is rep tempo important?

[Kyle2011]

I have been working out for about 6 months and never really paid attention to the speed of my reps. i was wondering how important it is to follow a tempo through your sets. I'm probably gonna start a 202 rep tempo but was wondering if its even necessary. i tried a couple practice reps after my workout today and it seemed that because im more focusd on the timing that my reps are not performed as well. so give me your opinions on this cuz if it is something that i need to incorporate in my workouts i want to start making it a habbit soon.
btw when im working out im not bouncing the bar off my chest or anything but the 202 tempo is definatly slower than the pace im going at now.

[Sfinatic15]

Originally Posted by Kyle2011

I have been working out for about 6 months and never really paid attention to the speed of my reps. i was wondering how important it is to follow a tempo through your sets. I'm probably gonna start a 202 rep tempo but was wondering if its even necessary. i tried a couple practice reps after my workout today and it seemed that because im more focusd on the timing that my reps are not performed as well. so give me your opinions on this cuz if it is something that i need to incorporate in my workouts i want to start making it a habbit soon.
btw when im working out im not bouncing the bar off my chest or anything but the 202 tempo is definatly slower than the pace im going at now.

depends on your goals. if you want size, lift very slow. if you want strength, lift fast. remember though that techniques is important so dont lift faster if you cant keep good technique. Also, if you want to gain, eat more.

[Joelift]

Originally Posted by Kyle2011

I have been working out for about 6 months and never really paid attention to the speed of my reps. i was wondering how important it is to follow a tempo through your sets. I'm probably gonna start a 202 rep tempo but was wondering if its even necessary. i tried a couple practice reps after my workout today and it seemed that because im more focusd on the timing that my reps are not performed as well. so give me your opinions on this cuz if it is something that i need to incorporate in my workouts i want to start making it a habbit soon.
btw when im working out im not bouncing the bar off my chest or anything but the 202 tempo is definatly slower than the pace im going at now.

It is important. It's personal preference and depends on your goals, but rep tempo is something that you should pay attention to.

A good rule of thumb (at least I think it is) that I follow is that you should always be in control of the weight. That means that you should be able to, at any point during your negative, stop the weight. I see too many people in the gym who essentially are dropping their weights during the negative. They have no control and in my mind that means that there muscles are no longer working.

[zephed56]

I just bang 'em out as hard and fast as I can.

Oh, and I also do my reps as fast and hard as possible while maintaining good form.

Anyways, bad jokes aside, I think there are better ways to put more emphasis on size gains than deliberately slowing down rep speed. Do more reps per set or more volume and you will have achieved the same TUT while also keeping power output higher.

[Opies]

Speed doesn't matter. What matters is being in control. When you don't resist the eccentric, you are cheating yourself. When you bounce at the 'bottom' of a rep, you are cheating yourself. Stay in control of the weight, and bang out the reps as fast or as slow as need be. Personally, I bang my reps out pretty quickly, but I'm not afraid to take a 5 second breather mid set either.