Dr. Long Strength And Conditioning Test 2 Practice

Tempo training uses four numbers to control how you move through a lift: eccentric time (lowering), a pause at the bottom, concentric time (lifting), and a pause at the top. A truly controlled descent includes both a defined lowering duration and a pause at the bottom before driving up, which enforces technique and prevents momentum bouncing. The cadence that best shows this is the one with a nonzero bottom pause, meaning you lower for a set time, pause at the bottom, then rise with a set tempo (and you can also have a top pause in some protocols). For example, a pattern like 2 seconds down, a 1-second pause at the bottom, 2 seconds up, and a 1-second pause at the top demonstrates both a deliberate eccentric and a pause. This emphasis on the bottom pause is what makes the movement controlled rather than a quick, momentum-driven lift. Other cadences that skip the bottom pause or have no pause at all don’t reinforce the same level of control.