Tempo Guide
Tempo refers to the cadence with which you execute each phase of the lift. There are 4 distinct portions of each lift:
- Eccentric– The lowering/negative portion of the lift. (Dropping down into a squat or bringing the bar back to the ground in a deadlift)
- Isometric/Pause– This occurs between the completion of the eccentric and beginning of the concentric portion of the lift
- Concentric– The contraction against load to lift the load (Standing up in a deadlift, pulling the bar off the ground in a deadlift)
- Isometric/Pause– This occurs between the completion of the concentric and the beginning of the eccentric portion of the lift
As such, tempo is listed as a 4 digit number with each number referring to the amount of time you must spend on each portion of the lift. The numbers are ordered in the same fashion as the above list. For example:
- “3011”would denote a 3 second eccentric, no pause between eccentric and concentric, 1 second concetric, and 1 second of pause before doing the next eccentric
- “2020”would denote a 2 second eccentric, no pause between eccentric and concentric, 2 second concentric, and no pause before doing the next eccentric
Sometimes an “X” will be used in place of a number such as “30X1”. The X denotes explosive movement being used in that phase. In this example you would move the weight as fast as possible during the concentric phase of the lift.
Remember that some exercises start with the eccentric portion first (Back Squats, Bench Press) while others begin with the concentric portion first (Deadlifts, Hip Thrusts). However, the tempo will always be listed in the order listed above which starts with the eccentric. Therefore, for exercises which begin with the concentric, you must start reading the tempo beginning with the third digit (which represents the concentric). For example, deadlifts with a “4211” tempo does not mean 4 seconds concentric, 2 second pause, 1 second eccentric, and 1 second pause. Instead you start with digit three and read it as 1 second concentric, 1 second pause, 4 second eccentric, and 2 second pause before the next rep.