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    Home » Fitness Tips For Moms

    Get Stronger Using Pause Reps

    Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.  See full disclaimer
    Pin image with text: woman in pink sports bra performing a push up
    Pin image with text: woman in pink sports bra and black pants performing a dumbbell squat
    Pin image with text: woman in pnk sports bra and black pants laying on a workout bench with dumbbells
    Pin image with text: woman in pnk sports bra and black pants laying on a workout bench with dumbbells

    Boost your strength without adding weight to the bar by making good use of pause reps! Pause rep training means that you pause at a strategic point in an exercise before continuing.

    I have an advertisement relationship with the ads in this post. Check out my disclaimer here

    You can use paused reps with almost any exercise and reap benefits like improved strength, better form, and increased sports performance.

     
    Pin image with text: woman in pnk sports bra and black pants laying on a workout bench with dumbbells

    As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, pause reps are in my own personal training programs as well as those of my clients and ind my home workout program SMASH Fit For Life.

    This style of training is most commonly seen with squats, deadlifts, and the bench press. However, it can be done with just about anything.

    Plus, pause reps can be done with weights or without them, making it a great option for home workouts!

    What Are Pause Reps?

    Just as the name implies, pause reps are done by pausing (for roughly three seconds) at a specific spot in an exercise.

    Normally this is done on the "sticking points" or the area in which a transition is made (think before you rise from a squat or when you lower down in a bench press).

    While you may think that this gives you a bit of a rest from movement, a pause rep actually does the opposite: makes the exercise more intense.

    Sometimes paused reps are used on each individual rep. However, they can also be used just on the last rep too (which is really just adding an isometric contraction <-- just saying).

    Just as the name implies, pause reps are done by pausing (for roughly three seconds) at a specific spot in an exercise.

    Normally this is done on the "sticking points" or the area in which a transition is made (think before you rise from a squat).

    While you may think that this gives you a bit of a rest from movement, it actually does the opposite: makes the exercise more intense.

    Sometimes paused reps are used on each individual rep. However, they can also be used just on the last rep too (which is really just adding an isometric contraction <-- just saying).

    I credit this strategy wholeheartedly for helping me build back my strength so quickly postpartum.

    There are four major benefits of using pause reps in your training:

    Improved Strength

    Placing your pause at the sticking point ensures you won't rely on momentum to get up

    Pausing at the sticking point of a major exercise forces you to recruit different muscles to support and stabilize you.

    Many people rely on momentum to get through the challenging part of an exercise (think bouncing up from the bottom of a squat). Pause reps remove this and instead force you to use sheer strength instead.

    Basically, it keeps tension in the muscles throughout the whole movement.

    Having to call upon this new type of effort coupled with the increased intensity of more time under tension improves your strength all around. This is a great tool to use if you're trying to boost your one rep max.

    It's also extremely effective when working out at home when weights are limited. This is why I use it in the SMASH home workout program. More control means more strength.

    Better Form

    Want to improve form on a specific exercise? Add in pause reps!

    Forcing yourself to "get comfy" with the hard part of an exercise makes it so that you need to do it correctly.

    Pause reps remove the ability to cheat an exercise.

    Pausing in the hard part of an exercise forces you to focus on which muscles you're engaging (and which ones you need to be engaging). Long-term, this helps improve your form through muscle activation.

    Reduced Injury Risk

    It may seem odd to you that a specific training style can reduce risk of injuries but it's true!

    Just like unilateral training, pause reps can keep you safe.

    The first reason why comes back to improving your strength. The stronger you are and the better control of your muscles you have, the less chance of injury.

    However, the other reason you reduce injury risk is because with paused rep training you normally improve your mobility and range of motion.

    Taking a look at paused squats: you're sitting in the bottom of your squat with a dumbbell rest on each shoulder pushing you down. Sitting there for three full breaths.

