Sometimes I like to utilize paused reps for certain exercises because it keeps the muscle being trained under tension for a long period of time which is great for muscle gain, and by pausing you will not be allowed to use momentum which is great. How does a paused rep work? Lets say you are doing a flat bench press, when you get the weight to your chest you will pause for 2-3 seconds and then eplosively press the weight back to starting position. Be sure to lower the weight in a controlled manner for at least 2 seconds. Pause for 2 seconds and press. When you first start doing these you will probably have to lighten the weight just a tad, but building muscle isn't about the amount of weight. Its about the amount of stress on the muscle. The greater the stress the more growth you can expect. You will notice not only muscle gain from this, but also strength gains. My favorite exercises to do paused reps with:

Chest: The flat barbell bench press.

Back: Pull-ups. Pause for 1-2 seconds at the top, go all the way down and pause for an additional 1-2 seconds.

Quads: Leg presses. Simply pause for 2 seconds when your knees are at your chest. Lower the weight for 2 seconds.

Hamstrings: Seated leg curls. Simply pause at the bottom and hold the contraction for 2 seconds. Let the weight up slowly and pause at the top for 2 more seconds.

Biceps: Concentration dumbbell curls. Simply pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, and hold the contraction at the top for 2 seconds. Lower the dumbbell for 2 seconds as well.

Triceps: Over head dumbbell or barbell extension. Simply pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, hold the contraction at the top for 2 seconds, lower the bar/dumbbell for 2 seconds.

Delts: The barbell or dumbbell shoulder press: Simply pause at the top of your upper chest for 2 seconds, hold the contraction at the top without locking out your elbows for 2 seconds, and lower the bar for 2 seconds.

Traps: EZ bar upright rows with inside grip: Simply pause the bar just above the chest for 2 seconds, lower the bar for 2 seconds, and  hold the bar at starting position for 2 seconds. This is basically a 2-2-2 tempo, but the difference is you must pause. Give pasued reps a shot. They will be an ego buster at first, but I'm positive as long as you're eating correctly you will make gains by doing this!

Just tried paused reps the other day on my main three lifts (bench, squat, deadlift) just to mix things up. Got my hamstrings and quads a little holding at the bottom of my squat but they were awesome! Great tip Nate! Have you tried paused reps for any Olympic lifts?

I love doing the paused reps on my Dips. Just feeling the tricep strain under the tension, like it won't support you, and then the muscle gets super pumped. Then I explode back up allowing the blood to flow through the arm and then I do a slow tempo back down and hold it all over again. This is a great way to build muscle mass and get a serious pump.

 

Great tip Nate!

Sometimes I like to utilize paused reps for certain exercises because it keeps the muscle being trained under tension for a long period of time which is great for muscle gain, and by pausing you will not be allowed to use momentum which is great. How does a paused rep work? Lets say you are doing a flat bench press, when you get the weight to your chest you will pause for 2-3 seconds and then eplosively press the weight back to starting position. Be sure to lower the weight in a controlled manner for at least 2 seconds. Pause for 2 seconds and press. When you first start doing these you will probably have to lighten the weight just a tad, but building muscle isn't about the amount of weight. Its about the amount of stress on the muscle. The greater the stress the more growth you can expect. You will notice not only muscle gain from this, but also strength gains. My favorite exercises to do paused reps with:

Chest: The flat barbell bench press.

Back: Pull-ups. Pause for 1-2 seconds at the top, go all the way down and pause for an additional 1-2 seconds.

Quads: Leg presses. Simply pause for 2 seconds when your knees are at your chest. Lower the weight for 2 seconds.

Hamstrings: Seated leg curls. Simply pause at the bottom and hold the contraction for 2 seconds. Let the weight up slowly and pause at the top for 2 more seconds.

Biceps: Concentration dumbbell curls. Simply pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, and hold the contraction at the top for 2 seconds. Lower the dumbbell for 2 seconds as well.

Triceps: Over head dumbbell or barbell extension. Simply pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, hold the contraction at the top for 2 seconds, lower the bar/dumbbell for 2 seconds.

Delts: The barbell or dumbbell shoulder press: Simply pause at the top of your upper chest for 2 seconds, hold the contraction at the top without locking out your elbows for 2 seconds, and lower the bar for 2 seconds.

Traps: EZ bar upright rows with inside grip: Simply pause the bar just above the chest for 2 seconds, lower the bar for 2 seconds, and  hold the bar at starting position for 2 seconds. This is basically a 2-2-2 tempo, but the difference is you must pause. Give pasued reps a shot. They will be an ego buster at first, but I'm positive as long as you're eating correctly you will make gains by doing this!

Just tried paused reps the other day on my main three lifts (bench, squat, deadlift) just to mix things up. Got my hamstrings and quads a little holding at the bottom of my squat but they were awesome! Great tip Nate! Have you tried paused reps for any Olympic lifts?

Nate,

 

I like to say Pause stands for:

 

Provides

An

Unmatched

Stimulus for

Enlargement

 

Pause reps are killer!

 

John

This is for Connie too.

 

I tried a new style of PAUSE REPS that I read about.

 

You still "PAUSE" at the bottom... but what you do is say you are benching.  Put as much weight on the bar that you think you can "PAUSE" with at the bottom of the movement for 10 reps.

 

Unrack the weight, lower it to your chest, pause for a second, explosively push up, and then re-rack.

 

Once you re-rack, count 10 seconds, and then do another rep and keep doing this until you ge to 10.

 

That 10 second rest period helps you recover more energy so you can lift MORE weight for those ten reps.

 

I tried it out this week and I loved it.  Lot's of people see massive gains in both STRENGTH and MUSCLE from this.  I am going to see how much it helps my bench over the next few weeks.

I gotta try that out - thanks for the tip Scott :)

 

 

This is for Connie too.

 

I tried a new style of PAUSE REPS that I read about.

 

You still "PAUSE" at the bottom... but what you do is say you are benching.  Put as much weight on the bar that you think you can "PAUSE" with at the bottom of the movement for 10 reps.

 

Unrack the weight, lower it to your chest, pause for a second, explosively push up, and then re-rack.

 

Once you re-rack, count 10 seconds, and then do another rep and keep doing this until you ge to 10.

 

That 10 second rest period helps you recover more energy so you can lift MORE weight for those ten reps.

 

I tried it out this week and I loved it.  Lot's of people see massive gains in both STRENGTH and MUSCLE from this.  I am going to see how much it helps my bench over the next few weeks.

Nate,

 

I like to say Pause stands for:

 

Provides

An

Unmatched

Stimulus for

Enlargement

 

Pause reps are killer!

 

John

I gotta try that out - thanks for the tip Scott :)