Tempo Work: Building the Pace Between Easy and Hard
Updated: Oct 15
Ask most CrossFit athletes how their conditioning week went and you will hear two speeds: "easy" and "dying." The easy days are often not quite easy, the hard days leave them on the floor, and there is very little in between. That missing middle is where tempo work lives.
Tempo is a steady effort that feels comfortably hard. You are working, your breathing is deeper than on an easy day, but you are in control. You could keep going for a while, you just would not want to chat about it.
It is one of the most useful and most skipped intensities in functional fitness. In this article I will explain what tempo is, how to find your tempo pace on the rower, bike and run, and how to put it into a week without burning out.
IN THIS ARTICLE
What Tempo Pace Feels Like
If easy aerobic work is a 3 or 4 out of 10 and a hard interval is an 8 or 9, tempo sits around a 6 or 7. You can speak in short phrases, but not full sentences. Your breathing is rhythmic and deep, not ragged. Your form holds up the whole time.
Tempo is a little below threshold, the hardest pace you can hold for roughly 30 to 60 minutes. Threshold efforts start to feel like a fight. Tempo should feel like steady, focused work. If you finish a tempo piece and need to lie down, it was not tempo.
A good self-check is the talk test. At easy pace you can hold a conversation. At tempo you can answer a question in a few words. At hard pace you can only nod.
Why the Middle Pace Matters
Research on endurance training generally finds that sustained work at moderate-to-high intensity improves the pace you can hold before fatigue builds quickly. In plain terms, tempo work teaches your body to cruise faster before things start to burn.
For CrossFit athletes, that shows up everywhere. A higher cruising pace means the 15-calorie row in the middle of a chipper does not wreck your next barbell set. It means you can run 400 meters between rounds and still hold your wall balls unbroken. Most workouts longer than 8 to 10 minutes are won at a steady, sustainable pace, not in the sprint.
Tempo is also a great teacher of pacing. You have to settle into an effort and hold it. There is no redline to hide behind, and there is no rest interval to reset you. It builds the kind of focus you need in long workouts.
Finding Your Tempo Pace on Each Machine
You do not need a lab test. Start with effort and breathing, then use numbers from recent training to dial it in. Here are simple starting points I use with athletes:
Rower: about 6 to 10 seconds per 500 meters slower than your 2K race pace. If your 2K average is 1:55, tempo is around 2:01 to 2:05.
Bike (air bike or bike erg): a pace you could hold for about 40 to 60 minutes if you had to. On an air bike, choose a steady RPM and hold it; do not chase the fan.
Run: a little slower than your best 10K pace, or about 15 to 25 seconds per kilometer slower than your 5K pace.
Heart rate (if you use it): usually a zone or so above your easy aerobic range and below your hard interval range. Treat it as a guide, not a rule, since heart rate drifts upward in heat and with fatigue.
Write these down as ranges, not single numbers. Tempo on a day when you slept five hours will look different from tempo after a rest day. The feel stays the same even when the numbers move.
Sample Tempo Sessions to Start With
Tempo work usually comes in longer blocks with short rest, or as one continuous piece. Start with a total of 15 to 20 minutes at tempo and build from there.
Session A (rower). 3 x 6 minutes at tempo, 2 minutes easy between. Aim for every block to be within 1 to 2 seconds per 500 meters of each other.
Session B (bike). 4 x 5 minutes at tempo, 90 seconds easy between. Hold the same watts or RPM for all four blocks.
Session C (run). 2 x 10 minutes at tempo, 3 minutes easy walk or jog between. Pick a flat route, or run on a track so the terrain does not drive your pace.
Session D (mixed machines). 20 minutes continuous, alternating 5 minutes row, 5 minutes bike. Keep the effort level steady across both machines.
Coach's cue: Settle in by minute two and then stop negotiating. Same breath, same stroke, same pace until the timer says done.
Every two weeks, add a few minutes of total tempo time, working up toward 30 to 40 minutes. Do not add speed and duration in the same week.
Keeping Tempo From Turning Into a Test
The biggest risk with tempo is that it slowly becomes another hard day. The pace creeps faster, the last block becomes a race, and suddenly you have three high-intensity sessions in a week instead of two.
I have been guilty of this. On some of my own tempo rows, I would look at the monitor, see I was ahead of my target, and think I could just nudge it a little. By the end of the week, my legs felt heavy in the workouts that actually mattered. What helped me was deciding the pace before the session, writing it on the whiteboard, and treating going faster as a mistake instead of a win.
A few simple guardrails:
Cap it. Set a pace ceiling as well as a floor. If you drift faster than the ceiling, slow down.
Place it well. Do tempo one or two days away from your hardest workout of the week, not the day before it.
Finish with something left. You should feel like you could do one more block at the same pace.
If you notice unusual joint pain, especially in the knees or hips when running, back off the volume and check in with a physio or sports medicine professional before adding more.
Tempo in Five Simple Rules
Aim for a 6 or 7 out of 10. You can answer a question in a few words, but not hold a conversation. If you need to lie down after, it wasn't tempo.
Write a range, not a number. On the rower, start about 6 to 10 seconds per 500 meters slower than your 2K pace, and set both a floor and a ceiling.
Settle by minute two. Find the pace early, then stop negotiating. Every block should land within 1 to 2 seconds per 500 meters of the others.
Build time before speed. Start with 15 to 20 minutes of total tempo and add a few minutes every two weeks. Never add speed and duration in the same week.
Protect your hard days. Keep tempo one or two days away from your toughest session, and finish feeling like you could do one more block.
Build the Middle, Then Build the Week
Tempo work is not flashy. Nobody posts their 3 x 6-minute row at 2:03. But it fills the gap between easy and hard, and it makes the rest of your training work better. Your easy days can stay easy, your hard days can be truly hard, and your cruising pace keeps climbing.
Start with one tempo session a week for four weeks. Keep the numbers in a range, stay honest about effort, and watch how your long workouts start to feel.
If you want help placing tempo, intervals and easy work around your class schedule and goals, Sphere Individual coaching gives you a personal plan built around your week. Take a look at the coaching options and pick the level of support that fits you.
Your turn. Tried this? Tell me how it went in the comments below. I read every one, and your questions help shape what I write next. If it helped, tap the heart so it reaches more athletes.
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Further reading: American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA Graduate · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online
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