Pausing at the bottom of bench.

[aerowana]

Does anyone do their bench press like me. Controlled lowering, pause with barbell touching the chest for about 2 seconds, then push it up in 0.0001 seconds. I found out it is really difficult as compared to the usual up down with no pause. For eg, I can do like 10-12 of 60kg using up down fast motion, but not even 5 using the pause method.

Is there any advantage to doing this explosive way. I am targetting to get denser and rough looking muscle , not those smooth and big muscles. And also wanting knockout punching power will pause-explode help?

 

[Sammy Sosa]

I say take advantage of the stretch reflex. Dense muscle comes from big weights.

 

[Omegasox]

I don't see the point of pausing. If anything I can see it doing more harm than good.

 

[bignate73]

If anything I can see it doing more harm than good.

how so?

I say take advantage of the stretch reflex

the stretch reflex can last from 2 up to 4 seconds in conditioned athletes.

 

[Sammy Sosa]

exactly, so use it to blast through sticking points.
Although I'm not so sure about 4 seconds. Seems too long.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

i do a pause at the bottom of my rep then try to explode through it. from what i've read, it's a CNS conditioning thing to train your body to explode, but i could be wrong on this.

 

[150shot]

I agree with Crak- people that bounce the cheat it- IMHO. I pause but for a 1/2- 1 sec and rely on the CNS or whatever it is in my head that tells me to explode upwards with all I can.

It helps push through sticking points and in so many other exercises where you can apply this too, for me just about all.

My own partner use to be like WTF!? how can you have so much weight resting on your chest, and now she is starting to learn it, and is progressively moving up in weight.

Pausing will also help you focus on pushing with the right muscles. For those that cant "explode", I strongly encourage to practice it...

 

[coolcolj]

You can pause to remove the stretch reflex so you work on pure muscular contraction.

1 sec is suffcient to remove a large % of the stretch reflex. Things get much heavier even with a 1 sec pause. But it depends on how much stretch reflex you generate on the way down, not everyone generates the same amount.

and I doubt you can do a bench concentric in 0.0001 seconds
or even 0.1 sec
More like 0.5 sec if the weight is light

 

[Buddy_Christ]

i don't rest the weight on my chest. it may touch, but it doesn't rest.

i agree that bouncing it can cause some damage. i was training at home a few weeks ago and somehow managed to lose my grip with one hand while i had 140lbs on the bar. that side came crashing down into my ribs. hurt like hell. glad i wasn't hurt. bouncing something off the chest could probably result in some broken ribs if the weight is heavy enough or you screw up big time. best to eliminate that variable.

 

[aerowana]

I don't rest it on my chest, my arms are actually supporting the weight just touching my chest. Problem with doing this kind of training all the time is, will there be any side effects to your relfex ability? And also, the progression in weight is wayyyy slower than doing normally. I'm like stuck with the same weight at 5,5,5,3,2 reps for quite a long time.

 

[150shot]

At the most I'll rest I'll use a 1sec pause after I know I cant get another full rep. I dont usually rest it, but I have to at this point, then once I'm ready to explode my partners right there to get me the full rep.

 

[aerowana]

So exploding is like focussing the internal energy , the ki inside of you and concentrating it on bursting the weight barrier. I love kungfu.

 

[b fold the truth]

the stretch reflex can last from 2 up to 4 seconds in conditioned athletes.

CAN...

And I believe that Louie Simmons was also talking about athletes who are using the bench shirt when benching. I know that I have never found this to be true in myself.

I don't like the pause...I think that it has led to injuries in my shoulders for myself and it has for others as well.

B True

 

[bignate73]

"Never, I repeat, never pause the bar on the chest in training. Kinetic energy is lost to some extent. A pause is just a powerlifting rule. The stretch reflex will remain up to 4 seconds in high skilled lifters and 2 seconds for less skilled athletes, as noted by Wilson’s studies. If you pause longer than your normal reflex time, potential energy is lost."

 

[coolcolj]

Never say never

I pause in some phases of my training, bar is held slightly above the chest though, then I bounce it off my chest and explode it upwards

I wouldn't do it everytime I train though, but it has it uses, ISO holds. Jay Schroeder uses it a lot. A good way to fatigue the low threshold fibers and then when you explode you call on fast fibers to do the same job.

 

[aerowana]

So, pausing is bad?

 

[coolcolj]

nope

but it's not something I wopuld do every session, you need to do some normal reps as well

 

[150shot]

My final advice- I wouldnt recommend doing it on normal full reps you can do on your own. Try it when you cant do a full rep and practice the socalled "explosion" everyone here is talking about, pause just enough to focus. Get a good spotter.

 

[coolcolj]

??

I do it with normal reps I can do on my own, and I never use a spotter

this is how I use em - see clip - definitely no stretch reflex here

right click and save before watching to avoid errors
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_EccentricPausedBench _175x2_25Nov03.mpg

 

[b fold the truth]

nope

but it's not something I wopuld do every session, you need to do some normal reps as well

I agree with that. I will pause from time to time...but not very often.

B True

 

[TheOak84]

on my last set i might pause the last rep. one time i did 225 for a 1 set of 17 all rest paused.. just to see how many times i can do it.. i dunno if it did anything.. at least me reps were super strict

 

[aerowana]

Thanks for the vid CCJ. That seems much more like a long negative-pause-explode. And it does seem tiring. But mine is not like that. Mine is normal lowering down- pause to focus my ki energy- explode. hehehe

 

[anthrax]

I almost never pause

but using the rebound effect is worse (it is cheating, and can be dangerous IMO)

 

[coolcolj]

I do that as well Aerowana, but not all the time
only when I need to work on "Starting Strength", doing that does help built ability to turn on fibers explosively on command.

