Training tempo
Tempo is the prescribed speed of each phase of a rep, written as four numbers: eccentric, pause at the bottom, concentric and pause at the top. A 3-1-1-0 tempo means lowering over three seconds, pausing one, lifting in one and chaining straight into the next. It lengthens the set's time under tension and reduces the load usable for the same reps.
Tempo is the prescribed speed of each phase of a rep, written as four numbers: eccentric, pause at the bottom, concentric and pause at the top. A 3-1-1-0 tempo means lowering over three seconds, pausing one, lifting in one and chaining straight into the next. It lengthens the set's time under tension and reduces the load usable for the same reps.
Also written as: tempo prescription · cadence
In practice
It is useful mainly for two things: teaching the movement under control while form still breaks down, and adding stimulus for a client who cannot raise load because their gym's plates run out.
The common mistake
Prescribing it and counting the sets as if nothing changed. A slow tempo lowers the load and raises the cost of each set, so the weekly volume a client tolerates moves with it.
