Build more muscle (tempo)

What is Tempo?

Usually written as 3010 tempo refers to the timing of a particular exercise.

The First Number

The first number is for the negative or eccentric phase – in other words, when you are lowering the weight or when you are moving in a direction opposite to the muscle contraction. For a squat and a bench press, this would mean lowering the weight. For a cable row, this would mean returning the plates to the stack.

The Second Number

The second number is the pause after the first phase is complete – for example, in the bench press, a pause as the weight is held stationary just above the chest.

The Third Number

The third number refers to the concentric or positive phase – the contraction. For a bench press, this would be driving the bar upwards. A letter ‘X’  here typically means, “explode” – in other words, you may do it faster than 1 second.

The fourth Number

The fourth number refers to the pause at the top of the movement.

Using Tempo alone will benefit most people as it will slow reps down and increase the time the muscles are moving the weight. However, if you combine this with time under contraction your ability to ‘build’ more muscle will increase. I say ‘build’ as really what we are doing is tearing the muscles in order for them to repair and build more muscle.

If you cannot contract a muscle you cannot build muscle

Whilst you are sat there reading this, without any weights contract your bicep, you can feel the muscle right? Now keeping that contraction straighten your arm, DON’T LET THE CONTRACTION GO!! Now bend the arm again, keep it contracted. Repeat this 6 times. So without a weight you should feel the bicep working if you did it well enough you arm would have been shaking. This is time under contraction. You need to be able to do this with all your muscles you are working in order to get maximum growth. Now drop the ego and use a lower weight and feel the muscles working instead of training to be a power lifter and moving a weight from A to B. – unless you are a power lifter you can carry on!