Pause bench press?
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ukulelist
Posts: 33 Member
Couple questions for the lifting experts here 
1. When you're training bench press e.g. in a 5x5 program, do you pause at the bottom? Last workout I started trying to do that although I had to take off a bunch of weight, and I'm not sure whether to keep trying or go back to the more typical bench press. Some people on the internet recommend a full 3-second pause at the bottom. My understanding so far is:
Pausing pros:
* If you ever do a powerlifting competition, you're already used to holding at the bottom
* Builds more strength (?)
Cons:
* Maybe it is unnecessary until you are actually ready to compete at powerlifting
* Your ego gets butthurt because you're lifting lighter weights.
Thoughts?
2. If you do a pause, how do you breathe? I've been taking a breath at the top of the lift and keeping it through the entire rep, but if I pause for 3 seconds in the middle then I feel like I'm holding my breath too long. Do you take a quick breath while the bar is paused on your chest or is that dangerous?
1. When you're training bench press e.g. in a 5x5 program, do you pause at the bottom? Last workout I started trying to do that although I had to take off a bunch of weight, and I'm not sure whether to keep trying or go back to the more typical bench press. Some people on the internet recommend a full 3-second pause at the bottom. My understanding so far is:
Pausing pros:
* If you ever do a powerlifting competition, you're already used to holding at the bottom
* Builds more strength (?)
Cons:
* Maybe it is unnecessary until you are actually ready to compete at powerlifting
* Your ego gets butthurt because you're lifting lighter weights.
Thoughts?
2. If you do a pause, how do you breathe? I've been taking a breath at the top of the lift and keeping it through the entire rep, but if I pause for 3 seconds in the middle then I feel like I'm holding my breath too long. Do you take a quick breath while the bar is paused on your chest or is that dangerous?
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Replies
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I compete in PL.
I pause the first rep of every set. The bar just has to be motionless on the chest which is typically about half a second.
Longer pauses can be used to practice keeping a tight setup.
I take breath in at the top, hold during decent and exhale at the top again.0 -
You'll get a bit more power out of the chest once you're used to pausing. For a general strength training, it may be negligible but for a powerlifter it's essential. I do anything over 80% 1RM paused (or intend to, some days it just has to be touch n go because iy feels so heavy in the hands). Anything below 80% depends on reps/sets and programming.
Don't breathe at the bottom, you'll lose your tightness,0 -
Echo'ing the breathing comments.
I train for PL'ing, so incorporate paused bench - but I usually do them as a back off/assist set and usually only when coming up to a meet (which is probably a bad idea as my competition bench is bad, bad, bad compared to my working/gym bench performance).
I may steal Chris's way of incorporating them though.
Whether you do paused or not, you should make sure your descent is controlled and you do not bounce off your chest.0 -
Same Breathing as Chris.
My Current Bench Day:
Work up to Heavy set of 3 reps x 6 sets (all pause reps each set)
then 3 sets of 5 reps Wide grip (full hand each side wider, also all pause) And let me tell you, you will feel this one.
lastly 3 sets of 6 reps Medium Close Grip ( Stress locking out) as this will help your Lockout portion of bench. (no pause, regular bench)
I have a few other things i do on Bench day, been doing this couple months now and have increased 20lbs0 -
Not PL = a good idea as it increases the time under tension. Only a touch more but it makes a difference. Especially if you're tendency to get stuck is at the bottom
If PL = a good idea so you get used to the idea of pausing. Don't want to get DQ'd because you could actually handle the weight but didn't pause enough. Should probably have someone say "go" after the pause so you get used to waiting for the signal0 -
Not a PL or even advanced but I started doing pauses (probably less than a second) at the bottom of all my warm up sets, deload week, and sometimes added a few sets of pause as an accessory after my heavier working sets when I still felt energetic.
This seemed to really improve my strength gains after hitting a bit a slump for a while.
I take a short breath at the top of the rep or if the weight is light I might do a couple reps then take a breath. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing. Would like to hear from others on that.0 -
Not a PL or even advanced but I started doing pauses (probably less than a second) at the bottom of all my warm up sets, deload week, and sometimes added a few sets of pause as an accessory after my heavier working sets when I still felt energetic.
This seemed to really improve my strength gains after hitting a bit a slump for a while.
I take a short breath at the top of the rep or if the weight is light I might do a couple reps then take a breath. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing. Would like to hear from others on that.
You should breath at the top of the rep (holding it for more than one light rep is fine however).0 -
I know a guy (who benches 190kg) who says he holds his breath for all reps if doing less than 6 reps. Crazy stuff! Keeps mega tight but I think I'd pass out!0
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Thanks everyone, your advice is very helpful 0
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Locking for admin purposes. If you want to add anything or ask further questions, please PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread, and we will unlock it so you can post.0
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