Eccentric Tempo Training: Slowing Down Your Lifts Can Speed Up Your Results
Most people think about strength training as lifting or pushing weights. That’s focusing on the concentric phase of muscle contractions, when the muscle shortens. However, eccentric exercise, which focuses on the lowering phase where the muscle lengthens under load, is where many of the most significant benefits occur.
Eccentric training focuses on controlled muscle lengthening under load. Examples include: slowly lowering down into a squat, lowering a dumbbell during bicep curls, slowly descending during a calf raise, and controlled lowering during pull-ups and push-ups. This type of muscle loading creates unique adaptations that benefit both performance and recovery.
A great way to get stronger is to slow down, performing movement in a slow and controlled manner with a focus on proper loading and form. Tempo training allows you to control the speed of each lift in order to maximize time under tension. A tempo is typically written in four digits (e.g., 3-3-1-1), representing the seconds spent lowering (eccentrics), pausing at the bottom, lifting (concentrics), and pausing at the top for each lift.
Tempo lifting increases time under tension, so your muscles work longer during each set. This promotes muscle hypertrophy, endurance, movement control, and increased strength throughout full ranges of motion. Many of our athletes discover that lighter weights with slower tempos can feel just as challenging as heavy, fast repetitions.
Tempo training that focuses on the eccentric phase of a lift is a powerful tool for building muscle, improving tendon health, reducing injury risk, increasing motor control, and restoring mobility. Whether you are recovering from pain, trying to improve athletic performance, or simply wanting better results in the gym, eccentric tempo training will be a benefit to your workouts.
The benefits of eccentric-biased tempo training include:
Tendon Health: Controlled loading stimulates remodeling and increases capacity, making it highly effective for conditions like Achilles tendinitis, golfer’s elbow, and rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Strength and Hypertrophy: Increased time under tension promotes muscle growth, strength and endurance throughout the full range of motion.
Improved Mobility: When muscles are loaded while lengthening, they adapt by becoming stronger in stretched positions, this helps reduce stiffness and increase flexibility more effectively than static stretching alone to restore mobility and promote normal movement patterns.
Injury Prevention: This training style builds tissue resilience, improves motor control, and protects joints.
For eccentric tempo lifts, start with lighter weights than usual until you become comfortable with the increased demand, emphasizing quality and range of motion over speed. Here are a few movements to try incorporating into your routine:
Tempo Goblet Squat (4-2-1-1): Lower for 4 seconds, pause for 2 seconds, and return to standing in 1 second.
Slow Calf Lowering (5-3-1-1): Rise up quickly, lower for 5 seconds, and hold the stretch for 3 seconds and repeat.
Romanian Deadlifts (5-5-1-1): Emphasize a 5-second lowering phase followed by a 5-second pause.
Push-Ups/Bench Press (3-2-1-0): Lower for 3 seconds and hold for 2 seconds before pressing up.
At Refuge Physiotherapy, we incorporate tempo training and eccentric muscle loading strategies to help our athletes move and feel better. If you are dealing with tendon pain, stiffness, recurring injuries, or want to optimize your training, schedule a consultation with us and we can guide you toward the right loading strategy to meet your goals.
Remember, faster is not always better. Tempo training teaches control, body awareness, and promotes tissue resilience. Controlled loading helps tissues heal and become more resilient. Eccentric loading is highly effective for building muscle mass, improving bone mineral density, protecting joints, and strengthening tendons. Slowing down can help improve your movement mechanics, strengthen your weak areas, and build resilience and fortitude that transfers into sports and your daily life. So take your time, enjoy your lifts, and speed up your results! We can help coach you in this to help with overall function or even an injury/pain you may have. Schedule an evaluation below!
