How To Do A Rest Pause Training Routine

Step 1

The goal of any weight training program is to fatigue all the available motor units in any given exercise. Every muscle that we use, like let's take our biceps for example, or doing a curl, those muscle fibers are wired to a nervous system in groups of fibers called motor units. The more motor units we recruit, the more effect will have out of that exercise.

Step 2

Five sets of 10, three sets of 10, 10 sets of 20, whatever the rep scheme is; all these training methodologies are geared at towards recruiting the maximum amount of motor units whether we realize it or not. Given that, I'm going to show you the very, the most efficient way to that end in rest pause training. We are eliminating a lot of the extra work that it takes to get to the point where we are recruiting those very high threshold motor units.

Step 3

In rest pause training, we're going to perform a few brief, intense, very heavy reps, followed by a small rest period, and we're going to continue until the trainee just completely fails.

Step 4

Now we have Nik here, on the bench press. So, Nik what were going to do for us is unrack the bar, and I want you to take a very slow negative and explosively, meaning on the way up, explosively, give me 3-5 positive reps here. So, take it slow.

Step 5

Perfect Nik. Accelerate up. Great. Good and one more Nik. Great. In using a very slow negative and explosive positive, Nik's able to actually increase the weight that his muscles feel by accelerating the bar upward.

Step 6

Here we go Nik: right back into it. Great. Nice slow negative. Great. Accelerate that bar up. And to more here. And another rep. excellent job. Okay, good work Nik.

Step 7

So, what Nik essentially did was take a weight where he he can only get four 8-10 reps for failure and we made Nik get it for 15 reps.

Step 8

Now, granted for that said was dragged out a little bit further than the 8-10 rep set, but what was happening here is that Nik was able to use a high percentage of his high threshold motor units, of which would only be recruited during the last 2 or 3 reps of his 8-10 rep set and were able to stay right there in that training zone during the entire set. That's the benefit of rest pause training.

Step 9

You're cutting out a lot of the extraneous work that gets to the reps that matter. You get their right at the start with rest pause. Just another technique in your arsenal to crank up the intensity and decrease your training volume in order to overcome a training plateau.