    The more you do this, the more your hips adapt and you gain some mobility. The better your mobility is (and the better your range of motion), the less likely you are to get injured.

    Increased Intensity Without Adding Weights

    This applies to everyone but is even more important for anyone using at-home workouts!

    If you're working out at home, there's only so much weight you can load up with. Though there are lots of ways to make an exercise harder without adding weights, paused reps are high on the list.

    Increasing your time under tension increases the difficulty of an exercise (and thus stimulated results).

    So, start adding strategic paused reps into your exercises and watch your results skyrocket.

    How To Use Pauses

    As mentioned, pauses can be used in any exercise but there are a few certain exercises that are more common.

    Below is how you start incorporating paused reps.

    Squats

    Pause at the bottom before returning to the starting position

    Two side by side images of a woman in a pink shirt and black pants one image of the top of a dumbbell squat and the other of the bototm.

    Bench Press

    The ideal way to train for bench press strength. Pause when the elbows are down with the weights close to your chest.

    Two side by side images of a woman in a pink shirt and black pants performing a dumbbell bench press one image with the dumbbells close to chest

    Push Ups

    Pause as you hover right above the ground.

    Two side by side images of a woman in a pink shirt and black pants performing a push up with image of top and bottom position

    Pull Ups

    Pause at the top of the movement with the chin over the bar or pause halfway with the elbows about ninety degrees,

    Two side by side images of a woman in a pink shirt and black pants performing a pull up on a squat rack

    Deadlifts

    Pause at the halfway point after pulling up but before standing upright.

    Glute Bridge Or Hip Thrust

    Pause at the top of the movement.

    Two side by side images of a woman in a pink shirt and black pants performing a hip thrust on a bench

    Note that you can actually add a pause anywhere in an exercise. These are just the most common.

    My personal opinion is to add a pause anywhere in the exercise a person struggles with. So for pull ups, this could look like pausing at the top, at the halfway point or at the bottom position after the shoulder blades have been pulled back.

    How Much Weight To Use

    Keep in mind that you can use this training style without any weight at all. Likewise, it can be done with bands, kettlebells, etc (check out the best home workout equipment to get started!).

    However, when combining paused reps with weight lifting, you want to lower your weights.

    If repetitions are higher (8-12), I'd recommend lowering to a medium weight (roughly 55-60% of your one rep max) to get started.

    By all means, add more weight after the first set if you think you can do it! But most people find that this style of training is more intense than they thought.

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    Frequently Asked Questions About Pause Reps


    How long should I pause on reps?

    A good start is to add a three-second pause to each and every repetition. Keeping in mind that the longer you pause the harder the exercise will be and the lighter your weight should be to start.

    How do you perform paused reps?

    Imagine a squat: lower down from a standing position into the bottom of a squat. Pause for three full seconds. While you're pausing, thinking of maintaining the best form possible, keeping the knees from caving, making sure the back is in a good position. After three seconds, push up through the feet back towards the starting position. That would be one repetition.


     

    Where To Go From Here


    Below are some fitness resources I think you'll find helpful. First and foremost, learn everything you can about working out at home. Or, joint SMASH Fit For Life for just twenty bucks and you don't have to think.


    You either want to develop your own training program (learn how to develop a program) or have a training program to follow along with.


    From there, use any of the fitness tips below to keep pushing results on your journey.


        • How to boost knee strength

        • 4 workout finishers to get you sweating

        • The best tricep exercises to work into your training programs

        • 4 core exercises better than sit ups

        • How to DOMINATE your push ups (even if you're a beginner)

        • At home workouts to follow along to

        • Glute training 101: everything you need to know

        • Resistance training tips for beginners

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Grace Blossoms

        August 19, 2017 at 7:22 pm

        Thanks for the reasoning. Sometimes, as someone who doesn't know about the whys, just that I should work out, it's very hard to understand why I'm doing something. This is super helpful. Thank you for sharing!

