rest pause training

[mtex]

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 additon, 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 additon 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
Print Mahler's Training Routine For Monday / Friday HERE!
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
Print Mahler's Training Routine For Wednesday / Saturday HERE!
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.

Thanks,

[TRUEsoldier]

awesome shit bro, been wondering about this, thanks for explaining it to me

[StrappingYoungLad]

This is a great post bro.I've done various forms of rest pause,but not like this.I actually think I'm going to give this a go.Thanks!

[mtex]

i was going to write an article myself but ran across this & it said almost exactly what i wanted to say. this was my same approach when i ttied rest/pause right before my accident . & it was great- mike is right in saying it will seperate the serious lifter from the pseudo lifter in no time. kicked my ass bro

[hermiti]

That guy is also a vegan, interesting. Here is a vegan-weightlifting guide that he wrote.

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When I was fifteen I read an interview with Harley Flannagan (lead singer of the legendary NYC hardcore band, the Cro-mags) in which he stated that he became a vegetarian to lead a more peaceful life and that one cannot talk about peace when they have a steak on their plate, as an animal died in agonizing pain to end up there. That really struck a cord with me and got me thinking about the thousands of animals that suffer daily on factory farms. Next, I visited Kenya with my parents and experienced a feeling of oneness with the animals over there. I realized that I did not want to contribute to the unnecessary suffering of other beings and I knew that I needed to make some changes. Finally, I saw a movie called “The Fly II� in which a golden retriever is mutilated in an experiment gone bad. That got me thinking about how animals are abused in labs and further solidified the new direction that I was taking. In addition, to giving up meat, I decided that I would make sure to purchase products such as: toothpaste, shampoo, soap etc that were not tested on animals.

I gave up meat gradually. I stated off by giving up all meat except fish. Then I gave up fish, but continued to eat eggs and dairy. Once I realized that most eggs and dairy products came from animals that lived miserable lives on factory farms, I gave up all animal products. That was ten years ago and I have never looked back. While I am an ethical vegan, there is no doubt in mind that a vegan diet is healthy and that I can get everything that my body need for my intense lifestyle. Regardless, like any other diet, planning is required.


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The number one thing that people always ask me is where do I get my protein. Many vegans that I have met make the mistake of thinking that you do not need much protein at all. I even had one guy tell me that only 5% of one’s diet should come from protein. Of course this guy looked like Don knots and would be blown off like kite if a strong wind came by. I had another guy tell me that I can get protein from a cucumber and that I should not even worry about it. Of course, this guy was not in shape either and was in no position to give me nutrition advice. We have to be much more sensible than that. Especially, if we expect anyone to give up meat and adopt a vegetarian diet. Telling people that they can get all of the protein that they need from eating spinach and leafy green vegetables is impractical. Just because it works for the gorillas does not mean that it will work for us. Not getting enough protein and thinking that only 5% of your diet needs to be comprised of protein are sure fire ways to be spindly and weak for the rest of your life. Now I am not saying that you need two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight like the bodybuilding magazines state. That is way too much protein and a case of overkill. For athletes, 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle is optimal for increasing strength and size. For example, if you weigh 180lb and have ten percent bodyfat, then you should shoot for 150-160 grams of protein to build more muscle. If you want to maintain your size, then 100-120 will probably be sufficient.


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Next, vegans like anyone else need to load up on healthy sources of fat. Without enough fat in your diet, your skin will dry up, your energy will plummet, and you will look like death. Getting 20-30% of your calories from fat is a good way to go. Load up on healthy fats such as: flaxseed oil, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, almond butter, and avocadoes. Also, vegan diets are free of all saturated fats, which is great for the most part. However, some saturated fat is required for optimal health, so get some coconut oil or coconut milk in you diet as well.

Finally, make sure that you eat a variety of food to get a full array of muscle building amino acids. Some examples of good combinations include: black beans and quinoa, lentils and brown rice, almond butter sandwich, Rice protein/soy milk shake, green peas and almonds. Have some veggie burgers and other fake meat products from time to time, but make sure that the majority of your diet comes from fresh organic food.

Here is a sample of my diet:

Breakfast

3 tablespoons of Rice Protein Powder (nutribiotic brand) with 8oz of almond
milk and 8oz of soy milk. I add ½ cup of frozen mango or strawberries to
the mix and one tablespoon of coconut oil. I also add in two teaspoons of Vitamineral Green (www.healthforce.com)
Mid afternoon snack
½ cup of almonds and ½ cup of raisins
Late afternoon snack
Two Veggie burgers with olive oil and some Sprouted Bread (“Ezekial� or "Man's
Bread)

Post Workout Shake

3 scoops of Rice Protein Powder with 8oz of oat or rice milk. I throw in
1 tablespoons of flaxseed oil and ½ cup of frozen fruit.
Dinner
Mixed Green Salad with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or one avocado.
One cup of lentils steamed with squash, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and some tofu. One tablespoon of olive oil is added to the mix.
One cup of quinoa
A pear or apple
Some Dark chocolate for dessert and some ginger cookies
Glass of red whine
Late Night snack
Peanut butter or almond butter sandwich and a cup of berries
Okay, now that we have the diet taken care of, let me address the most important part of getting bigger and stronger which of course is training. If you do not have a solid training regimen, it does not matter what your diet looks like, you will not make any progress. Many trainees make the mistake of doing way too much volume and focusing way too much time on isolation exercises. If strength and size is what you want, then focus on compound movements that work a lot of muscle groups such as: Deadlifts, Squats, Military Presses, Dips, Chin-ups, Bent-over rows, and Bench Presses. Here is a four-day-a-week program that you can follow to pack on some size and strength:
Monday and Friday (Upper Body Emphasis)

A-1 Incline Dumbbell Presses

A-2 One-arm Dumbbell Rows

Take a two-minute break and then do:

A-1 Seated Dumbbell Presses

A-2 Weighted Pull-ups

Do one set of A-1, wait two-minutes, then do as set of A-2, wait two-minutes, then another set of A-1 and so forth until you have completed five sets of five on each exercise. Use the same weight on all five sets. When you can do seven reps on the fifth set, increase the weight by 5-10lbs.

Wednesday and Sunday (Lower Body Emphasis)

Deadlifts 5x5

One Legged Squats 5x5

Turkish Get-ups 5x5

Take three-minute breaks in between each set and one-minute breaks in between each exercise. Use the same weight on all five sets. When you can do seven reps on the fifth set, increase the weight by 5-10lbs.