Tier-3 deep dives on tempo prescription for major compound lifts. Each page synthesizes peer-reviewed research, biomechanics, and practitioner conventions into actionable prescriptions with confidence ratings, and is honest about where the RCT base is thick, thin, or absent.
Tempo prescriptions for the front squat backed by Gullett 2009 knee-compressive-force comparison, Schoenfeld 2015 rep-duration meta-analysis, Pareja-Blanco 2021 pause-vs-rebound RCT, and Kojic 2024 slow-eccentric back-squat trial. Covers strength, hypertrophy, power, and weightlifting-transfer tempos with confidence ratings.
Read prescription →Tempo prescriptions for the conventional deadlift and Romanian deadlift backed by Cholewicki 1991 spinal force data, Maeo 2024 lengthened-state hamstring hypertrophy, Lee 2018 EMG comparison, and the Wilk-Zajác-Tufano 2021 heavy-load tempo caveat. Covers the touch-and-go vs reset controversy with explicit RCT-gap disclosure.
Read prescription →Tempo prescriptions for the lat pulldown and bodyweight pull-up backed by Doma 2013 EMG comparison, Nuzzo 2023 meta-analytic eccentric-to-concentric strength ratio of 1.41, Schoenfeld 2015, Androulakis Korakakis 2025, and the Sánchez-Moreno 2020 velocity-based pull-up RCT. Includes a 9-row phase-gated progression model from zero pull-ups to weighted variants.
Read prescription →Tempo prescriptions for the bar muscle-up and muscle-up negative backed by Walker 2023 EMG comparison (the only direct muscle-up study, n=10), Nuzzo 2023 meta-analytic eccentric-to-concentric strength ratio of 1.41, Roig 2009, Schoenfeld 2015, Wilk-Zajác-Tufano 2021, and the CrossFit upper-extremity injury literature. Includes a phase-gated progression model and the most aggressive skeptical audit in the cluster.
Read prescription →Tempo prescriptions for the McGill Big 3 (side plank, curl-up, bird dog) backed by McGill Childs Liebenson 1999 normative endurance database, McGill Karpowicz 2009 EMG progression atlas, McGill Hughson Parks 2000 paraspinal oxygenation ceiling, and the NIOSH 3,400 N spinal compression action limit. Includes Repko's tempo notation extension to static-isometric holds and the strongest Lederman 2010 skeptical engagement in the cluster.
Read prescription →The pillar tempo guide covers the framework and the eccentric training spoke covers slow-lowering literature. The exercises tier extends both into lift-specific prescriptions, where biomechanics, evidence strength, and practitioner convention diverge from one compound lift to the next.
Each page is anchored on peer-reviewed research where it exists and flags the gap honestly where it does not. The deadlift family has zero RCTs directly comparing tempo conditions. The pull-up has essentially zero. The lat pulldown has moderate-strong evidence. The front squat sits in between. Pages reflect that reality, tables include confidence ratings, and an honest-gap section at the end of each tier-3 names the practitioner heuristics and folklore that recur in commercial fitness content without empirical support.
Prescription tables, tempo, rep ranges, and primary evidence anchor for each goal (hypertrophy, strength, power, skill, connective-tissue tolerance). Confidence ratings (high / moderate / low) reflect how directly the cited evidence applies to the prescribed conditions.
Biomechanics, why each lift responds to tempo manipulation differently, with citations to the EMG and kinematics literature where it exists.
Common errors, specific failure modes (body lean on the pulldown, lumbar flexion creep on the deadlift, bouncing on the front squat) grounded in the research that explains why they matter.
FAQ + Honest gap, six FAQs with citation-anchored 60-90 word answers, plus a final “Honest gap” section disclosing where the evidence runs out and what conclusions are extrapolations from adjacent literature.