Does lifting slow or fast make your muscles bigger?
Effect of Repetition Duration During Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Less than 1% difference in muscle growth between fast and slow tempos within 0.5–8s
Most fitness influencers and programs preach specific tempos (like 3-1-3) as essential—this study shows they’re essentially arbitrary within that range.
Practical Takeaways
Pick a rep speed you enjoy and stick with it—whether fast, moderate, or slow—between 0.5 and 8 seconds per rep.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Less than 1% difference in muscle growth between fast and slow tempos within 0.5–8s
Most fitness influencers and programs preach specific tempos (like 3-1-3) as essential—this study shows they’re essentially arbitrary within that range.
Practical Takeaways
Pick a rep speed you enjoy and stick with it—whether fast, moderate, or slow—between 0.5 and 8 seconds per rep.
Publication
Journal
Sports Medicine
Year
2015
Authors
B. Schoenfeld, Daniel I. Ogborn, J. Krieger
Related Content
Claims (3)
How fast or slow you lift and lower weights doesn’t matter as much for building muscle as how much weight you lift, how many reps you do, or how close you push yourself to failure.
Lifting weights slowly or quickly between half a second and 8 seconds per rep doesn’t seem to make a difference in how much your muscles grow — as long as you’re doing resistance training.
Lifting weights fast or slow doesn’t make much difference in how much your muscles grow — the extra gain from going slow is practically nothing.