Just like the beats of reggae versus merengue, your weight-training rhythms—a.k.a. the tempos at which you perform your reps—don't affect your body the same way. Look around the weight room and you'll see folks doing everything from long drawn-out movements to Energizer bunny-style repetitions. So who's got the right idea? As with many fitness questions, it's not so hard and fast. We talked to two trainers with different takes to get the lowdown on slow and quick strength-training speeds:
Should You Slow It Down?
The trainer: Ellington Darden, Ph.D., weightlifting guru and author of The Body Fat Breakthrough
The argument: It's great for building strength, and safer for beginners.
Generally speaking, most of those aforementioned workout-ers should take it down a notch, says Darden. "Yes, you can train too fast," he says. "The problem with speeding up the tempo is that doing so can increase the forces and cause injury to the muscles and joints, especially if it's done sloppily."
His method, though, doesn't call for simply plodding your way through your workout. Rather, the focus is on when to slow down. "Research has shown that you are 40 percent stronger in the negative phase of a lift," says Darden. "In other words, you can lower 40 percent more resistance than you can lift." Therefore, the lowering [or releasing] phase is an excellent place to overload the muscles—and, in doing so, make them stronger—by moving them more slowly. "You want to lift the resistance smoothly to the top position in two seconds, then lower it slowly to the bottom in four seconds," says Darden. "Repeat for eight to 12 repetitions; a set of 10 repetitions takes about 60 seconds."
MORE: 4 Big Weight-Lifting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them!)
Should You Kick It Up?
The trainer: Jen Sinkler, creator of the program Lift Weights Faster
The argument: It boosts power and burns more calories.
So, does faster weight training have a place in a workout routine? Absolutely, once you have the base athleticism to do so safely, says Sinkler. In fact, recent studies comparing the two tempos have come out in favor of the need for speed in weight training. For one, it's more metabolically demanding to move heavy weight quickly—meaning it burns more calories. And in one study of people who trained with kettlebells (fast-paced by nature), the participants showed significant aerobic gains in addition to boosts in strength and balance. In fact, in a 2014 study, participants who trained fast with the bench press improved by greater amounts in all variables measured, including strength, as compared to the slow trainers (who, it's worth noting, weren't using Darden's method of just going slower in the negative phase, and who also gained strength, just not as much).
"I prefer a quicker tempo because you learn to both produce and absorb force readily," says Sinkler. "This is important whether you're an athlete or you just want to be able to react quickly and right yourself if you trip on a curb or slip on the ice."
MORE: 4 Myths About Strength-Training—Busted!
There are a few caveats on moving fast, though. One important thing to remember is that doing lots of reps of a light weight quickly will not have the same benefits as the ones discussed here. You still have to lift heavy—you just want to do it dynamically and with control. Go too fast or with too jerky of a motion and you could injure joints, pull a muscle, or worse. And—it can't be said enough—if you're new to training or coming back from an injury, Sinkler agrees with Darden that a faster push and a slower lowering tempo is the way to go. "That way you can develop maximum power on the way up and maximum control on the way down," she says.
MORE: "How Can I Tell If My Weights Are Heavy Enough?"
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Amy Roberts is a certified personal trainer.
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