Variety seems to be what all gym-goers are chasing. If you were to follow the same person at the gym for several weeks, you’d probably notice they do something different each time they workout.
There seems to be this idea floating around that you have to constantly change your workout routine or “confuse” your muscles so that you won’t hit a plateau. But the reality is, you can’t confuse muscles.
Our muscle respond to the stimuli placed upon them. If you repeat the same workout for 6 months, your body will get better at performing that workout. Overtime, as your body becomes more efficient at this routine, you will stop seeing as good of results as you did when you first started.
But this isn’t because you stopped confusing your muscles. The reason is because your muscles are better prepared to handle the stress that you’re placing on them. This isn’t to say that you must constantly change up your workouts though. You simply need to change the stimulus and makes things a little bit harder.
And 1 easy way to make any exercise harder is to use tempo training. Tempo refers to the speed at which an exercise is performed. It’s typically denoted with 3 distinct numbers. For example 3-1-2.
The first number would be the eccentric or lowering portion of the exercise. The second would be the duration of pause at the midpoint of the exercise. And the final number would be the concentric or lifting portion of the exercise.
Here’s an example of how this tempo would be used with a push up.
You would take 3 seconds to lower yourself to the bottom of the push up. Once you’re at the bottom, you’d pause for 1 second. After the pause, you would return to the start position in 2 seconds.
There are multiple benefits to using tempo training in your workouts.
1. It requires no change in exercises.
Instead of piddling around the gym trying to think of what to do, you can use the same exercises with different tempos. Have you been squatting a lot lately? Next time try a 3-0-1 tempo on your squat and it will feel like an entirely different exercise.
2. It increases your time under tension.
Time under tension (TUT) refers to the amount of time it takes you to complete an exercise. With tempo training, you will be performing an exercise for a longer period of time. This increased TUT will stimulate your muscles in a different way and can jump start results if you’ve hit a plateau.
3. It improves your stability.
Stability refers to your body’s ability to resist change in the presence of motion. Here’s an easy way to think about it. When you’re performing a squat, your core must be stable and rigid the entire time. If it’s not, you could potentially injure your back. Since you have to slow down with tempo training, your body is forced to learn how to stabilize more effectively.
4. It will increase your strength.
Performing an exercise slowly requires a high level of muscular control. As your body becomes more accustomed to this type of lifting, you will be able to recruit more muscle fibers for a given exercise. Not only that, but your technique will improve too. Both of these will allow you to put more weight on the bar or do more reps over time, increasing your total body strength.
Now that you know some of the benefits, let’s talk about how to add these into your own training.
As far as exercise selection goes, you can use tempo training with just about any exercise you’d like. The only ones I’d refrain from are conventional or sumo deadlifts. Other than that feel free to use them on things like squats, lunges, RDLs, push-ups, chin ups, rows, etc.
Another great thing about tempo training is there are tons of different number combinations you can use to challenge yourself and add variety to your training. Here are some starting tempos you can use if you’ve never tried this type of training before:
2-0-1
2-0-2
2-1-1
3-0-1
3-1-1
Most want too much variety in their training programs. They hop from one workout to the next without any rhyme or reason. Don’t get caught up in this trap.
Basic exercises like I’ve listed above will provide you with more than enough in your training arsenal to get great results. Combining these movements with tempo training could be exactly what you need to regain your focus in the gym and see better progress. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
