Rest-Pause

Have any of you used Rest-Pause, and if so what kind of results did you get? What did oyu think of the method? Also, are partial reptitions any good?

I have to be honest, I had never heard of the "rest-pause" term before so did a quick internet search. After reading about it, low and behold, this is exactly what I have done in the past and am currently doing, and is one of the tips I gave to Tim Black for the HIT workout ... or something along this line.

Take for instance Rear Shoulder Shrugs. When I complete this I put the bar down and wait a few seconds and then pick it up again and push off as many more reps as I can. In the past when doing HIT I incorporated this as it just felt right, and not because I had heard about it. This took me to the next level and I honestly believe this is a good method however it is more of what I would consider a body building technique as it incorporates going to fatigue. When doing HIT a second time years ago I had limited success doing the workout but one things was for certain, I had not done this the second time round so therefore I am doing it this time on many (not all yet) of the exercises and have seen gains ... so I know it works.

Now are partial reps good? Some will probably say no but I say "yes". I wouldn't say yes for a beginner lifter as I think this should be considered an advanced technique. Beginners to Intermediate should get the basics of lifting first before doing this. And again I think partials are more of a body building technique as again it is going to failure.

I have also used this technique and in fact have used it in conjunction with the "rest-pause" method. Some muscles I am unable to do this with effectively but others I can. One such that I have had good success on is the Bench Press. With my equipment and having safety bars, I can lower safely the bar to my chest without a spotter. In many incidences I know I cannot get a full lift off so I may do a couple of partials ... OR ... I will bring it down super slow to push the muscle to its limits and then once I get to the bottom I may push with all I've got to move the bar ... even if it is centimeters or millimeters. As long as I can move it even a bit before I can no longer hold it up, I consider this a bonus.

When I was lifting my max weight and wanted to improve it, 3 or 4 nights a week I would have the bar on the safety bars and I would crawl under it. The weight on the bar was more then I could lift normally once and I would get under it an push with all I had. Sometimes I couldn't even budge it and others it would move slightly. I would do this repeatedly over the days and eventually I would get that weight up ... all of the way up. It took work and patience but I worked for it and earned it. Sure I could have took the weight off normally and lowered it to my chest and tried to press it ... but it takes far more strength to lift it off your chest initially and why I believe it worked so effectively. Those little pushes were "partials" and eventually turned into "full" lifts.

So I'm all for both of these methods and for myself I know they work.

I generally pause for a few seconds between reps. I find it makes the strength work more effective because you're not bouncing or using elastic momentum to move from one rep to another, and you're that bit fresher for each rep. Also, I'm told it trains the body to clear lactic acid, so you can recover better between bursts of exertion. I think it should be standard operating procedure for most people most of the time.

I'd agree with Dereck that partials are good, but are not for beginners. They are the best way to strengthen tendons and ligaments. I've used 'progressive movement training' in the squat before, where you load up the bar with more than you can squat fully and do a partial squat. You go a little deeper with that same weight each workout until you're fully squatting the weight. Basically you increase range of motion rather than increasing load.

I think I'll test both methods on the bench press. I can now bench press 185 for 5, so I'll bump it up to around 215 to 225 and just bust out partial reps maybe half or quarter reps,because I'm a little weak on the top of the lift and the lockout so this should help some.

Hey Little Brother, that is a little bit much to jump up. Partials I would use to supplement in your case but not replace your current bench press. Keep the same range of motion because you don't want to lose this.

Try this instead to get over a hump. Load your bar with 30 to 40 lbs more then you can actually lift. Lift the bar off of the rest and hold in that position for 5 seconds and then place back on the rest. Rest 1 minute or so and then do your 185 plus say 5 lbs. Your body "should" interpret this as less weight and you "should" be able to lift it. Or keep the same weight and you "should" be able to lift more reps.

Again, never replace an existing chest exercise that has good range of motion with partials. A supplement but never a replacement. Or at the end of your regular bench do a couple of partials.

Well yeah, I know what your saying I'll just use partials as a supplement or assistance exercise to my regular bench pressing and I'll also test that method you gave me about bumping up 30-40lbs more and doing static contraction holds for a few seconds, thanks for the idea.