The term ‘time under tension’ (TUT) refers to the amount of time which a muscle is held under tension or strain throughout an exercise set. Through TUT workouts, you lengthen each phase of the movement in order to make your sets longer.
The idea is that this compels your muscles to work harder and optimises muscular strength, endurance as well as growth.
Exercises which use the TUT method encompass weightlifting as well as bodyweight training. In TUT workouts, you hold up the movements of each repetition and devote more time to the difficult phase of the exercise. By slowing up the movement, the muscle is kept under tension for a longer period, which may yield better results.
What Are The Benefits Of TUT?
Focusing on TUT allows the body’s proprioceptive reactions to withstand a challenge in cohesion with the weight or resistance being utilised. So, rather than focusing on simply your ability to lift the weight itself, you are able to slow down a movement and challenge yourself even more during each stage of that movement.
Finally with TUT, you get more out of each rep. This can be super beneficial if, say, your heaviest 10-pound dumbbells are starting to feel a little light and – as a result – you’re looking for a new challenge to gain strength.
There are several distinct reasons why TUT training might be merit your time — whether you’re a beginner or an experienced athlete. As compared to other types of resistance training, TUT compels muscles to work harder. In turn, this type of training improves endurance, strength, muscle tone, all while preventing said muscles from adapting to regular resistance training and plateauing.
Unlike dreaded large muscle tears – such as injuring an ACL – TUT training may cause small micro-tears within the muscle which cause the body to focus nutrients on the muscles to repair them, leading to growth and boosted metabolic response.
Incorporating TUT Into Your Workout
In order to incorporate TUT technique into your exercise programme, slow it down. Doing movements at a slower tempo will encourage your muscles to promote growth. You may need to utilise a lighter weight as the increased time will be more difficult to sustain.
To make use of the tempo method, slow down the eccentric stage of each repetition. Extend each eccentric phase by between two and six seconds. Alternatively, you can make the eccentric phase twice the length of the concentric phase.
Including the TUT method into an exercise you’re by now used to doing will make it more challenging as well as provide better results, just like when you win at a Nigerian casino. Utilise smooth, even as well as controlled movements. Select a tempo for the lifting, lowering, and pause phases. Stick to it. Move through the whole movement rather than stopping short.
TUT can be more challenging as it’s more difficult to stay in a pose for a long time or move your body deliberately than it is to rush all through movements. You’re more likely to perform the movements quickly when the weight is too heavy or you’re feeling rather tired.