Bodyweight Tempo Squat

oec:bodyweight-tempo-squat

A bilateral bodyweight squat performed with an intentionally slowed eccentric phase and a brief pause at the bottom to maximize time under tension and movement control.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Tempo Squat, Slow Squat, 3-1-1 Squat, Tempo Air Squat, 3-1-1 Squat

How to do it

Setup

Stand tall with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and your toes angled slightly outward.
Brace your core and extend your arms in front of your chest for balance.

Movement

Initiate the descent by breaking simultaneously at the hips and knees.
Lower your body slowly over a strict three-second count until your hip crease drops below the top of your knees.
Pause motionless in the bottom position for a full one-second count without losing core tension.
Drive through your midfoot to stand up at a normal, controlled speed.
Fully extend your hips and knees at the top before beginning the next repetition.

Breathing

Inhale deeply into your abdomen on the slow descent, hold your breath through the pause, and exhale as you drive back to standing.

Cues

Count your descent: three, two, one.
Own the bottom position.
Keep your chest proud and knees tracking your toes.

Common faults

Rushing the eccentric tempo as fatigue sets in.: Use an internal or audible metronome count to ensure a true three-second descent on every rep.
Collapsing tension or bouncing out of the bottom position.: Stay actively braced and come to a complete, controlled stop for the prescribed pause.
Heels lifting off the floor during the descent.: Maintain balanced pressure across your entire foot, driving knees outward to make room for hip depth.

Safety

Descend only to a depth you can maintain with a neutral spine.

Muscles

Quadriceps prime mover
Gluteus maximus prime mover
Adductor magnus synergist
Soleus synergist
Erector spinae stabilizer
Rectus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

Hip: Flexion, Extension
Knee: Flexion, Extension
Ankle: Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion
Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement: Squat
Modality: Calisthenics, Strength, Mobility
Mechanics: compound
Force: push
Laterality: bilateral
Kinetic chain: closed
Level: beginner
Equipment: None
Record: Repetitions
Load: bodyweight, not applicable

variation of Bodyweight Squat
progression of Bodyweight Squat
substitute for Bodyweight Squat

Sources

wger: Slow Squat, by Anon#2 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

bodyweight-tempo-squat.json