Post: #1

Does anyone have experience with having an entire program dedicated to tempo lifts? As in every lift/exercise, whether compound or accessory, having a 3-5 second eccentric and/or concentric phase and 3-5 second pauses at the bottom or top of the lift. I have a trainer who switches programs up for me every six weeks, and the time under tension involved in tempo lifts gives me crazy (by this I mean crazy good) DOMS. It’s also quite humbling to have to use much much lighter weight, forcing you to the realization that while you may normally be able to lift heavy weights in a gym, in a real life situation, for example carrying a heavy object, it would be difficult to sustain lifting it for more than a few seconds at a time.

I’m curious to see what sort of strength gains anyone has had from implementing tempo lifts into their routines. It’s been a few weeks since the start of this new program for me, and I’m eager to see what sort of new 1RMs I can achieve, having never done this sort of program before. I can PM a sample of the program for those interested.

Post: #2

I've never done a program that used them exclusively but I have experimented around with them. I tend to pause at the bottom of my squats (ATG) for a few seconds and I find that to be challenging in a more beneficial way in contrast to doing higher weights that you can barely handle in proper form.

Tempo lifting is not glamorous and you won't be able to lift as much or do as many reps but i'm sure it has some of it's own unique benefits.

Post: #3

I’ve been doing C Thib’s Best Damn Workout Plan for the last couple of months.

Some of the moves are called mTor reps and involve a 5 second eccentric phase with the last rep involving a long static stretch. They are brutal. 5 seconds in a hell of a long time when you’re lowering that weight.

Check out Myo Reps as well. A lot of the literature coming out regarding ‘effective reps’ is really interesting and provides food for thought.

Post: #4

There is a style of lifting called HIT, not to be confused with HIIT, that is essentially 5 seconds on both the eccentric and concentric phases done to complete failure for only one set. It was pretty popular in the 70s and 80s and is a pretty good workout if you are on a limited schedule. I am personally a big fan, as it is hard to get to gym more than a couple times a week, but you still get a great pump and I am definitely getting stronger. Here is a pretty good primer. http://baye.com/what-is-high-intensity-training/

Post: #5

More time under tension is more growth.

Whether you do that with more reps, more sets, pause reps, slow reps, whatever, if it's more than you're currently doing, you're going to grow.

An easy way to implement it would be to pause at the top or bottom of each rep to get more time under the bar e.g. pause at the top of a deadlift, at the bottom of a squat or bench press.

For folks who have never done it, it is a humbling way to develop strength and size.

As far as assistance work you could slow the reps down and not lock them out so that your muscles are always under tension.

Post: #6

Yes. It's very effective. I do a lot of stuff with a 4 count negative.

The real benefit here is reducing weight and putting more stress on the muscle, and taking stress off the joint. I think you grow more but actually feel better on a day to day basis.

You will have to reduce weight at first, but you'll get back to your old numbers eventually and be a lot larger.