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 19, 2017 at 11:22 pm

          I think a lot of people are in your boat. It's hard to overcome the "go fast, go hard, go home" mentality but there are so many benefits to training in other ways- glad I could help!

          Reply
      2. Shelby @ For The Love of Paws

        August 19, 2017 at 7:33 pm

        I am absolutely terrible at committing to arm work outs because I am a wimp, but I know how important posture is!! Great advice.

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 19, 2017 at 11:21 pm

          Oh another Shelby! It's rare I connect with another person with the same name lol Arm workouts can be frustrating if you have a long ways to go but everyone starts somewhere and it's worth the upper body workouts for the better posture!

          Reply
      3. Stephanie

        August 19, 2017 at 7:36 pm

        I love your advice in this post!! I am so guilty of wanting to get done as quickly as I can, or filling that space with other activity so I can feel like I'm getting more accomplished. This post made me think of my workouts in a different way!

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 19, 2017 at 11:20 pm

          Wahoo I succeeded! 😉 It's challenging sometimes to slow it down because I think we all have the "just get it done" mentality- but there's a lot of benefits to taking it slow. Switch it up and enjoy!

          Reply
      4. Angie

        August 20, 2017 at 4:56 am

        I would never have thought of doing this! When I work out and I do three sets of 10, I'm new to working out so I'm starting out small, and I just keep going. I definitely need to stop between each one.

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 20, 2017 at 7:07 pm

          There's nothing wrong with 3 x 10 -there's just SO many other ways to go about a workout that it's nice to switch it up and see new results. Starting out small is the best way to approach it and slowly you'll find more and more styles to enjoy. And if you need help- just ask!

          Reply
      5. kelsi

        August 22, 2017 at 12:53 am

        Ugh, as I much as I want to say I love this, I know first hand how much these can hurt/suck when you are doing them, lol. Or more so... the next day 😉 I try to include these once a week depending on how my body is feeling at the time, but they 100% make me stronger in the long run!

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 22, 2017 at 1:31 am

          Haha ah Kelsi this made me smile! They DO suck! Paused reps are insanely hard and I definitely curse when I do them 😀 But they are sooo effective. Congrats on you that you get them in once per week- way to kick butt!

          Reply
      6. Robin LaMonte

        August 22, 2017 at 6:20 pm

        I absolutely agree that paused reps are very hard!
        I use them in squats and on my upper arms.
        Just think about how effective doing a plank is for your core!

        You don't have to do a lot of reps to gets great results!
        Great post!

        Hugs,
        Robin

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 22, 2017 at 11:56 pm

          Exactly! Paused reps are super challenging in a whole different way. I personally prefer low rep workouts so it's a nice and different way to stimulate the muscles. Front squats with pauses are my favorite 😉

          Reply
      7. Mayuri

        August 23, 2017 at 12:49 pm

        Love the pics but doing it isn't easy. It requires so much physical and mental strength. Great post!

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 23, 2017 at 12:56 pm

          Definitely not easy! Paused reps are always one of the hardest for me- but so worth the effort 😀

          Reply
      8. Suzanne Spiegoski

        August 23, 2017 at 7:42 pm

        These are all such great workout tips!

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 24, 2017 at 12:54 am

          Thanks Suzanne!

          Reply
      9. Ramelle

        August 24, 2017 at 3:05 pm

        This is fabulous, weight training ? is one of the best.

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 24, 2017 at 4:23 pm

          Weight training definitely kicks butt!

          Reply
      10. Mary

        August 29, 2017 at 3:24 am

        I have never thought about pausing while I lift to gain strength. I'm totally going to try that next time I'm at the gym! 🙂

        Reply
        • fitasamamabear

          August 29, 2017 at 12:45 pm

          Dooo it- it's not easy. Actually it's super hard to pause in the "sticking point" of an exercise. but it's so beneficial and definitely a great switch up to your workouts- enjoy!

          Reply

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