The tempo you use when lifting weights affects your gains. It is one of many acute workout variables that results in a different load on the muscle fibres; understanding how to use tempo can allow you to increase the overload and anabolic stimuli from your training sessions.
Tempo is the speed at which you lift. A fast tempo may see the weight travelling the entire range of motion in less than half a second, while a slower tempo could mean a three-second movement, sometimes longer. Tempo has just as much an effect on the forces experienced by your muscle fibres, and can be measured in a mathematical formula popularised secondary school physics: Force = Mass x Acceleration. This can be translated into Muscular Load = Weight Lifted x Tempo. In essence, it takes more force to lift a 100kg barbell fast than it does to life it slow. Accelerating at twice the speed you did previously (ie. increasing the tempo) results in twice the force being loaded onto the muscle fibres.
More load on the contractile proteins in the muscle will result in increased microtears and an increased strength/power response, with some stimuli towards increased size. The lifter is also more likely to breach the threshold at which the Type IIb muscle fibres (those responsible for explosive movement, and the specific type that are subject to more hypertrophy than any other) will be activated, something that is missing from many routines that fail to produce enough force on the muscle fibres.
This particular change to a training routine is particularly suited to those engaged in power-based sports or those who wish to increase their strength in order to break plateaus before using this added strength to make their hypertrophy training more effective (this is a very basic example of how periodisation works). However, there are drawbacks to high-tempo training: increased load on the muscles means they fatigue quicker. The affect of this accelerated fatigue is that the overall time under tension experienced by the muscle is reduced.
Increased time under tension is one of the biggest factors in bring about gains in size. The Poliquin Principles provided ample evidence to show how maximally loading a muscle during a set for approximately 60 seconds was the optimum time to stimulate hypertrophy. This equates to around 12 reps at maximal weight, conducted with a slower tempo. The high-tempo training is likely to load the muscles for less than half of this time.
The time under tension experienced during high-tension training can be extended by slowing down the eccentric (lowering) phase of the repetition, but overall results are best when both high-tempo and low-tempo training methods are used. Generating more muscle mass through the more traditional, controlled movement, then generating more strength with more explosive reps, then again doing more mass-enhancing work (just with bigger weights) is the concept around which periodisation was developed. As such, varying the rest periods, weights, reps and sets is also essential to maximise your training; the details of which are outside the scope of this article.
Because high-tempo training loads more force on the the muscle for the same weight lifted, training this way often means lifting lighter weights than you would do during a workout that employs a slower tempo. For example, whilst you may press 120kg in a chest press for 8 reps with a standard tempo, using the more explosive tempo suggested above may mean that you need to drop it to 100-110kg.
The take-home message is that altering the tempo is an important variable that, whilst not the panacea to a weightlifter's training goals, is an important and often under-used tool in any training routine. Those already training, eating and supplementing well will notice a measurable improvement.
Marek Doyle is a London nutritionist, personal trainer and the pioneer of the Combined Allergy Test. In 2008, he was recognised as one of the UK's top trainers and counts world champion athletes, cover models and TV personalities amongst his clientele. He runs
Altering the Tempo for Better Results
