"Tempo is particularly important because without that measure of tempo, we are just going through the motions and not paying attention to getting full contractions out of our muscles," Johanna said. A great place to start, she advised, is making sure that you're holding the exercise for at least "1-Mississippi." So, for a chest press, you'd hold "1-Mississippi" at the top of the press, she explained, when your chest is most contracted. For a lunge, you'd hold it at the bottom, when your knees are bent.
Also, don't forget about your breathing — exhale during the concentric, or muscle-shortening, part of an exercise when you're exerting yourself, and inhale on the eccentric, or muscle-lengthening, part. For example, breathe out while doing a bicep curl toward your chest, and breathe in when you're lowering the weight back down. Check out more on this here.