Health and Fitness Tips

Health and Fitness Tips - Fast Or Slow Rep Speed?



Lifting tempo is the technical term for how fast (or slow) you lift and lower the weights during a rep.

Rather, different lifting tempos help you achieve different results.
What’s important is making a conscious decision to lift at a certain speed.
Selecting a lifting tempo should be part of creating a training program.


To put it simply, high muscle tension during a lift is what makes for big muscles.
The faster your lifting tempo, the lower your tension.


However, a fast rep enables you to lift heavier weights.
If you’re looking to increase sheer power and strength, you go with a faster lifting tempo.
A slower lifting tempo, as explained above, is what increases muscle tension.


To increase muscle size, focus on a slower lifting tempo.
In general, you want to let the weight down more slowly than you raise it.


An exercise starts with you lifting the bar. This is called the “positive” phase of the rep.
It’s also called the “concentric contraction.”


On the other hand, lowering the weight (not surprisingly) is the “negative” phase and the “eccentric contraction.”


The positive phase is where your muscles are doing the work; the negative phase is where your muscles face resistance.

You want to come down slowly because the negative phase is the phase that promotes blood flow. Increased resistance equal increased blood flow.


Fast lifting tempo: These are the explosive-type reps. Use enough weight to really push yourself, but not so much that you can’t use proper form.


Slow lifting tempo: Ten seconds total. Four seconds up, four seconds down, and a two second pause at the top.