Time under tension ( AKA: TUT) is by definition : Time under tension is the total amount of time a muscle or muscle group is activated during a set. Increasing time under tension can be a way to promote muscle growth.
During TUT workouts, you lengthen each phase of the movement to make your sets longer. The idea is that this forces your muscles to work harder and optimizes muscular strength, endurance, and growth.
Let me explain this first. You build larger muscles through a process called hypertrophy. Muscles are not like rubber bands. They do not stretch when you put them under stress, they tear. Example: You kill a leg workout in the gym, most likely you made thousands of micro tears in your quads, hamstrings, etc. These tears are normal. It's actually great. For a muscle to grow in size or strength, we have to break it down. We have to stress it, put it to WORK!!
How do you apply time under tension and what will it do for me? That's what we all wanna know, right? I'll explain how to properly utilize time under tension sets and why you don't want to skip out on these.
Concentric vs Eccentric
Quick lesson to make sure we're all on the same page. Let's say your standing with a kettlebell in the upright position ( image below ). When you squat down to the bottom of a squat position, this is called the eccentric phase. When you stand to an upright position , that's called the concentric (upward) phase.
Time Under Tension is significantly better at causing mirco tears in the muscle.
The more stress you put on a muscle, the more damage it will do. The more damage we can do to a muscle will result in more growth. Stress + Recover + Nutrition = Gains
"A 2011 study published in The Journal of Physiology(opens in new tab) found that leg extension exercises completed at a slow tempo (a six second eccentric and concentric phase) and done until fatigue produced a greater increase in muscle protein synthesis than the same movement performed rapidly. Yet a 2015 study published in the Sports Medicine(opens in new tab) journal contradicts this, concluding that observed muscle hypertrophy was similar in a study group when training with various reps that lasted anywhere from 0.5 seconds to eight seconds.
How Long Should Time Under Tension Be?
A typical set of 10 reps for an average lifter will take anywhere from 15-25 seconds depending on lifting speed.
Time your sets so they last between 30 and 40 seconds for optimum muscle growth. This length of time ensures your muscles are receiving enough of a stimulus to spur changes in size. Total length of time is important.
Spend More Time on the Eccentric Portion of the Movement.
During eccentric training, there are higher amounts of micro-tears that occur. Again, the more micro tears, the more muscle damage, thus a greater potential for muscle size and strength growth. A good rule of thumb to follow for applying time under tension to a muscle is : 2 seconds concentric (upward movement); 2 second isometric hold (squeeze primary muscle used at the top of the movement); and 4-6 seconds on the eccentric ( downward movement)
Full article. Good read. Using Eccentric Training to Increase Muscle Mass | ISSA (issaonline.com)
Eccentric Training Equals Growth
Eccentric training can generate up to two-thirds more tension in the muscle than concentric training. Why is that good??? Increased tension provides a greater stimulus to the muscle fibers which, in turn, means greater strength and muscle growth.
Don't forget Intensity
Time under tension and eccentric training are great tools to add to your bag. Both can contribute to progressive overload and gains in the gym. Focus on these, master the timing and mechanics. Just DON'T FORGET INTENSITY. Regardless of how you are applying progressive overload to make progress, We all have to PUT IN THE WORK.
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