Four point tempo prescription
Beginners often talk about rep speed only in terms of lifting
and lowering the weight. But there's much more to a rep
than just up and down. Some strength coaches and trainers
factor in the pause and write tempo with three numbers.
The first number refers to the eccentric movement, the second
number is the pause between eccentric and concentric and
the third number is the concentric portion of the rep. Using
the three point tempo prescription would look like this:
3-2-2.
Advanced bodybuilders would benefit greatly from taking
it one step further, separating and quantifying the stretch
and the contraction instead of just the single pause. This
calls for a four-point tempo prescription. For example,
a standard rep in the barbell curl would have a 3 second
eccentric (lowering the weight), 0 second pause in the stretch
(bottom) position, a 2 second concentric (lifting the weight)
and a 0 second pause in the contracted (top) position: This
is denoted by a tempo prescription of 3-0-2-0:
Example of 4 point tempo prescription:
3 Eccentric contraction
0 Stretch position
2 Concentric contraction
0 Contracted position
Increase muscle growth with tempo and tension manipulation
One way you can increase intensity and provide progressive
overload without requiring super-heavy weights is by manipulating
the speed at which you perform each exercise. For bodybuilding
purposes, time under tension (TUT) for each set should generally
be in the 30-70 second range. Sets lasting less than 30
seconds tend to develop speed, strength and power without
maximal size.
Time under tension is old news in the bodybuilding and
strength training world, but what many people fail to consider
when planning their training programs is the impact of the
stretch and contraction on the effectiveness of specific
exercises. They make sweeping generalizations about tempo
for all exercises, even though the resistance curve of every
exercise is different. To get the highest intensity level
and maximum results from every exercise requires that you
analyze each exercise individually for the most efficient
tempo on all four components of the rep.
In some exercises, the load dissipates in the stretch position.
For example, in the dumbbell side lateral raise, there's
no tension or stretch when the dumbbells are at the bottom
of the movement, at your sides. When the dumbbells are raised
to arms length parallel to the floor, your deltoids are
fully contracted under maximum tension. Therefore, doing
isometric contractions (pausing at the top as in a gymnast's
"iron cross") is a very effective method in the
lateral raise. It's not beneficial to pause in the bottom
position, because there's no tension; you're simply resting
("cheating").
On other exercises, the tension lessens at the top of the
movement (contracted position). This is true of all chest
and shoulder pressing exercises where you lock out your
elbows, and also squatting and leg pressing movements when
you lock out your knees. On these exercises, tension is
increased by avoiding a pause at the top of the movement.
Let's look at some specific examples.
Stretch emphasis exercises
Unlike the lateral raise, it's advantageous to emphasize
the stretch on some exercises. If the maximum load stays
on the muscle in the stretch position, you'll benefit from
pausing in that portion of the movement. For example, in
the reverse grip (supinated) pulldown, your lats receive
a tremendous stretch by the entire load of the weight stack
when your arms are extended completely overhead (especially
if you lean forward as you fully extend your arms). Your
calves are also a stretch muscle and would benefit an extended
pause in the bottom position.
As any competitive bench presser will tell you, the pause
will decrease the amount of weight you can handle. That's
because you're not making use of the "stretch shortening
cycle" which allows you to use elastic energy to explosively
"bounce" out of the bottom. However, if you're
a bodybuilder and not a speed-power athlete, the increased
muscle tension generated from using pauses is a good thing.
Research has shown that it takes a full four-second pause
between the eccentric and concentric to fully dissipate
the elastic energy created from the stretch-shortening cycle.
However, even a one or two-second pause in the stretch position
will increase muscular tension and improve your results
from a pure size-building standpoint.
Contraction emphasis exercises
"Contraction emphasis" exercises are those in
which the maximum tension is present in the contracted position.
These are all exercises in which an extended hold in the
contracted position would make the exercise more difficult,
intense and result-producing. The leg extension is a good
example. When your knee is fully extended at the top of
the movement, the quadriceps are fully contracted with maximum
resistance directly on the muscle. If you were to hold the
contraction for a count of three, this would make the exercise
considerably more intense. A tempo suggestion for leg extensions
using contraction emphasis would be 4-0-2-3 (lower the weight
in four seconds, no pause at the bottom, lift the weight
in two seconds, then hold and "squeeze" at the
top for three seconds).
Other contraction exercises where you could use a similar
tempo include dumbbell kickbacks (triceps), concentration
curls (biceps), standing single leg curl machine (hamstrings),
cable flyes (chest), seated cable rows (back), straight
arm lateral raises, (shoulders), weighted crunches (abs).
On certain exercises, you would NOT want to pause in the
contracted position because the top of the movement provides
the least amount of tension and resistance. These would
include standing barbell curls (biceps), squats/hack squats/leg
presses (quads), dumbbell pullovers (lats) incline sit ups
(abs), and many others.
