Does time under tension actually work?

Hi Dan,

Time Under Tension has been an aspect of weight lifting that has been discussed for decades, long before it was actually given this specific name. It is a way of measuring how long the muscle is actually working. So if you do a bench press and you press the weight up for 1 second and then it takes 2 seconds to return the weight towards your chest (that's 3 seconds) and if you did 10 reps, that would be 30 seconds TUT (time under tension). If you controlled the weight on the way down so that you lowered it more slowly, it would increase the duration (TUT) of each rep and therefore the duration (TUT) of the set.

Theoretically and logically, if you increased the lowering (eccentric, muscle-lengthening) part of the movement to 3 seconds, then that's 10 extra seconds under tension per set and that will likely lead to more muscle damage and stricter form which will necessitate the use of more muscle fibres during the lift.

Time under tension should be a consideration for every training regime and focusing on the lift and controlling the weight can only be a good thing, however, I very much doubt that making reps and sets unnecessarily long is a major determinant of muscle and strength gains.

The reason I'm fairly confident of this is because while most bodybuilders give some consideration to controlling the weight in the eccentric phase of weight lifting, most don't actually set a specific time or actually "count" during the eccentric phase of lifting. This includes Ronnie Coleman (probably the best Mr Olympia ever) and Dorian Yates. Ronnie lifts quickly and lowers the weight at about the same pace as he lifts it. Dorian is careful to pause the weight at the top of the movement and to control it with good form but doesn't actually do super-slow eccentric movements.

Although changing your rep speed is probably a good idea from time to time, along with several other potential interventions that will alter the stress on your muscles, I wouldn't make TUT the cornerstone of your lifting ethos.

Thank you mate, I will look into maybe incorporating it, but not all the time!