| Tempo & Tension Maximization for Advanced Bodybuilders |
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BodybuildingPro.com  Training Database Advanced Training Tips Tempo & Tension Maximization for Advanced Bodybuilders
By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com
Basic rep speed for
bodybuilders
Open up any book about bodybuilding, and it will
emphasize the importance of rep speed, also known as "tempo."
Specifically, tempo means how quickly you lift a weight (the
concentric part of the rep, also known as the "positive", where the
muscle shortens) and how quickly you lower the weight (the
eccentric part of the rep, also known as the "negative", where the
muscle lengthens).
Repetition speed is important because different
lifting speeds produce different training effects. The faster the
speed, the lower the muscle tension. Reduce your rep speed to a
more controlled tempo and you increase muscle tension. Boiled down
to its pure essence, developing muscle size is a matter of high
muscle tension (coupled with progressive overload, of course).
Faster reps allow you to use heavier weights, but reduce tension,
so you're trading some size for power and speed. This is why many
Olympic lifters who lift weights explosively have mind-boggling
strength, but they don't have physiques like bodybuilders, who lift more slowly.
If you're ever in doubt about how fast to do your
reps for developing muscle size, a concentric of 2-3 seconds and
eccentric of 3-4 seconds is a good rule of thumb. This is a
"controlled" or moderately slow rep. This two-point prescription is
sufficient for a beginner, but when you reach the advanced level,
it pays to be more particular and dissect your reps even
further.
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 biceps 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!
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder,
personal trainer, gym owner, freelance writer and author of "Burn
the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the
World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over
140 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural
Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men
and Men’s Exercise. Tom is the Fat Loss Expert for
Global-Fitness.com and the nutrition editor for Femalemuscle.com
and his articles are regularly featured worldwide on literally
dozens of other websites.
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