Stretch and contraction exercises
Some exercises lend themselves to emphasizing the stretch
and the contraction (particularly back and calf exercises).
For example, the standing calf raise is a great exercise
to pause at the bottom to stretch and pause at the top to
contract. In fact, one of the most effective ways to get
stubborn calves to grow is to pause at the top of each rep
for 3-5 seconds and then stretch at the bottom. This makes
the muscle contract harder and improves the neuromuscular
connection. Try this tempo on your next calf workout for
8-12 reps: 3-2-2-5
Constant tension exercises
Certain movements, also known as "mid-range exercises,"
provide little or no tension in the stretch or contracted
positions. Examples include chest and shoulder presses,
squats and standing bicep curls. The maximum resistance
on these exercises occurs in the middle of the range of
motion. Once your elbow or knee joints are locked out, the
tension is dissipated or released completely. It's beneficial
on these exercises to remove the pauses. For example, if
you're used to locking out on your hack squats or back squats,
try a few sets without locking out or pausing between reps.
A tempo suggestion for constant tension exercises is 3-0-2-0
or 4-0-3-0.
You can use continuous tension (eliminating pauses at the
top and bottom) on virtually any exercise as a method of
variation, overload or intensification. The most effective
application, however, is in eliminating the no-tension "dead
spaces" on exercises like squats, presses and curls.
Concentric emphasis
Almost all strength coaches tell their athletes to accelerate
on the concentric portion of an exercise. This is also a
useful technique for bodybuilders at times, but bodybuilders
are different from Olympic lifters, powerlifters and other
athletes in that size is the goal - not speed or explosive
power.
The basic bodybuilding rule we've all heard is that you
should lower the weight more slowly than you lift the weight.
This is generally good advice, but rules are made to be
broken. For bodybuilders, it's beneficial on some exercises
to occasionally do the opposite of conventional thinking
and make the concentric portion of the rep slower than the
eccentric.
The best exercises to use a slower concentric are those
in which you have a tendency to cheat to get the weight
started by bouncing at the bottom. On bench presses, for
example, you can lift more weight if you literally bounce
the bar off your chest and explode it up rapidly. To develop
pure muscle mas, try using less weight with a slower concentric.
Better still; use a pause and a slower concentric (tempo:
3-2-4-0). Barbell curls are another good example. Most people
heave the weight up at the bottom using thrust from the
hips and lower back, but this reduces the tension on the
biceps. Also try a slow concentric on squats and leg presses
for a major high-tension shock to your quads. Occasionally
using a slow (approx. four second) concentric can be a very
ego shattering, but growth inducing, experience.
Eccentric emphasis
As I already mentioned, slowing down the eccentric part
of the rep is the classic advice of most trainers and coaches.
Your natural tendency on almost any exercise will be towards
allowing gravity to take over and dropping the weight. Resisting
this urge and "fighting the negative" will improve
your results dramatically. Many studies have proven that
slowing down your eccentric (lowering) part of the rep accelerates
muscle mass as well as strength gains. It also creates more
delayed onset muscle soreness. All else being equal, the
set with the slower eccentric is more hypertrophy-stimulating
because it eliminates momentum and increases time under
tension. To increase the intensity of your workouts, experiment
liberally on a variety of exercises with slow negatives.
Use different speeds from 4 - 10 seconds, and occasionally
even longer.
What about "super slow" and "negative"
training?
Some well known trainers claim that "super slow"
or "negative only" repetitions are the "ultimate"
methods for developing muscle mass. The claim that "super-slow"
is the best training method is an example of erroneously
overestimating the importance of a single tactic. The "best"
approach is to use a variety of techniques as part of a
broader strategy. Extremely slow reps (5 -10 seconds or
longer) are a valid and result-producing technique, but
that doesn't make them "the best way" or "the
only way" to train. Slow reps are merely "one
way." If you only used one single technique such as
very slow reps, you would rapidly plateau, as the human
body is remarkably adaptable. You must change your programs
continually.
Conclusion
The body will adapt to any training regimen in time, so
tempo should be changed often just like any other training
variable. However, by thinking through your workouts beforehand
and understanding the differences in tempo and tension,
you can select the single most effective tempo prescription
for each exercise and use it the majority of the time. This
will maximize the effectiveness of every exercise you perform
- often to a level you never thought possible. Remember,
tension equals muscle growth. Slow down in general, get
rid of the useless pauses, add some stretch emphasis where
appropriate, squeeze hard and hold on peak contraction exercises
and adjust your concentric and eccentric speeds to eliminate
cheating and momentum. You'll add new life to your stale
old routines and see your muscle growth explode to new heights!
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
About the Author
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified
strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder,
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM). Tom has written over
170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine,
Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine,
Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and
Men’s Exercise. For information on Tom's "Burn
The Fa Feed the Musclet" e-book, click
here
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