Time Under Tension  (T.U.T.)

We all know it's the QUALITY of the rep, the exercise, the set, the work out that TRULY counts...RIGHT?!!!  Well, lets take "Super Slow" training to a whole new and FAR more effective level of training.  Personally, I think the "Super Slow" training program is a waste of time.  Question, "What do you do in life that is done in slow motion?"  Hmm, doesn't take you to long to come to the realization that there is NOTHING that we do in everyday life in slow motion.  Granted, you might hear, "mmhhhmmm, slow down, oooo, slower" BUT that is a completely different type of training that we WONT be getting into here.  Sorry if some of you find my sense of humor disturbing or even insulting but oh well, deal with it, we are all adults and have all been there, done that.

Time under tension or T.U.T. for short is a very humbling and extremely tough way to train the body and mind.  Believe me, you will be humbled when you come to the realization that you have to cut your normal weights used by half if not more.  High concentration and extreme control is required to utilize the T.U.T. training properly.  If you go into this half assed and not prepared you will fail to achieve the level of training necessary to make this as effective as it should be.  Do your BEST to NOT waste your time in the gym because every minute you train is EXTREMELY precious and you can't get it back so why only train 90 percent of your potential...unless you are doing what is referred to as "active recovery."  ("Active Recovery" is when you train but at only about 60 percent of what you would normally train, perhaps at an even lower intensity)

Take a look at how most people train the next time you are in the gym.  See how they all start and stop at one point in the exercise?  Also, notice that there is an evident mid point in the exercise which means you have three points of reference.  Imagine adding in two, three, four even seven stop/start points within your exercise.  Plus, think about pausing at each of those start/stop positions for a count of anywhere from two to eight seconds each.  Ok, now that you are thinking about that also consider NOT allowing your exercise out of the "T.U.T." area.  The time under tension is a true eye opener when you consider that most movements are over within 3 to 4 seconds, some even faster than that.  Now imagine taking the T.U.T. up to 12 seconds plus with lets say 4 stop/start positions.  So, imagine doing a curl with the curl bar with twenty five's on it.  Curl it up almost all the way but stop just before the tension is relieved off the biceps.  Once here, pause for three seconds, lower about three inches, pause three seconds, lower another three inches, pause three seconds so on until you almost reach the bottom but stop short of the tension being relieved from the biceps.  Once at the bottom of the movement reverse the process until you return to the top of the movement.  Perhaps after doing three reps in this manner you then pump out ten normal full reps with the same weight if possible.  Or, start out with doing ten reps before utilizing the T.U.T. technique.  In essence you are NOT doing a full routine of T.U.T. training.  I personally don't believe that that is all that beneficial without doing a quicker paced set or addition to the set of T.U.T.  How this might look on paper or in your head as you do the exercise:

Biceps Curl w/fixed weight contour bar:

Examples:

#1:    Weight:    70 lbs   T.U.T. Reps:    2 w/5 stop/start positions...w/3 second pause...reverse process...after those two reps are complete pump out 6 to 10 more full reps with a good stretch at the bottom while maintaining the tension at the top of the movement.  Use a very controlled tempo of two seconds up and two seconds down.

Total reps:           12 if you did the optimum amount
Total T.U.T.:       A WHOPPING 2 MINUTES 30 SECONDS!!!

OR

#2:    Weight:    60 lbs    T.U.T. Reps:    4 w/3 stop/start positions...w/5 second pause...reverse process...after those four reps are complete pump out 6 full reps at a pace of 3-1-5...three seconds up, pause one, down five seconds w/full extension at the bottom and continous tension at the top so no rest and/or release of the tension at the top of the movement or mid point.
Lets take a closer look at what was just completed in this exercise.

Total reps:           10 if you did the optimum amount
Total T.U.T.:       A WHOPPING 2 MINUTES 54 SECONDS!!!

OR

#3:    Weight:    60 lbs    T.U.T. Reps:    5   start from the mid point not from the bottom...lower three inches, pause 4, lower three inches, pause 4, curl back to start position, 5 stop/start position...w/4 second pause, curl back up to the start position or you could reverse the process and do 5 start/stop positions back up to the top of the movement.

Total reps:           05 if you did the optimum amount
Total T.U.T.:       A WHOPPING 4 MINUTES!!!  NOW that is some SICK TRAINING!!!!!  :)

Compare that to a conventional set/reps:

Total Reps:          12
Total T.U.T.:        maybe 60 seconds if the person is utilizing a very strict and controlled form but we all know very few utilize    a tempo of 2-1-2.  Also, most people do not keep the tension on the muscle throughout the entire movement so they may get a rest at the top of the movement and the bottom.  HUGE difference between the T.U.T. training and what passes as the 'normal' way of training.  Also, this is far superior to just doing "Super Slow" training which is extremely limited.  If you can't tell I don't like "Super Slow" and would rather not have this type of training put in the same catagory.

It's extremely easy to see which exercise is going to be more effective in challenging the muscles worked.  Also, we can all see which style will require a much greater level of mental focus on achieving the end goal.

