What are the advanages of different tempos?

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Lifting Tempo to Build Muscle or Burn Fat
by: The Middle Manager

Suzanne, this is an excellent question. When lifting weights, the tempo can make a lot of difference.

One of my biggest pet peeves are people who "sling" the weight around or bounce it off of their chest when bench pressing. Not only are they not building muscle efficiently, they may end up hurting themselves or others.

So, with that said, let me answer the question about the 2 - 1 tempo with no pause. On the heavier compound movements (got to lift big to get big!), the 2 - 1 part refers to a nice controlled decent (the 2 count) with an explosive lift (the 1 count). The 0 pause means simply that once at the bottom of the decent, start the lift. For example, on the bench press, once the bar touches the chest, lift the weight with not pause. Notice I said "touches" and not "bounces off." With a controlled lowering of the weight, there should be no bouncing.

Using a slower tempo, say the 4 - 2 - 1 that you use, allows you to increase the intensity of the lift without using a heavier weight, and allows for what people often refer to as "continuous tension." This method is common and you will still continue to build muscle and burn fat efficiently.

I personally like the slower tempos on my isolation exercises or on days where I am using lighter weights.

As a side note, the tempo you use may also depend on how fast you count! I once got into a heated discussion in the gym about tempo once, believe it or not, and it all ended once we figured out that I count about half as fast as the other person did. We were actually using the same rough tempo.

Short answer, if the 4 - 2 - 1 tempo is working for you, definitely keep using it!

Suzanne, thank you for your question, and please feel free to contribute often!

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Submitted by: The Middle Manager

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Suzanne, this is an excellent question. When lifting weights, the tempo can make a lot of difference. One of my biggest pet peeves are people who "sling" the weight around or bounce it off of their chest when bench pressing. Not only are they not building muscle efficiently, they may end up hurting themselves or others. So, with that said, let me answer the question about the 2 - 1 tempo with no pause. On the heavier compound movements (got to lift big to get big!), the 2 - 1 part refers to a nice controlled decent (the 2 count) with an explosive lift (the 1 count). The 0 pause means simply that once at the bottom of the decent, start the lift. For example, on the bench press, once the bar touches the chest, lift the weight with not pause. Notice I said "touches" and not "bounces off." With a controlled lowering of the weight, there should be no bouncing. Using a slower tempo, say the 4 - 2 - 1 that you use, allows you to increase the intensity of the lift without using a heavier weight, and allows for what people often refer to as "continuous tension." This method is common and you will still continue to build muscle and burn fat efficiently. I personally like the slower tempos on my isolation exercises or on days where I am using lighter weights. As a side note, the tempo you use may also depend on how fast you count! I once got into a heated discussion in the gym about tempo once, believe it or not, and it all ended once we figured out that I count about half as fast as the other person did. We were actually using the same rough tempo. Short answer, if the 4 - 2 - 1 tempo is working for you, definitely keep using it! Suzanne, thank you for your question, and please feel free to contribute often!

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What are the advanages of different tempos?

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What are the advanages of different tempos?