Paused reps to improve your squats and bench press

If you struggle with the bottom part of your bench press or your squat, then paused reps are a great way to help improve your strength in these positions.


If you are training with squats then work on your normal sets with your normal technique. Then you can drop the weight slightly and do a few sets with a 1-2 second pause at the bottom position of the squat. Keep you body upright and make sure you count the seconds at the bottom. So many people think they are pausing but simply bounce back up. I tend to do 3 sets of 8 reps. When you are in the bottom position really focus on driving your feet into the floor as you come back up. This will help activate the leg muscles.



















In the bench press, you can either pause with the bar on your chest (if this is a comfortable bottom position for you) or simply pause at the lowest position of the range which you use (some people prefer to be an inch or two off the chest). The same rule applies here, pause 1-2 seconds and then drive the bar up. Another 3 sets of 8 works well for me and I'll tend to do these after my regular bench pressing.















For Beginners:

I find the above techniques also work really well for begginers who are learning to squat or bench press for the first time. Even if you are simply doing bodyweight squats or light dumbell bench pressing, holding the bottom position really enables a beginner to get a good 'feel' for the muscles they should be working when moving back the other way. It also slows the movement down a bit. Going too fast can often affect the quality of the movement and this will prevent that.

Try adding these in for variety, or if your squat or bench press have plateaued!

Oli