Understanding Tempo

When you look at an exercise program you should see a heading that says TEMPO.

• TEMPO is the amout of time that your muscle will be under tension, and is important for increasing both muscular size and strength.

• On the amiskwaciy workout sheet you will see under TEMPO heading the numbers 4x2x1x1. Let's break these numbers down:

  • The first number, 4, is the eccentric movement, or lowering component of the lift.

  • The second number, 2, means that there is a pause at the bottom of the movement.

  • The third number, 1, is concentric movement. This means you will be pushing or coming up in the movement.

  • The fourth number, 1, is used when there is a pause at the top of the movement.

So, with our tempo of 4x1x1x1 we would go down for 4 seconds, pause at the bottom of the movement for 2 seconds, come up for 1 second, and pause quickly at the top for 1 second before repeating the motion again.