Tempo is where you perform a single rep within a certain amount of seconds. This is great to utilize when looking to increase your muscular strength, stabilization & hypertrophy.
Have you ever looked at an exercise and seen a number that looked like this:
31X1
What the heck is that? 31 sets of 1 rep? This looks confusing, but lets use an example to break it down:
Overhead Press @ 20X1
For this, you're going to start with the barbell overhead, arms locked out fully. (*When using tempo, the movement is always going to start from the top position.)
-2 is the eccentric (lowering) phase. This is how many seconds you'll take to lower the weight down to the bottom position. In this case, we're going to take 2 full seconds to bring the barbell down to the bottom position, which is right above our shoulders
-0 is the bottom (isometric) phase. This is how many seconds you'll hold the weight at the bottom of an exercise. In this case, it's 0, so we'll go immediately to the next number.
-X is the concentric (raising) phase. This is how many seconds you'll lift the weight to the top position. In this case, whenever we see an "X", this means the lift should be as explosive as possible back to the top. Whenever you see a number, that’s how many seconds you will take to lift the bar back to the top position.
-1 is the top (isometric) phase. This is how many seconds you’ll hold the weight at the top position before completing the rep and starting the next.
So in essence…
·2 seconds to lower the barbell form the top
·0 second hold in the bottom position
·”Explode” back to the top position
·1 second hold at the top position
Now because we’re increasing time under tension for a single rep, this means that the rep ranges are going to be shorter and the weight used is going to be lighter. But don’t worry, because you’re definitely going to feel like you’ve done the work!
Tempo is beneficial because it causes us to slow down, find our muscular imbalances and improve on them with lower risks of injury. It’s also helpful for those who want to get a good training session in, but are shorter on time.
Here are some examples of tempo work you can try:
-Back Squat @ 60% of 1 rep max; build weight or stay the same each set
TEMPO: 33X1; 3 sets/5 reps
Rest :90 seconds between sets
-Overhead Press @ 60% of 1 rep max; build weight or stay the same each set
TEMPO: 10X1; 3 sets/5-8 reps
Rest :90 seconds between sets
-Barbell Back Rack Front Foot Elevated Reverse Lunge @ Moderate Weight (2-4” elevation); build weight or stay the same each set
TEMPO: 20X1; 3 sets/8 reps per side
Rest :60 seconds between sets