I'm going to keep this blog VERY short I personally don't condone a ton of exercise variety when it comes to improving performance (strength, power, etc..), that is, I like to stick to the basics. That being said, there are a few variations of the basics that I absolutely love for strength improvement. Those variations I'm referring to consist of paused lifts, which require you to isometrically hold a position for 3-5 seconds during each rep. By holding certain lifts/exercises at the weakest joint angle under load, for reps, very rapid strength gains can be made.

The 3 paused lifts I find very useful include:

• Paused presses
• Paused lower body unilaterals
• Paused pulls

Here is an example paused lift (paused bench):
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2SVmb-XzKA&fmt=22#t=1m15s

With these variations, I usually like to perform them as assistance to a primary (heavier) lift, but they can very well be used as the primary lift. The sets and rep ranges can vary, but I prefer 3 sets of 5 reps with a 3-5 second pause between each rep. Full recovery isn't mandatory between sets, but I advise it (~5 minutes rest between sets unless you're in a superset, then ~2 minutes is fine), these lifts really induce alot of fatigue, especially if you aren't accustomed to them.

• Preferably can be performed as assistance, but can of course be used as a primary exercise
• 3 sets of 5 reps with a 3-5 second pause between each rep
• Full recovery between sets: ~5 minutes with light mobility work to aid in recovery
• Adhere to very strict form, don't let fatigue alter the movement
• Breathing at the bottom is fine, just stay tight, use pursed breathing

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Paused Presses

FlanderBeast demonstrating paused bench press:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0BEj3Aw3xA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0BEj3Aw3xA</a>


Paused presses really target the pectorals and anterior delts. These could include any of the following, which usually depends on personal preference:

• Paused bench press
• Paused parallel-bar-dips

Paused bench press can be performed with dumbells or barbell. Paused parallel-bar-dips can be performed weighted.

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Paused Lower Body Unilaterals

Paused lower body unilaterals really target the quads, hamstrings, and the (especially) glutes hard. These could include any of the following, which usually depends on personal preference:

• Paused walking lunges
• Paused bulgarian split squat
• Paused reverse lunges

Barbell is preferred, as grip strength won't become an issue, but dumbells are fine too.

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Paused Pulls

Paused pulls really target the lats, rear delt, and upper back musculature. These could include any of the following, which usually depends on personal preference:

• Paused seated row
• Paused chinup or pullup
• Paused single arm row

Paused seated row can be performed on a machine. Paused chinup or pullup can be performed weighted. Paused single arm row can be performed with dumbells.

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Mixing Pulls & Presses

If you're like me, you probably enjoy doing presses & pulls in the same session, if so, mixing in paused variations can be done in a few ways:

• Mixed normal/pause: Day 1 = normal press, paused pull ..... Day 2 = normal pull, paused press
• Separate normal/pause: Day 1 = normal press, normal pulls ..... Day 2 = paused press, paused pull

Here's another example, but for the second scenario:

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An example full body template

Here is a quick template which consists of full body workouts each session. A few things to keep note:
- ... after the warmup means "other stuff", for example, this could consist of interval sprints, plyometrics, jumps, explosive lifts, or whatever it is that you're focusing on.
- ... at the end of the workout could be any additional exercises you need to include, or just like doing, such as core, curls, or whatever.
- this could be done monday/wednesday/friday, or mon/thurs/sun, it doesn't have to follow a 7 day period

Fill in the sets x reps based on your goals, if you need any help with that, post a reply.

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peace!

cool man nice info.. that would probably help you hit a few more reps too, well at least one more for sure.

peace man

yea definitely, i like that modification to the variation.


thanks man! appreciate it.


ahahah! post a screen shot one time before you X out.. that shit is fun for sure.. i'll try to make my A again and screenshot it

peace

hahaha, i did that too man.. fun stuff :F I tried to make shapes/letters on it.

Thanks mang! appreciate the compliment, will do!


Nice post man. I've done something similar to that as well, love those long heavy isometric holds, that's a nice setup for sure. I've only done them with:

• heavy isometric hold bench or weighted pushup
• heavy isometric hold pullup (at the top)
• heavy isometric hold lunge

Heavy isometric hold front/back squat is nice but it definitely hits the lower back too hard IMO.



I guess we can throw core in there too, since pillars are isometrics:

• heavy isometric hold pillar (front/side)

I like when people shit on isometric yet perform pillars I definitely don't like isometric-only programs though, definitely has to be some isotonic work in there.



peace!

ya man I love those lifts, pin squat, pin bench, pin press.. Deadlift naturally works that way I've had lot of success with pin squats in terms of power for vert, they seemed to keep me feeling a bit healthier too, the nice momentary deload at the bottom feels good, and allows you to reposition yourself.

peace!

well so what do you all peopel think about 3 second hold at the bottom in travelling lunges? i'm doing bodyweight work now , i managed to do 20-17-15 reps of travelling lunges, bout 1 and a half min rest in between sets, with a tempo of 1-3-1 .

Think the tempo is good?

cheers