Questions is;  "Is four minutes under tension to long?"  Also, finding the weight that one can use in order to hit a certain number of reps without burning the muscle out prematurely.  Everyone is different so perhaps some people respond incredibly well to lets say two minutes under tension while others may have to go to the extreme of four minutes plus.  Another thing you have to consider is the 'conventional training' that you incorporate into your program as well.  It may take a considerable amount of expirementing before you truly find what works best for you.

What if you took a very heavy weight on the bench press and pumped out as many reps as possible in two sets before you implement the T.U.T. technique?  Will that change the affect on the muscles and just how intense it will be?  YOU BET YOUR ASS IT WILL!!!  As you will soon see from the routine I completed this morning in which I trained my chest and triceps.  In doing it this way you trick your muscles into being set in the conventional training style/technique and then BLASTING them or SHOCKING them with the devastating T.U.T. technique!!!  You can continue to play this game on the muscles throughout the routine and get one heck of a training session in...perhaps even better than you have ever been able to achieve in the past.  This type of change up within your training program can be extremely effective in achieving greater levels of strength along with building an incredible Temple in which you live.  Yep, YOUR body is a Temple and should always be viewed as such.  My body is a Temple and the gym is my church...I shall always stand on a SOLID foundation.  Just my view of  body and training which has served my level of health quite well for the past 20 years.

Ok, lets take a look at the chest routine I completed this morning in which I incorporated the T.U.T. training technique.

Flat Barbell Bench Press:  (normal)
Set #1:        Weight:    225 lbs        Reps:    20        Rest:    60 seconds
Set #2:        Weight:    225 lbs        Reps:    12        Rest:    70 seconds

Flat Barbell Bench Press:  (T.U.T.)
Set #3:        Weight:    175 lbs        Reps:    03    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    70 seconds
Set #4:        Weight:    175 lbs        Reps:    03    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    50 seconds

Flat Barbell Bench Press:  (T.U.T.)
Set #5:        Weight:    135 lbs        Reps:    03    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    70 seconds
Set #6:        Weight:    135 lbs        Reps:    03    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    50 seconds

Incline Dumbbell Press @35 degrees:  (T.U.T.)
Set #1:        Weight:    50 lbs        Reps:    04    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    60 seconds
Set #2:        Weight:    55 lbs        Reps:    04    6 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    70 seconds
Normal Tempo Set:
Set #3:        Weight:    75 lbs        Reps:    12    Rest:    50 seconds

Dips:  (normal)
Set #1:        Weight:    Body (178)        Reps:    36        Rest:    70 seconds

Dips:  (T.U.T.)
Set #2:        Weight:    Body (178)        Reps:    06    5 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds    Rest:    60 seconds
Set #3:        Weight:    Body (178)        Reps:    04    5 stop/start positions down/up, pause 3 seconds    Rest:    60 seconds

Dips:  (normal)
Set #4:        Weight:    Body (178)        Reps:    18        Rest:    40 seconds

Pec Deck:  (T.U.T.)
Set #1:        Weight:    135 lbs        Reps:    06    7 stop/start positions out/in, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    70 seconds
Set #2:        Weight:    150 lbs        Reps:    05    7 stop/start positions out/in, pause 3 seconds        Rest:    70 seconds

Pec Deck:  (normal)
Set #3:        Weight:    165 lbs        Reps:    failure    Rest:    5 minutes

Abs  -  Work Out Complete!!!

As you can see from the work out listed above the total Time Under Tension is immense in comparison to what the muscles may feel while doing a so called "normal training session."  This truly was a test routine just to see how my body would respond to such training with the majority of the focus on utilizing the T.U.T. technique in as many sets as possible.  Would I recommend doing an entire routine of T.U.T. style sets...NO, I believe that a mixture of paces and/or tempo's is key to success and like I previously stated about the Super Slow style of training, I just don't believe it to be all that realistic of a training program when it is utilized for each and every set along with every training session.  CHANGE is good, and the body will respond with getting far more fit, stronger and overall healthier with a grand combination of training techniques. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF!!!

The amount of mental focus required to train in this manner was and is extremely heavy duty!  In order for you to keep the control necessary to get the greatest amount of benefit from this training is the ability of putting all your focus on the control of the muscles and weight it is holding in each stop/start positions down and up or in and out.  Believe me, this training will mess with your head as you get into it.  I mean just think, instead of having a start point, mid point and a finish point you now have anywhere from 6 to 21 start/stop positions!!!  Not only that...you have to hold that weight for a minimum of three seconds in each position with great control.  Combining this technique with your normal training will only benefit you...I foresee no down side to utilizing this style of training.  Unless you consider a serious blow to your ego because of having to lower the weights you use by as much as 60 percent or more a negative.

Another technique you could add into your program is taking the weight and doing the following rep scheme with it:

For example you could prefatigue your muscles before you even start utilizing the T.U.T. technique.  So you could hit three or four sets on the pec deck before you go to the bench press or dips on a chest routine.  Make sure you really burn the muscles before moving on to the next exercise if you are going to be doing a little fatigue work prior to the main portion of the training.  What you could also do within your routine is try a set or two of "Explosive" or "Accelerated" reps.  Meaning, you could move the weight as quickly as possible, with control of course, such as doing jump squats which require you to accelerate as you come up in order to leave the floor by a few inches.  You can change that up by lowering a very controlled manner, say 12 seconds down, then accelerating back up in one second.