Most of the readers who book a consultation already have a programme. Their question is rarely "what should I do?" It is "why does it feel like I'm doing the same thing every week?" Nine times out of ten, the answer is a small adjustment to one of three technique dials.
Dial 1 · Tempo
How fast you do each phase of the rep. Slower eccentrics on the same load is a different stimulus.
Dial 2 · Range
How far the joint actually travels. Most readers under-report range; coaches measure it for them.
Dial 3 · RPE read
Your honest sense of effort, on a 1–10 scale. The dial that improves the fastest with practice.
Tempo notation, decoded
Coaches sometimes write tempo as four numbers: 3-1-1-0. The first number is the eccentric (lowering), the second is the pause at the bottom, the third is the concentric (lifting), the fourth is the pause at the top. We tend to publish only two numbers in the editorial: the eccentric and the bottom pause. Those are the two that make the most difference for non-competitive lifters and the easiest to actually count.
Range first, weight later
A movement done in a smaller range than your joint actually allows produces a smaller training effect than the same movement done in a fuller range with less weight. We see this in reader logbooks every quarter — the bench press that "stalled" was a half-range bench press all along. Reducing the load by 15 percent and finishing the rep is, almost universally, an upgrade.
A short audit you can run before tomorrow's session
- Film one set of your hardest movement from the side. Watch it once with the sound off.
- Count seconds on your eccentric. If it is under one second, try three on the next set.
- Mark the depth the joint reaches. If the last rep travelled less than the first, you have a range problem before a load problem.
- Score effort on a 1–10 scale and write the number down. Write a different number a week later.
Reader case file
A reader called L. wrote to the desk about a six-month plateau on the dumbbell press. The logbook was actually well kept — every session had a number against it. What was missing was a note on tempo. We asked her to film one set and count: she was lifting and lowering at roughly the same speed, the eccentric had collapsed to under a second, and the range had quietly shortened. With a slow eccentric and a deliberate one-second pause at the bottom, the same dumbbells became a much more interesting workout. No new programme. Same patterns. A different dial.
Mini glossary
- Eccentric
- The lowering phase of a rep, when the muscle lengthens under load.
- Concentric
- The lifting phase, when the muscle shortens.
- Range of motion (ROM)
- How far the joint travels during a rep.
- RPE
- "Rate of perceived exertion" — a 1–10 effort score.