Get bigger muscles and greater strength by trying the Time Under Tension routine when lifting weights
It's always a good idea to try new variations of workouts in order to get stronger muscles. One of the ways to do so is to try the time under tension method. Here are four you should try
Trying out fresh workouts is the best way to make sure that your fitness routine stays fresh, and the muscles never get used to the same kind of stimulation. This doesn’t just mean different forms of workout—like HIIT and weight training and cardio or bodyweight—but it also means trying new variations within the broad branches of workout styles.
Which brings us to the most trusted way to grow your muscles: using the time under tension (TUT) method in your workouts. Time under tension means exactly what it says: the amount of time a muscle spends under tension which could be either concentric or eccentric.
So, purposely slow reps, or the slowing down of either phase of a muscle-building exercise qualifies as a TUT method. Isometrics (exercises that involve holding a position for overall strength and balance) are also part of this branch of workouts.
I wrote a detailed article on TUT for Lounge in 2023, titled Get more from your workouts with the ‘Time Under Tension’ method, in which the three most popular ways of using it are mentioned in terms of the seconds your muscles stay under tension. These are the 3:2:3, the 3:1:1, and the 2:1:2 tempos. If you were doing bicep curls, the first number would mean the number of seconds taken to curl the dumbbell, the second is the number of seconds you hold the dumbbell at the top-end of the move, and the last number is the number of seconds it takes to return to the starting position.
Like this, there are other formulas that can make TUT workouts less boring and repetitive.
Seconds of tension per set
Over the years, through research and experience, it seems that the magic number for a set time is 60-70 seconds. So let’s do some easy math. Let’s say you’re following a 3:2:3 tempo, it will take you eight seconds per rep, which makes 10 reps ideal. Now here’s the catch—you might be able to do way more reps in 80 seconds without the tempo, but TUT reps are usually more effective for muscle growth.
“Although no controlled research has been done on the subject, their anecdotal evidence suggests that the best TUT ranges are 4-20 seconds for strength, 40-60 seconds for growth and 70-100 seconds for endurance," states a SimplyShredded.com article titled, Time under tension: the scientifically engineered set-timing technique.
Pulse or partial reps
This is the simplest way to start off with TUT workouts, but it’s not an easy one. Squats are a really good example for this formula. There is no counting of seconds involved so it becomes less tedious. The method is easy: complete a full squat, then do a partial squat, and repeat. The partial squat is done immediately after completing the full squat, but what it does is replace what would be a couple of seconds of resting time with a partial squat that takes less effort but continues to keep the muscles engaged.
Hold at the end of sets and reps
I prefer doing this at the end of a set, which means performing a hold at the toughest part of the exercise immediately after doing the last rep. Let’s say you are doing calf raises, which are usually high-volume sets, and you’ve completed 25 of them. The 25th rep will be held for 10-30 seconds or as long as possible, which then acts as a finisher, testing your muscle group’s resilience in a fatigued state. You can apply this to any exercise.
Drop sets
If you’ve been to a gym for an extended period of time, you’ve heard of a drop set. This also falls under the TUT umbrella of workouts, but it allows the body to reduce the stress gradually on the muscle by reducing the weight with every set.
This is easiest to do on cable machines, so start at a slightly higher weight, and keep a minimum number of reps in mind for every set. Then at the end of every set, without taking any rest, reduce the weight slightly, and then hit the same (or more) number of reps and keep going until you are the minimum amount of weight available to hit.
So would you start a session of pushdowns at 50lbs (about 23kg) and go down to the last place of 5lbs (about 2kg)? Yes. This is a longer than usual time under tension method and is usually saved for a smaller group of muscles at the end of a workout. So don’t do 3-4 sets of this method. Instead, save it for the ones in which you can’t lift a lot of weight.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.
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