How fast to move the weight
No yanking, no slow motion. A controlled way down and intent on the way up.
The two-number rule
Two seconds down, and up with as much intent as you can manage. That is 99% of what you need to know about tempo. Lowering under control is not slow for the sake of slow: it means the muscle is holding the weight instead of dropping it, and that is the part where load does the most useful damage.
Slow motion: almost never
Four or five seconds per phase sounds intense, and what it actually does is cut the weight you can move and the reps you can hold. With effort matched they do not grow more. It has a place for learning a new movement, or for piling up tension where you cannot add load (a plank, a band exercise).
And yanking
The other extreme — dropping the weight and bouncing — is not more weight: it is less work spread over more impact. If you need a bounce to finish the set, the set is over.
More on Hypertrophy
How many sets a muscle needs per week
The number that decides whether you grow. Not four, not forty.
Close to failure, not always to failure
What RIR is, why you leave one or two reps in the tank, and when to push.
Progress without stalling: double progression
When to add weight, when to add reps, and why not both at once.
How long to rest between sets
Two minutes is not a quirk: it is the reps on your next set.
Once a week per muscle is not enough
Why splitting your volume over two or three days beats one hammering.
Protein: how much and how to spread it
The daily total is what matters. The exact timing, far less than you hear.
This is general information written from the training literature, not medical advice or a personalised plan. If you take medication, have a health condition or something genuinely hurts, the person to ask is a healthcare professional.