Tempo

I was reading an article about tempo while weight or strength training. Essentially the point the author was trying to get across , "tempo is important to increase your strength and ensure you focus on your muscle groups." This part of strength exercising is overlooked by the majority of people in the gym. Everyone knows to lift with control but what about tempo.

An example of tempo while doing a pushup could be a 4120 tempo.

(Tempo should be counted, one one-thousand, two one-thousand, etc.)

Lower yourself 4 seconds; pause 1 second at the bottom; take 2 seconds to raise yourself with no pause at the top. Continue until you cannot maintain the tempo count then rest and start another set.

This method takes the momentum and bounce out of the exercise and it forces the muscles to truly do the work.

We can carry over the concept of Tempo when we run. Our strides and breathing should fall in a close pattern to maintain a long endurance run.

Tempo is in our techniques.

Stop and analyze how you would execute a combination of punches and kicks. Is it a ... 1, 1-2 or a 1-2-3? What feels right for your body, what is the softening technique, are you using momentum for the next strike, is there abrupt change in direction or orbital motion, etc.

When doing our forms, Tempo is important for both grouping techniques in a logical sense but also for keeping our breathing in check. If your running out of gas while completing a long form, check your Tempo, check when you are inhaling and exhaling.

Its food for thought, I have been working out differently and its made me look at all of the curriculum with a new sense of application.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada