# paused reps



## gametime75019 (Jun 17, 2014)

What are the benefits of eliminating the strech reflex, more power, hypertrophy? And would there be any difference between a paused barbell bench vs paused dumbbell bench. Any advice is much appreciated.


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## chicken_hawk (Jun 17, 2014)

There are benefits to pause reps for hypertrophy,  but they are related to doing more work or total load during a set. This could be accomplished easier by adding an extra set. Total volume (at least as much as your can recover from) is more critical then load or weight were hypertrophy is concerned. 

Now, increasing the force of each contraction would makw a bigger difference,  so a rapid but controlled reversal of direction would create more force per rep or doing 1/3 or 1/4 reps mixed into regular sets ie. Creating more force by reversing directions more times during a set would be a better direction to explore imho. 

Good luck,
Hawk


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## gametime75019 (Jun 17, 2014)

Do you think there is a difference between a paused barbell press and a paused dumbbell bench, in terms of the strech reflex?


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## GastrocGuy (Jun 17, 2014)

gametime75019 said:


> Do you think there is a difference between a paused barbell press and a paused dumbbell bench, in terms of the strech reflex?



You can get more stretch with the db, but you have to be more careful about the joint when you're going heavy.


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## Sandpig (Jun 17, 2014)

My rotators are hurting just from thinking about pausing in a stretch with the DB's.


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## chicken_hawk (Jun 17, 2014)

gametime75019 said:


> Do you think there is a difference between a paused barbell press and a paused dumbbell bench, in terms of the strech reflex?



Probably several, but the main one that comes to mind is that with DB's your triceps would fatigue faster since they have to stablize the weight while paused. With a BB Bench this is not so much the case.

Hawk


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## gobot (Jun 17, 2014)

About the only place I ever use paused reps is on the sled but when I do I can definitely tell.


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## gametime75019 (Jun 17, 2014)

I use it as well when I do atg back squats with 20 reps,  it feels completely different from the 20 reps to parallel


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## jbobxxiv (Jun 26, 2014)

I've incorporated and entire full body workout dedicated to explosive movements (oly lifts, paused reps) into my routine and I'm really loving it.  Too early to tell if it's very beneficial in terms of hypertrophy or strength gains for me but there is alot of articles out there touting the benefits of such exercises.  The one thing you really want to focus on is making sure you are pausing for atleast 2 seconds to fully eliminate the stretch reflex, if you cheat the pause you're just cheating yourself.


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## psych (Jun 27, 2014)

Pauses are good so is band benching. It's just a pain in the dick if you dont have a bench built with pegs at the base for the bands.


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## The Grim Repper (Jul 2, 2014)

I love doing paused BB benching - moreso on inclines than flat.  I'll usually do the last three reps of a set paused for 1, 2 and 3 seconds respectively.  This really helped me to improve my drive off of the chest while increasing time under tension during the set.  DBs may not accomplish the same thing for you - or at least the risk to benefit ratio may not be in your favor.


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