essentially increases the time your muscles are under tension. Theoretically, this should lead to more muscle growth since there would be an increase in mechanical tension. Many bodybuilders deliberately lift weights slowly in an attempt to trigger greater muscle growth.

However, there seems to be a problem with the logic of speed versus load: you can’t necessarily lift the same weight for the same number of reps when you slow down your lifting tempo. Generally, the slower your rep speed, the lighter the weight has to be in order to complete the same number of reps.

So, what triggers more muscle growth — lifting a lighter weight more slowly, or lifting a heavier weight more quickly? Research suggests that the hypertrophic benefit is essentially equal between the two approaches. In fact, it is believed that using a lifting tempo anywhere between 0.5 and 8 seconds will result in significant muscle growth. However, studies also show that less hypertrophy occurs when the lifting tempo exceeds 10 seconds.

Much of this research involves lifting tempo tactics where both the eccentric and concentric portions of an exercise are slowed down in a rep within the time frame. Some studies suggest that manipulating just the eccentric portion of the lift can also promote muscle gain. However, there isn’t enough research to conclude that slow eccentrics are absolutely better for hypertrophy, still many studies are happening on varied fronts to prove which is the right template. The key lies in focusing on controlled movement execution. Your tempo should allow you to maintain a solid mind-muscle connection and maximise stimulation of the muscle’s cross-sectional area.

While slow tempo training may not offer magical benefits for muscle mass, it does provide other important advantages. Slower tempo training enhances connective tissue repair and strength alongside muscle hypertrophy. The strength of the tendons and ligaments supporting the muscle is of paramount importance for overall muscle development. Several studies have shown that slow tempo training is particularly beneficial, not only as a rehab tool but also for building strong connective tissue and preventing injuries.

Another benefit of lifting tempo lies in improving neuromuscular efficiency. Steering through periods of slow and fast tempo is an effective way to prime the nervous system to handle more challenging loads.

With slow tempo training, your body learns how to absorb force and transfer it properly.

It can also help you refine proper form and technique while you work on sticking points in compound lifts. Both of these factors improve the nervous system’s efficiency in managing progressively heavier loads.

This concept applies across many sports disciplines. We often practice skills slowly before attempting them at full speed. Once you progress to a faster tempo, your body is able to handle the heavier loads and produce more force. This not only increases strength effectively but also reduces the risk of injury.