Add tempo to change a routine

Most are familiar with the purpose of a bench press...to build a chest. A biceps curl is excellent for building bigger biceps. What exactly determines the ultimate result of the lift..e.g., size, speed, strength, endurance? Do all get an equal stimulus? Doubt it. Adding a tempo to a repetition will highlight the desired training effect.

Tempo can be described as the time it takes to complete the different phases of a strength training repetition. A four digit system was designed to highlight the four parts of a rep.

First number is the eccentric, or lowering, of the weight (e.g., the time it takes going down on a squat or bringing the bar to your chest in a bench press).

The second number represents the time you remain in the stretched position (e.g., the bottom position of a squat) before the concentric (lifting) phase.

The third number or concentric portion, is the actual pushing or pulling of a movement by the athlete.

The fourth number is the amount of time in the "locked out" position or for example the top of a flat bench press.

So a 4010 tempo in the bench press would indicate 4 seconds as the amount of time it takes to lower the weight to the chest, no rest at the chest and 1 second press (typically indicates as fast as possible) and zero rest at the lockout meaning move into the next repetition immediately. 

From here we determine that one repetition using a 4010 tempo would take approximately 6 seconds to complete. Here is where I fill in the blanks. Let's use the 4 main strength qualities relative, functional, hypertrophy and strength endurance. Relative is described as the maximum force an athlete can generate per unit of bodyweight regardless of time of force development. The time under tension per set to achieve relative strength is 0-20 seconds. Sports like gymnastics and wrestling are considered relative strength sports. Functional strength training is defined as the amount of strength it takes for a particular sport. Tension time per set for functional strength is 20-40 seconds. Hypertrophy are tension times that cause the largest return for building bigger muscles. The tension time for this strength quality is 40-70 seconds. Strength endurance is defined as an athlete's tolerance to fatigue in strength performances of longer durations. Time under tension that would best support this quality would be 50-120 seconds. 

I think an important side note is necessary. Regardless of the strength quality you train, I believe in primarily using the 1RM continuum. This indicates the relationship between reps and the 1 repetition maximum. So using the most weight possible with the prescribed repetitions and tempo, will determine the training effect. So now, are all bench presses created equally?