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Exercise library · Quads

Tempo squat

Squat pattern for the quads with your bodyweight.

How to do it

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Hands in front of your chest

  1. Starting position

    Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes slightly outward and hands in front of your chest.

  2. The movement

    Lower slowly into a squat, pause briefly at the bottom and rise with control to straight legs.

Most common mistake

Don't rush the lowering phase, keep a steady tempo and let your knees track in line with your toes.

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Muscle group
Quads
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Reps

Muscles worked

The tempo squat trains the same muscles as a regular squat: quads and glutes, helped by the inner thighs and hamstrings, while your abs keep your torso steady. The difference is time. A slow descent and a pause at the bottom keep your muscles working far longer each rep, and the pause removes the momentum that would otherwise help you up. Bodyweight goes further, and you learn how the squat feels at every point.

Common mistakes

  • The pause becomes a rest. It is easy to relax and sag at the bottom. Keep tension in your thighs and abs during the pause, so you stay at the same depth.
  • The pause creeps upwards. As your legs tire, many people pause a few centimetres above their real depth, where it is easier. Pause in the same spot on every rep, and end the set when you no longer can.
  • Holding your breath for the whole rep. A slow descent plus a pause adds up to a long time without air. Breathe in at the top, keep your abs braced on the way down and breathe out as you rise.

Variations and alternatives

  • The bodyweight squat at normal speed, for more reps or as a warm-up.
  • The goblet squat can also be done with a tempo, adding a dumbbell once bodyweight is no longer enough.
  • The wall sit is the pause without the rest of the rep: a still hold with your back against a wall.
  • The back squat with a barbell can also be done with a slow descent, using a lighter weight than usual.

Sets and reps

A common tempo is three seconds down, a one-second pause at the bottom and about one second up. At that pace, 6 to 10 reps makes a proper set, and 2 to 4 sets with one to two minutes' rest is enough for most people. How many sets your goal calls for is covered in the guide to sets and reps.

Make it harder step by step: stretch the descent to four or five seconds, lengthen the pause, add reps and finally add weight, such as a rucksack. The tempo is part of the set, so log it next to your reps. More time under load is progressive overload too.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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