The rest-pause training method. What is it and how do I use it?

fighter of the “Our Cause” league, world and European judo champion, founder of the Judo League with Stars

The technique has become popular with bodybuilders over the years. Most competitive athletes know about it, but most amateur lifters do not. It is perhaps one of the most effective and fairly simple methods for increasing muscle mass because it is based on the interval training model. This method is based on quickly increasing the amount of work in a minimal amount of time.

Using the rest-pause method in your training will give you a very fast jump in both strength and muscle mass after a few sessions. In addition, this approach perfectly complements and integrates with other strength training techniques.

Even a beginner bodybuilder usually knows that muscles grow as a result of “progressive training”. They, in an attempt to adapt and adjust to the loads that grow from workout to workout, begin to grow in volume. When you work with heavier weights, you load the muscle more, and it reacts to the load by growing in volume. But this happens up to a certain stage.

After about half a year of training, the process starts to “slip” – the body adapts to the load, and the muscles practically stop reacting. The observed growth does not correspond to the efforts made. The process is so slow that we can talk about stagnation. This means that the time has come when the muscles need to be “surprised”.

What is the meaning of the “rest-pause” method?

The essence of this method is to perform instead of one working approach 2-3 working approaches at once with minimal rest between them, i.e. no more than 20-30 seconds. This is necessary so that your muscles do not have time to fully recover.

Thus, the load is carried out with minimum rest time within one minute – you do 2-3 working approaches at once. Due to such work, the total intensity of your exercise or work approach increases almost 2-3 times. Hence the rapid growth of muscle mass.

The method has long established itself as one of the best and effective strength training methods, which can quickly and efficiently increase the intensity and load of your workouts by 30-50% or more. Which is equally excellent for both muscle mass growth and increasing your strength performance.

How to train using this method?

Method one: “rest-pause” for hypertrophy (increasing muscle mass or volume)

1. Start performing an approach with 6-10 reps with as much weight as possible.
2. Rest for 15 seconds, taking deep inhales and exhales, and continue with the same weight until failure.
3. Repeat step 2 as many times as necessary (two times is enough in most cases). You will find that you will only be able to perform 2-3 repetitions at step 2 and 3, but the effect will be much greater than normal repetitions.

Do not try to perform several reps in a row using this technique. It is recommended to do no more than one approach per workout, using “rest-pause” for each muscle group. This is a good technique for muscle hypertrophy, as it maximizes muscle fatigue. It’s also a great way to overcome the period of “stagnation” – the muscles are under tremendous stress and react to it, so the next time you perform a normal approach you will be able to do a few more repetitions.

Method two: “rest-pause” for strength:

1. Choose a weight at 85-95% of your single-rep max.
2. Perform one repetition with that weight.
3. Rest for 30-45 seconds.
4. Repeat a few more times (usually 6-10).

Under extreme muscle tension, micro-traumas form in the muscles, as a result of which they become “clogged” with protein breakdown products and their strength decreases. This method requires a longer break between repetitions, so that the blood has time to clean the muscles from breakdown products.

What does science say?

The training method itself has been around for many years. It is said that Sergio Oliva used it back in 1969 when he became the only bodybuilder to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger at Mr. Olympia. Sergio was huge.

In the case of the rest-pause methodology, it took scientists over 50 years to catch up with bodybuilders! As a result of studies conducted in 2019 and 2021, it is actually known that the rest-pause technique works based on scientific evidence. In one experiment, the result was slightly better strength, while the other recorded an 11% greater increase in thigh muscle mass compared to conventional types of training. Basically, the researchers concluded that the muscle growth was about the same compared to the usual traditional workouts.

However, the researchers found that the subjects achieved the same muscle gains in less time than with traditional workouts.

What’s important to know.

“Rest breaks” require a pre-workout to warm up the muscles. Lack of warm-up can lead to undesirable consequences.

Basic exercises are considered to be the most suitable for this form of training, for example: bench press or sit-ups, incline barbell pulls, barbell pulls, standing biceps raises, barbell squats and so on.

The “rest-pause” technique cannot be used in every training session! It can be used no more than once per week cycle, making one session as heavy as possible for a certain muscle group.

Do not use this form of training alone. Remember that when performing the exercises, you must have a partner or a trainer by your side to back you up.

Training to lift the maximum weight for the lifter requires the greatest concentration and mental effort, which allows you to achieve the ultimate workout in one single lift.

The rest-pause method is considered an extremely effective form of training, but it is not suitable for beginners who have not yet developed the ability to mobilize before performing record-breaking exercises. The athlete’s emotional state is very important. The musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems of beginners are also not adapted to one-time extreme and over-extreme loads. Beginners should not try to force training with this technique. This can lead to injuries.