It all depends on what your goals are. If you are looking to build strength then a fast tempo is better. If you want to build muscle or hypertrophy. The most two most common bench press speeds are slow vs fast.
If you are looking to build more muscle hypertrophy, then a slow tempo is better. This will cause your muscles to spend more time under tension. This means a slow tempo on both concentric and eccentric movements on the bench press exercise. By lifting with a faster tempo you are able to lift more weight. Typically this is the technique used for powerlifters. By bringing the bar down on the eccentric part of the lift and explode on the way back up is better for lifting more weight. The optimal time during a lift is between 2-6 seconds.
I’m going to clear this up by breaking down some studies between bench pressing speeds. There is a lot of confusion out there with one camp saying “Oh yeah you definitely want to explode and don’t waste time under tension.” The other camp says time under tension and slow and controlled is how you should train.”
The ideal Tempo for Muscle Hypertrophy on the Bench press
Schoenfeld did research on “Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.”
With repetition duration being overlooked quite a bit when it comes to how do we train efficiently or quiet all of the random information online. Some of the biggest keys for increasing muscle hypertrophy during barbell training.
Top variables for Muscle Hypertrophy
- Volume
- Frequency
- Load/Intensity
- Type of Exercise
- Rest period/Tempo
Although training tempo isn’t number 1 on the list, it should not be overlooked. The tempo is the time it takes you to lift on the way down from bench press is the eccentric.
| Tip: Always control the way through the eccentric part of the lift. It’s a common mistake to just let the weight fall. By controlling on the way down is going to prevent injury and increase strength. |
The concentric part on the bench press is on the way back up. During the Schoenfeld research, they looked to see tempo or time under tension and how much hypertrophy was caused by resistance training.
Results indicate that hypertrophic outcomes are similar when training with repetition durations ranging from 0.5 to 8 s. This, of course, total time, example on bench press would look like 4 seconds down and 4 seconds back up max per repetition.
Research has shown that anything past ten seconds per repetition had a much inferior effect on hypertrophy. With that being said there is not a lot of research on this topic.
| The results from the study showed that hypertrophy results were similar while training with tempo speeds ranging from 0.5 to 8 seconds. |
What speed is best to Bench Press
What is the best speed to bench press? I’ve always been told that slow and smooth controlled movements work best. And that lifting fast was irradiac and not optimal training. You are also going to injure yourself if you use a fast bench press technique.
When doing barbell exercises we are trying to typically achieve two goals for most, muscular strength and hypertrophy.
There are some important factors while training that should be taken into account. Things such as volume, load, frequency, rest periods, and exercise selection are some of the most important variables when strength training.
One of the key variables that is not talked about as much as how fast or slow should you bench press? Strength training tempo or speed is important for things like time under tension, getting stronger, hypertrophy, and the response of hormones.
By manipulating the speed of training you can play a big role increase in strength and hypertrophy during barbell training.
Another benefit of training at a slower speed is more time under tension. This is huge when it comes to increasing strength or hypertrophy.
| A slow tempo is the rate of speed during your eccentric and concentric movements during your bench press. This also helps create more strength and hypertrophy for building muscle. |
How using a Fast Tempo helps with Bench Press
When doing resistance training and doing higher reps the speed or tempo at which you lift will begin to affect the outcomes. For example if you look at th einytensity at which you lift and and how many reps you do will all be affected by the speed at which you are lifting.
The faster you lift the higher the more weight you will be able to lift. Let’s look at a study where they used EMG electromyography to research the speed and intensities during a bench press.
This research involved a group of 13 men with experience in weight training. Therecaverage age was 21 years old and the goal was to workout by using the bench press and lift until fatigue set in under 5 types of intensity at 40-80% of their 1 RM.
They also used 4 different paces of speed, with a 5.6 reps speed slow, 2.8 rep speed medium, 1.9 rep speed, and a ballistic max speed. The muscle groups used to check the results for the EMG electromyography were the pecs, deltoids, and triceps.
The results from the EMG showed an increase in for faster and heavier lifts before fatigue set in. So we know from this it looks like bench pressing faster seems better for the amount of weight you can lift.
However, if you are using a fast bench press, it also showed quite a drop in the pushing (concentric) when compared to a slow bench press technique.
EMG showed that after fatigue set in that the effect of intensity either reamianed the same or was gone. SAnd this was all dependent on the muscle groups.
The median freuencies before fatigue set in were pretty compareable when looking the speed and intensity durinfgg the lift. The ligher intensities had the biggest frequency. All other speeds were very similar in frequency.
The final conclusion from the research showed that lifting faster on the way up from the bench press (concentric) produced a better muscle pump. The fatigue levels were all pretty comparable with speeds but the slower the bench press motion the greater the fatigue.
| You can lift more weight when increasing your speed on the concentric part of the lift while doing low reps. |
Fast Tempo helps Strength
Lifting speed or tempo has always been a bit bro of bro-science involved. Let’s take a look at a study looking at the tempo for 1 RM and the hormonal responses to it.
This was a 2 part study, the first part was done so we can see the different speed of doing a 1 RM and how tempo effects bench pressing. The second part of the study looked at the hormone response to tempo.
This study’s final conclusion was that you can lift heavier and more total work can be done by using a faster tempo while lifting. This goes to show that a slower tempo is probably not best when trying to lift more weight.
However, there were similiar hormone responses between the slow and fast bench press.
| It’s possible to get the same type of metabolic response from training by using different lifting speeds, but less weight at a slower tempo is needed. |
Benefits of Lifting Slow
Now we know that by using more of quick explosive movements helps more with strength let’s look at a slow tempo. Using a slow tempo will cause more time under tension which will help with hypertrophy.
This is why if your goal is based more around building muscle size verses strength this type of training is better. Muscle adaptations are forced because of time under tension.
While your training volume is king your tempo is greatly overlooked. By lifting with a slow tempo on the concentric and eccentric parts of the bench press we’re forcing time under tension.
The more time under tension the more we are forcing our muscles to grow. The tempo is also great if you are doing bodyweight exercises. If bodyweight exercises get too easy you can slow the speed down for a grueling and terrifying workout.
I used to think bodyweight exercises were easy until you add slowing down the tempo of your movements. Some research has shown that just by slowing down your tempo can also have a positive effect on your hormones. Of course, just by training will do this but controlling your tempo may increasing hormones.
| Lifting with a slow tempo is better for a time under tension and muscle hypertrophy. |
Final thoughts
There are benefits for both speeds. Trying to stay within a 2-6 second window while lifting is your best bet. Another good tip is to control the weight on the way back down instead of just letting it fall will help with increased muscle and strength. Your tempo on bench press whether it be fast or slow greatly affects your goals. Research has shown that just by increasing your speed during a bench press it will help you lift more weight. Whereas lifting slowly on the concentric and eccentric part of the lifts puts your muscles under more time under tension. Lifting slowly is better if you are looking to increase muscle size versus strength.