Have you ever ever seen a man doing bicep curls at a velocity of 100 RPM as if he is racing to do 100 reps as quick as doable? Have you ever thought that he ought to decelerate to work his muscle groups higher? Nicely, that is mainly the premise of time beneath stress.
Time beneath stress, or TUT, has made some huge waves within the health trade over the previous couple of many years, and its impact remains to be felt in some bodybuilding circles. The essential premise is that to maximise muscle development, it is best to prolong the period of time the muscle is contracting by slowing down your rep.
As we all know, a muscle doing extra work will successfully end in extra muscle development. Subsequently, growing the time a muscle is beneath stress would trigger higher development. Nonetheless, muscle development is not as easy as this, and plenty of variables should be thought-about. We’ll take a look at what analysis says about time beneath stress and whether or not it must be an element to fret about when coaching.
What Is Time Underneath Pressure?
Think about in the event you needed to carry 100 lbs of cement from the ironmongery shop all the way in which to the car parking zone as a result of all of the trolleys have been busted. Would you do this by strolling slowly, or would you attempt to transfer as quick as doable? Clearly, you are going to go as quick as doable, because the longer you maintain onto the burden, the tougher it will get! When a muscle works extra, it turns into an increasing number of fatigued!
Time Underneath Pressure (TUT) merely refers back to the energetic time by which stress is positioned on a muscle throughout an train and calls for a contraction. Because of this, a muscle with an extended TUT will expertise greater depth even in the event you’re utilizing the identical weight.
Extra importantly, TUT is an adjustable variable that lifters can use to extend the overall work a muscle performs. Putting stress on a muscle is without doubt one of the most important variables that promotes muscle development, with some claiming it’s the major driver of muscle development.
No matter its actual place on the muscle positive factors hierarchy, we all know it’s a vital part. Because of this, lifters started to theorize that they might merely carry out a rep slower to extend stress and finally achieve extra muscle.
TUT And Tempo Coaching
As you could possibly most likely guess, that is intently associated to tempo coaching, a mode of coaching that emphasizes utilizing completely different lengths of time to carry out the completely different contractions or elements of a motion.
At any time when we carry out a rep with any train, there are 4 sections a muscle overcome;
Eccentric (Happening)
Backside (Transition from eccentric to concentric)
Concentric (Going up)
High (Transition from concentric to eccentric)
Whereas TUT refers back to the complete time it takes to carry out these 4 elements, tempo coaching prescribes a selected and oftentimes completely different period for every of the 4 elements. For instance, let’s faux you are prescribed a tempo of three/1/3/1. This could translate to performing the elements with the next period;
Eccentric – 3 seconds
Backside – 1 second
Concentric- 3 seconds
High – 1 second
With reference to time beneath stress, this might imply that every rep took 8 seconds. So, in the event you did 5 reps, the overall time beneath stress could be 40 seconds. Nonetheless, you could possibly additionally carry out a repetition utilizing 4/1/2/1. This could imply an extended eccentric and a shorter concentric. Although the overall TUT remains to be 8 seconds per contraction, as we’ll see later, this might make an enormous distinction.
How Lengthy Ought to Your Time Underneath Pressure Be?
It is dependent upon who you ask. Whereas there have been fairly a number of research on TUT, there’s nonetheless no particular time it is best to purpose for. One regularly repeated quantity is 50-70 seconds, taken from legendary energy coach Charles Poliquin. Nonetheless, this quantity comes from fitness center commentary quite than analysis.
This leads to an enormous situation with solely counting on TUT to reinforce muscle development. Even taking this quantity, 50-70 seconds, leaves fairly an intensive vary. If somebody have been solely to make use of 50 seconds, that might solely be 70% of the work carried out by somebody who used 70 seconds.
That little thought experiment must be sufficient as an example that point beneath stress most likely should not be the first variable to think about.
Is There Proof For Time Underneath Pressure?
Similar to Charles Poliquin’s recommended time, evidently a lot of the proof supporting time beneath stress coaching comes from a mix of concept and anecdotal sources. Alternatively, various research counsel it isn’t that vital.
Proof For Time Underneath Pressure
One piece of scientific analysis that’s typically used to help TUT coaching comes from 2012.¹ It had two teams of males carry out knee extensions utilizing 30% of their 1RM.
One group: Concentric & eccentric contractions of 6 secs every
One group: Contractions of simply 1 second
On the finish of the classes, muscle protein synthesis charges have been considerably greater within the 6-second contraction group.
That sounds nice, however there are a number of points. The first one is that the lifters have been solely utilizing a weight of 30% 1RM, which isn’t how lifting works in the actual world.
