A huge misconception of slow exercise is that it’s easy and that there’s no way you could possibly break a sweat if you’re not doing 100 burpees. The great news is that when forcing yourself to hold certain positions, you instinctively become aware of all the muscles working and your breath – and that, is time under tension (TUT).
The training style, which revolves around slow, controlled movements is one of the most effective ways of increasing hypertrophy, the technical term for upping strength and building muscle. The idea is that by lengthening each phase of the movements in an exercise (to make your sets longer), you are forcing your muscles to work harder and optimising muscular strength, endurance, and growth.
The best part of TUT is that you can practice it anywhere and everywhere, with or without weights. It’s also super-common in Pilates-inspired classes that use static or isometric holds (think reformer pilates).
Here, everything you need to know about time under tension – and how to do it during your workouts.
What is time under tension?
Time under tension (TUT) is a weightlifting term that refers to the total amount of time a muscle or muscle group is under activation during a set.
“Time under tension refers to the total time your body is under strain during a workout, whether it is lifting or lowering phase of an exercise. In calisthenics-style workouts, you can benefit from controlled movement to increase muscle engagement with exercise such as pull-ups and push-ups,” co-founder of fitness space Volonte Haylene Ryan Causer tells Women’s Health. “With TUT in hypertrophy-style training, such as bodybuilding, controlling the speed of the repetitions can contribute to muscle growth by creating more mechanical stress on the muscles.”
You can increase time under tension by increasing the time you’re performing an exercise for,
increasing the number of reps and sets you’re doing, or with tempo training i.e. slowing down your reps on the lowering phase.
The optimal duration for time under tension varies depending on your fitness goals, but generally a TUT of 20-70 seconds per set is recommended.
What are the benefits?
Incorporating the TUT technique to your workouts can help you get more our of your workouts in quite a few ways. Some of the key benefits include:
1. Muscle gains: A study in The Journal of Physiology found that increased time a muscle spends under tension produces greater increases in rates of muscle protein production i.e. the process of building muscle mass.
2. Strength: According to The Science of Health, working out at the gym creates microtears (essentially tiny injuries) in your muscle fibres. During recovery, blood and nutrition heal the muscle, encouraging them to repair to form stronger and increased muscle mass
3. Endurance: A study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine shows that resistance training using high reps, and therefore high TUT, increases muscular endurance.
4. Mind-muscle connection: Slowing down your reps and increasing your time under tension is an effective way of improving your MMC as it allows you to concentrate on the muscles you’re working.
What are the drawbacks?
While there are some great benefits, TUT might not be the best choice for everyone. For starers, these exercises can definitely be time consuming and aren’t really designed for a quick lunchtime sweat. They also can create and soreness if you’re just starting off.
Another drawback is that if not done properly, injury is possible: proper form is crucial, so it’s always super beneficial to work with a trainer if you’re not 100% confident. It’s always a safe bet to have an objective third party monitor your form and offer technique guidance no matter where you’re at in your fitness journey.
How to do time under tension workouts properly
While the method depends on the workout you have chosen, there are a few steps you can take to ensure you are going down the right path:
1. Slow down. If, for example, you may be used to doing 10 squats in 30 seconds, try slowing that down by using a count: three seconds down, one second hold at the bottom, three seconds up.
2. Be safe. Be sure to use proper form and alignment through the phase of your exercise. The tension’s slower pace can allow for muscle fibres to trigger a response that isn’t felt when speeding through a movement.
3. Start with lower weight. Increase the weight as your endurance improves.
4. Don’t forget about recovery. Rest at least one minute between sets to ensure that you don’t injure yourself from overuse, and make sure you have a good stretch before and after your workout. You can also try alternating between other methods of training to allow your muscles time to recover.
5 classic moves using TUT
For these exercises, TUT is achieved is through timing your sets (e.g. time under tension is 40 seconds), rather than the speed of the movement, but you can slow down your reps so they last longer on the eccentric – lowering – portion to increase your TUT, too.
1.Bodyweight squats
Time under tension: 40 seconds
Lower for three seconds, pause briefly at the bottom, then rise for a second.
2. Push ups
Time under tension: 50 seconds
Lower for four seconds, maintain a controlled bottom position, then push up explosively in one second.
3. (Forearm) planks
Time under tension: 60 seconds
Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Get onto your elbows and stack them directly under your shoulders. Step your feet back, one at a time. For more stability, bring your feet wider than hip-distance apart, and bring them closer for more of a challenge.
Maintain a straight line from heels through the top of your head, looking down at the floor. Tighten your abs, quads, and glutes, and hold.
4. Glute bridges
Time under tension: 55 seconds
Lie on your back on a mat, with your knees bent, and your feet flat on the floor hip-width apart.
On an exhale, squeeze your glutes and push your heels into the floor to lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Pause for a moment at the top before slowly lowering back down (first shoulders, then lower back, then bum) to the mat. That’s one rep.
5. Mountain climbers
Time under tension: 50 seconds
To start with, get down into a high plank, keeping your back straight and your head in line with your spine. Your hands should be directly beneath your shoulders, your arms fully extended and your fingers facing forward, slightly spread apart.
From this position, you’ll be working your upper and lower abs. Now pump your knees toward your chest one at a time, trying not to rock your torso from side to side. Breathe through it.
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