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Rest Pause Training
Written By Mike Mahler
Go to any gym these days and you see most trainees doing an endless number of
reps all in the hopes of attaining the oh-so elusive and fleetingly short pump.
Blame it on Arnold who, years ago in the movie "Pumping Iron," said that getting
a pump was as good as coming, or, in Arnold-ese, comink. Ha!
Regardless, going hard and heavy seems to be a part of some distant past as most
people these days think that squat racks are a convenient place to do barbell
curls. To make matters worse, many gyms have become magnets for meaningless
conversations and look more like places for people to hook up then for serious
training to take place.
I'm not sure what's worse, the meaningless conversations or the pseudo lifters
that attempt to look serious by growling and grunting with each high-rep set and
then browse through the newspaper between each worthless set.
Mind you, I'm not saying that high reps are a waste of time. High-rep programs
such as the "Super Squats" program produce incredible results and I often do
high-rep ballistic sets for high-octane fat burning. However, a very effective
and forgotten way to get much stronger and bigger is to do several sets of low
reps with short rest periods. One form of this training philosophy is called
rest-pause training.
Rest-pause training will separate the serious lifter from the pseudo lifter in
no time, as you don't have time to mess around between each set. In addition,
this form of training is super intense and requires your full attention.
Bodybuilders during Arnold's competition days used to do rest-pause training
from time to time, to get bigger and harder physiques. Mike Mentzer had
incredible results with rest-pause training and found it to be an effective way
to blast through training plateaus.
Unlike a standard powerlifting routine where you do low reps (1-3 reps) for
several sets with long rest periods (3-5 minutes), rest-pause training requires
you to take 10-15 second breaks between each set. You're basically taking a
short break between each rep in order to use the maximum amount of weight. Since
the breaks are short and the weights are heavy, hypertrophy will follow like a
charm.
As effective as rest pause training is, it can also be extremely difficult to
break into. After all, most people will have trouble taking their one-rep max on
the bench press and doing it every 10-15 seconds for 5-6 sets. Chances are they
won't get past the second set and will most likely be lucky if they even get
that far.
Luckily, I recently came up with a way to combine a training approach that I
learned from Coach Ethan Reeve of Wakeforest University with rest-pause training
to make it much more user friendly.
What you do initially to prepare yourself for modified rest-pause training is to
take your three rep max and do ten singles with that weight. Instead of taking
only 10-15 seconds between each set, take one-minute breaks between each set.
For most people, this won't be too difficult and that, of course, is the point.
I want you to build a pattern of success with a few relatively easy training
sessions to prepare you for the brutal rest pause training sessions to follow.
Once you can complete all ten singles with one minute breaks, decrease the
breaks to 45 seconds between each set. Keep the weight the same.
Once you can complete all ten sets at 45 seconds, go down to 30 seconds. Once
you can do that, go to 15 seconds (even though you're only resting 15 seconds,
you'll still rack the weight in-between).
At 15 seconds you'll definitely understand how rest-pause training works and
you'll love how hard and pumped up your muscles feel after doing several sets.
It's much more satisfying then the bloated, soft feel of doing lots of reps with
a relatively light weight. If your body-fat is low enough, your veins should
look like they're going to explode.
Once you've completed ten sets with 15 second breaks, increase the weight by 10
pounds and go back to one minute breaks between sets. Work your way down the
rest pause ladder again until you're back to 15-second breaks. At that point,
increase the weight again by another 10 pounds.
After using this method for only ten days, I added 10 pounds to my best overhead
press. Before rest-pause training, I had been stuck at a frustrating plateau for
months. In addition to the strength increase, I got several comments from
friends and family that my shoulders and arms looked much bigger. I was elated
to say the least.
Another benefit to rest pause training is that it gives the CNS (central nervous
system) a tremendous boost that's better then any caffeine rush that I've ever
experienced. I literally felt invincible and wanted to take the world on after
each workout.
At this point you're probably wondering how you could incorporate rest pause
training into your program. I never thought you'd ask!
Monday / Friday
Chest, Back, and Biceps
Bottom Position Medium-Grip Bench Presses: 10x1
Note: Do these inside of a power rack. Set the pins as low as possible-making
allotments for the width of your chest-and begin the lift from the down
position.
Bent-over Barbell Rows: 10x1
One Arm Dumbbell Curls: 10x1
Wednesday / Saturday
Legs and Shoulders
Bottom Position Squats: 10x1
Note: Do these in a power rack. Put the pins down low and begin the squat from
the down position.
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 10x1
Standing Military Presses 10x1
Standing Calf Raises: 10x1
Rack the weight each time and take one to two minute breaks in between each
exercise. Each workout should be pretty brief; not more then 45 minutes, at
least in the beginning. As you get better and the rest periods get shorter,
you'll take much less time to complete each workout.
As you can see, this is a very simple program and it's meant to be that way!
Rest-pause training isn't easy and takes everything that you have. Also, you may
have noticed that I haven't added any specific triceps exercises. You'll get all
you need with the bottom-position bench presses and the military presses, so
leave the triceps-isolation exercises out for five weeks. Regarding abs, feel
free to do a few sets of weighted sit-ups, side bends, or windmills after each
workout.
I challenge you to give this program a try for five weeks and discover for
yourself what the old-time strongmen have known for years: the path to a strong
and hard body is paved with heavy, low-rep training. Let me know how it works
out for you.
Mike Mahler is a strength coach and a certified kettlebell instructor based in
Santa Monica, California. Mike has been a strength athlete for over ten years
and designs strength training programs for athletes, law enforcement, and fire
fighters. Mike is available for phone consultations and personal training in the
Los Angeles/Washington DC area. For more information, visit Mike's site at
www.mikemahler.com or email Mike at mahler25@yahoo.com.
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