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The effect of repetition tempo on cardiovascular and metabolic stress when time under tension is matched during lower body exercise

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the effect of repetition tempo on cardiovascular and metabolic stress when time under tension (TUT) and effort are matched during sessions of lower body resistance training (RT).

Methods

In a repeated-measures, cross-over design, 11 recreationally trained females (n = 5) and males (n = 6) performed 5 sets of belt squats under the following conditions: slow-repetition tempo (SLOW; 10 reps with 4-s eccentric and 2-s concentric) and traditional-repetition tempo (TRAD; 20 reps with 2-s eccentric and 1-s concentric). TUT (60 s) was matched between conditions and external load was adjusted so that lifters were close to concentric muscular failure at the end of each set. External load, total volume load (TVL), impulse (IMP), blood lactate, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), HR, and muscle oxygenation were measured.

Results

Data indicated that TVL (p < 0.001), blood lactate (p = 0.017), RPE (p = 0.015), and HR (p < 0.001) were significantly greater during TRAD while external load (p = 0.030) and IMP (p = 0.002) were significantly greater during SLOW. Whether it was expressed as minimal values or change scores, muscle oxygenation was not different between protocols.

Conclusion

When TUT is matched, TVL, cardiovascular stress, metabolic stress, and perceived exertion are greater when faster repetition tempos are used. In contrast, IMP and external load are greater when slower repetition tempos are used.

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Availability of data and materials

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BF%:

Body fat percentage

bpm:

Beats per minute

cm:

Centimeter

HR:

Heart rate

HSD:

Honestly significant difference

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

kg:

Kilogram

IMP:

Impulse

NIRS:

Near-infrared spectroscopy

OMNI:

Omnibus

RIR:

Repetitions in reserve

RM:

Repetition maximum

RPE:

Ratings of perceived exertion

RT:

Resistance training

SD:

Standard deviation

SLOW:

Slow repetition tempo

TRAD:

Traditional-repetition tempo

TSI:

Tissue saturation index

TUT:

Time under tension

TVL:

Total volume load

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the University of New Mexico Exercise Physiology lab for use of equipment and would like to extend our gratitude to the subjects who volunteered for this research.

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the College of Education at the University of New Mexico.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Zachary A. Mang, Rogelio A. Realzola, Jeremy Ducharme, Christine Mermier, Len Kravitz & Fabiano T. Amorim

  2. School of Fitness Education, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM, 87508, USA

    Jason R. Beam

  3. Department of Physical Education, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, MG, Brazil

    Flavio de Castro Magalhaes

Authors
  1. Zachary A. Mang
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  2. Rogelio A. Realzola
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  4. Gabriella F. Bellissimo
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Contributions

CM, FA, FM, GB, JB, JD, LK, RR, and ZM contributed to the research design and study approval. CM, FA, GB, JD, RR, and ZM contributed to the data collection. JB and ZM contributed to the statistical analysis. CM, FA, FM, GB, JB, JD, LK, RR, and ZM contributed to the manuscript writing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zachary A. Mang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board for human subject research in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study.

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Participants provided written informed consent to allow the researchers to submit data for publication.

Additional information

Communicated by Philip D. Chilibeck.

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Mang, Z.A., Realzola, R.A., Ducharme, J. et al. The effect of repetition tempo on cardiovascular and metabolic stress when time under tension is matched during lower body exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 122, 1485–1495 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04941-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04941-3

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