Slow Lowering Phases In Weight Training
My clients sometimes you do a slow lowering phase in their programs and sometimes they do a fast lowering phases in their programs.
I'll often prescribe a 5010 tempo or a 2010 tempo. 5010 meaning you take 5 seconds to lower the weight, no rest at the bottom of the rep, 1 second to lift the weight and no rest at the top of the rep for a total of 6 seconds per rep. This 5 second lowering phase does several things :
In strength and conditioning the more force you can absorb the more force you can produce. This means the more weight you can lower slowly the more force you'll be able to produce on later programs when you go fast. In other words when you do a phase of slow lowering followed by a phase of fast lowering you will be stronger.
Slow lowering phases help condition the tendons. Slow lowering phases are how you rehab tendinopathies in rehab circles. Muscles also develop strength quicker than tendons so we have to do periods of slow lowering phases in order for them to "catch up". This is especially important as we age.
Control the weight don't let the weight control you .
Most people lift with their ego. Slow lowering phases stop people ego lifting which increases the chance of injury and force proper technique.
It's easier to lower a weight against gravity than overcome a weight against gravity. Think about it, the force you need to lower a weight is less than that is needed to pick it up. Lengthening the lowering phase is more demanding and creates a higher "metabolic cost" in a workout meaning it burns more calories.
Don't believe me?
In April 2015, the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism compared the effect of three different lifting tempos on energy expenditure and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Greater EPOC means the metabolism is elevated to a significant degree after the exercise bout—your body continues to burn calories at a greater rate for up to 48 hours after an intense workout.
The subjects were trained men who were assigned to perform a workout of 3 sets of 5 reps at 70 percent of the 1RM in the bench press using one of the three following lifting tempos:
• 1.5 seconds for both eccentric and concentric—15 seconds per set
• 4 seconds eccentric and 1 second concentric—25 seconds per set
• 1 second eccentric and 4 seconds concentric—25 seconds per set
Results showed that the 1.5-second tempo required the least energy to perform and EPOC was significantly less than with the other two tempos, which is not surprising since the participants spent less time under the weight. Still, this reminds us that a simple way to burn more energy before and after a workout is to mix up the tempo—and to perform more sets, of course.
So yeah, in order to become stronger, leaner and lessen the chance of injury, my clients do phases of slow lifting with phases of fast lifting.
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