If a lifter used a weight this gentle, it will make sense. Slowing down the contraction would have a bigger impact than performing quick just because it isn’t heavy sufficient to problem the muscle fibers. Because of this a great deal of 70% or higher are usually advisable for muscle development.
Now, utilizing gentle weights with lengthy TUT could possibly be an fascinating tactic for a number of teams of individuals:
These in rehab
Trainees with restricted gear
The aged
These populations might get higher outcomes while not having to make use of heavier weights. Nonetheless, this examine would not actually help using wholesome lifters.
Simply because you’ll be able to does not imply it is best to.
Proof Towards Time Underneath Pressure
Alternatively, a number of research counsel that TUT offers no intrinsic profit when all variables are thought-about.
For instance, one examine investigates early-phase muscular variations in 34 untrained ladies subjected to slow-speed (SS), traditional-strength (TS), traditional-endurance (TE), and management (C) resistance coaching regimens over 6 weeks had two teams of girls carry out leg extensions utilizing completely different TUT durations.²
Sluggish group:
40-60% of their 1RM for 6-10 reps
10-second concentric | 4-second eccentric.
Conventional group:
80-85% of their 1RM for 6-10 reps
1-2 seconds concentric and eccentric
Outcomes after 6 weeks:
Conventional group:
33% enhance of their kind IIa muscle fibers
37% enhance of their kind IIx
Sluggish group:
12% enhance of their kind IIa muscle fibers
17% enhance of their kind IIx
It is vital to notice that this examine occurred in untrained lifters. Untrained lifters are essentially the most delicate to coaching, which means they see muscle development extra “simply.” Nonetheless, there was a substantial distinction in outcomes on this examine, suggesting that TUT could be even much less efficient in skilled lifters beneath the identical circumstances.
Now, we might report on many different research, however the end result is kind of the identical. The principle takeaway is that point beneath stress is solely one variable of muscle hypertrophy, and a variety of TUT can be utilized successfully at the side of others, equivalent to load and total quantity.
The truth is, a big meta-analysis means that an individual can see comparable positive factors in muscle development utilizing a complete repetition period of wherever from 0.5 to eight seconds when all different variables are accounted for.³
It’s because evidently coaching to failure is finally the first purpose. So, whilst you might do that utilizing a really sluggish rep, you may also do it with a quicker rep.
Sooner Reps For Muscle Development?
This one could shock you, however there’s proof that helps a quicker concentric contraction for muscle development!
A 2009 examine demonstrated that lifters utilizing a one-second concentric contraction noticed higher biceps development than those that used three seconds!⁴ Clearly, quicker repetition goes to lower TUT, which is in direct contradiction with sluggish reps, which is what’s normally promoted!
Bear in mind, comparable outcomes have been seen within the examine above with untrained ladies. The idea behind why this may increasingly happen is that performing the concentric contraction as quick as doable requires the upper recruitment of kind II muscle fibers.
Nonetheless, it is vital to notice that this is applicable explicitly to the concentric contraction. Issues change when performing the eccentric contraction.
Be taught extra about performing quicker reps with our put up Velocity Based mostly Coaching for maximal energy positive factors.
What’s Sluggish Eccentric Coaching?
Eccentric coaching is a mode of resistance coaching by which a lifter makes use of extended “time beneath stress” solely on the eccentric contraction.
Why would this matter? By way of in depth analysis, sports activities scientists have found that eccentric contraction performs a major function in muscle hypertrophy and energy positive factors. When measuring the pressure output of eccentric contraction and concentric contraction, the eccentric produces considerably extra pressure.
Take into consideration your max bench press; let’s faux it is 225lb. Now think about you set 230lb on the bar. As soon as that bar will get to your chest, it is possible caught there. Nonetheless, you could possibly comparatively simply maintain it on the prime after which decrease it right down to your chest in a managed method.
Along with this extra glorious pressure manufacturing, the eccentric performs a extra important function in muscle hypertrophy. In concept, which means that if lifter A solely carried out the eccentric contraction, and one other lifter B solely carried out the concentric contraction, lifter A would see extra important development.
Simply as quick concentric contractions produce higher hypertrophy, the alternative is true for eccentric contraction, and slowing down could end in extra muscle development.
Wish to know extra in regards to the completely different elements of an train? Try our put up that goes depth about Concentric vs Eccentric Muscle Contraction.
Issues To Think about With Time Underneath Pressure Coaching
Your entire premise of time beneath stress coaching is that it is best to lengthen the time the muscle is contracting to extend muscle or dimension. However this is the factor: your rep velocity will all the time decelerate as you method failure.
On the identical time, whilst you could carry out a rep for an extended period, it will finally result in fewer reps.
Faux you carry out an train with a 4/0/4/0 tempo after which carry out the identical train with a 1/0/1/0 tempo. For those who carry out each to failure, you’ll carry out considerably extra reps utilizing the 1/0/1/0 tempo.
Notice the phrase failure used simply now. This appears to be the important thing in coaching; as long as you practice to failure and carry out reps with management, the precise velocity will not play a lot of a job.
Time Underneath Pressure Is Simply One other Coaching Variable
Individuals who obsess over time beneath stress behave as if it’s the solely variable that impacts muscle development. It is not. Muscle hypertrophy is a way more sophisticated course of and depends on quite a few physiological processes that may be affected by quite a few variables.
The one time that growing time beneath stress would possible be the deciding variable is when all different variables are equal.
For instance, let’s faux an individual carried out bicep barbell curls utilizing a 3 X 8 rep scheme with 70% 1RM and a quick tempo of 1/0/1/0. Then, one other individual carried out bicep curls with 70% 1RM however used a sluggish tempo of 5/0/5/0. On this scenario, the slower tempo would possible see extra important development. Possibly.
Nonetheless, you could possibly use extra weight or carry out extra reps with a quicker rep velocity. This could possible even issues out.
Making use of Time Underneath Pressure To Your Coaching
Whereas time beneath stress is important to making use of mechanical stress to the muscle, the proof to help the overall advice of merely growing TUT is flimsy. Nonetheless, there’s one piece of recommendation which you could apply to your coaching to maximise variations.
Fast Concentric, Sluggish Eccentric.
As we now have alluded to above, whereas randomly growing TUT appears fruitless, some research counsel that utilizing tempo coaching to change the velocity of the concentric and eccentric could enhance variations.
In 2021, a big overview examined all accessible analysis on tempo velocity and variations.⁵ Here is what they discovered:
“The outcomes of research point out that neither remoted sluggish nor remoted quick motion tempos are roughly efficient for muscle hypertrophy, however evidently essentially the most favorable is a mix of slower motion within the eccentric section with a quicker motion in the course of the concentric section.”
Notice that even right here, researchers nonetheless provide the overall suggestions of “quick” for concentric contractions and “sluggish” for eccentric contractions. Why? Probably due to all of the variables we spoke about above that additionally play a job in muscle development. Nonetheless, we do have some information to supply some tips.
When performing the concentric, as an alternative of making an attempt to make use of a selected time, you need to be extra involved together with your depth; carry out the concentric with maximal or close to maximal effort. Once more, the concept is to demand extra energy, which would require extra muscle activation.
When it comes to the eccentric contraction, a sluggish and managed three seconds is probably going an excellent beginning quantity.
Backside Line For Time Underneath Pressure
But once more, we discover one other coaching methodology that has been elevated to a better degree and made extra vital than it’s. To be clear, time beneath stress is essential, as this makes our muscle groups develop. Nonetheless, constructing your whole routine round it’s possible a waste of effort.
In actuality, it is merely one variable that may have an effect on muscle development and certain would not want a lot thought in its manipulation. In case you are utilizing an applicable load and are coaching to close failure, the time beneath stress will deal with itself. Regarding a selected tempo, evidently a normal advice of a “sluggish eccentric, quick concentric” is about as sophisticated because it must get.
Study extra coaching strategies with our put up Excessive Reps vs Low Reps: Which Is Higher?
References
Burd, Nicholas A., et al. “Muscle Time beneath Pressure throughout Resistance Train Stimulates Differential Muscle Protein Sub-Fractional Artificial Responses in Males.” The Journal of Physiology, vol. 590, no. 2, 15 Jan. 2012, pp. 351–362,
Schuenke, Mark D., et al. “Early-Section Muscular Diversifications in Response to Sluggish-Velocity versus Conventional Resistance-Coaching Regimens.” European Journal of Utilized Physiology, vol. 112, no. 10, 12 Feb. 2012, pp. 3585–3595,
Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. “Impact of Repetition Length throughout Resistance Coaching on Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Evaluation and Meta-Evaluation.” Sports activities Drugs, vol. 45, no. 4, 20 Jan. 2015, pp. 577–585,
Nogueira, W., et al. “Results of Energy Coaching on Muscle Thickness of Older Males.” Worldwide Journal of Sports activities Drugs, vol. 30, no. 03, 6 Feb. 2009, pp. 200–204,
Wilk, Michal, et al. “The Affect of Motion Tempo throughout Resistance Coaching on Muscular Energy and Hypertrophy Responses: A Evaluation.” Sports activities Drugs (Auckland, N.Z.), vol. 51, no. 8, 27 Might 2021, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34043184/,