I do that on squats quite a bit as well

 

[WalkingBeast]

I only see it as detrimental in the long run. I think youll get alot more out of using heavier weights and some momentum. Dont need to bounce it to get the benefit. If your a competitive powerliftter it may be useful, since competitions are done with a pause, and usually a bench shirt. Aside from that I wouldnt do it.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

damn it. the links in the "training methods" sticky that discuss proper form for bench press aren't working. that's where i read about this whole 2 second pause thing.

i'm seeing this whole topic going back and forth here. good debate, but have we come up with the right answer yet?

here's my view on this. in powerlifting competitions, yes, they have to do the pause before driving the weight back up. i am not a competitive power lifter, and don't ever see myself as being one. but what's the difference in the strength that a competitive power lifter has and in the strength of the regular lifter that's trying to get bigger and stronger? i would think that doing lifts the way that competitive power lifters do them would help to increase your strength. is this the right way to think about it or not?

heavy is relative to the lifter, of course. what's heavy for me may be a warm up rep for a competitive lifter, but if i'm utilizing the same techniques as they are, wouldn't that help me to push even more weight as i get stronger and can handle more?

 

[WalkingBeast]

damn it. the links in the "training methods" sticky that discuss proper form for bench press aren't working. that's where i read about this whole 2 second pause thing.

i'm seeing this whole topic going back and forth here. good debate, but have we come up with the right answer yet?

here's my view on this. in powerlifting competitions, yes, they have to do the pause before driving the weight back up. i am not a competitive power lifter, and don't ever see myself as being one. but what's the difference in the strength that a competitive power lifter has and in the strength of the regular lifter that's trying to get bigger and stronger? i would think that doing lifts the way that competitive power lifters do them would help to increase your strength. is this the right way to think about it or not?

heavy is relative to the lifter, of course. what's heavy for me may be a warm up rep for a competitive lifter, but if i'm utilizing the same techniques as they are, wouldn't that help me to push even more weight as i get stronger and can handle more?

A lot of competitive powerlifters dont even train with a pause. Not until they have that bench shirt on, maybe a few weeks before a competition. Bench shirt makes a huge difference.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

ok, well, i don't plan on using a bench shirt. i want my lifts RAW (i've even abandoned gloves now....sucks cause i like my palms nice and smooth )

but isn't the pause - explosion thing all a part of CNS conditioning that helps out with heavier lifts?

say i'm warming up with 100lbs, i'd be able to force the bar up extremely fast, but then load up to my max, and yes, it'd be a lot slower, but the muscles would be ready and "trained" to explode, and would actually be doing it, even if the lift was slower. i thought that was the whole point of doing the 1-2 second pause at the bottom of the rep. over time your CNS gets ready for that explosion and it makes it easier for you to do it, even on very heavy lifts.

on a side note, it's better than some lifters i see that come down to about, oh, 3-4" from their chest, then push back up again, bar is crooked cause it's too heavy for a full rep for them, and their arms are so far apart, they're only moving the bar maybe 8" total

 

[WalkingBeast]

ok, well, i don't plan on using a bench shirt. i want my lifts RAW (i've even abandoned gloves now....sucks cause i like my palms nice and smooth )

but isn't the pause - explosion thing all a part of CNS conditioning that helps out with heavier lifts?

say i'm warming up with 100lbs, i'd be able to force the bar up extremely fast, but then load up to my max, and yes, it'd be a lot slower, but the muscles would be ready and "trained" to explode, and would actually be doing it, even if the lift was slower. i thought that was the whole point of doing the 1-2 second pause at the bottom of the rep. over time your CNS gets ready for that explosion and it makes it easier for you to do it, even on very heavy lifts.

on a side note, it's better than some lifters i see that come down to about, oh, 3-4" from their chest, then push back up again, bar is crooked cause it's too heavy for a full rep for them, and their arms are so far apart, they're only moving the bar maybe 8" total

I dont bench in the powerlifting style. But I like speed bench for getting more acceleration and explosion. It seemed to work real well before I got injured. Pausing may have its place, but I never use it. I like to go as heavy as possible most of the time on bench, either for a target amount of reps to failure or a one rep max. I feel the extra weight will ultimately help in developing more power and size. Im no benching expert though, just do whats worked for me.

 

[aerowana]

Well I have found a better way for explosion without the detrimental effects. When no one is using the squat rack I move the bars to just above my chest and start benching from the lowest position. That way, I don't need to injure myself by supporting the weight at the bottom while pausing. Just let it rest on the safety bar, and with a mighty heave explode it up. Sounds good?

 

[150shot]

ok, well, i don't plan on using a bench shirt. i want my lifts RAW (i've even abandoned gloves now....sucks cause i like my palms nice and smooth )

but isn't the pause - explosion thing all a part of CNS conditioning that helps out with heavier lifts?

say i'm warming up with 100lbs, i'd be able to force the bar up extremely fast, but then load up to my max, and yes, it'd be a lot slower, but the muscles would be ready and "trained" to explode, and would actually be doing it, even if the lift was slower. i thought that was the whole point of doing the 1-2 second pause at the bottom of the rep. over time your CNS gets ready for that explosion and it makes it easier for you to do it, even on very heavy lifts.

on a side note, it's better than some lifters i see that come down to about, oh, 3-4" from their chest, then push back up again, bar is crooked cause it's too heavy for a full rep for them, and their arms are so far apart, they're only moving the bar maybe 8" total

Crak- looks like youve got your mental game ready to go. Dont worry about the pause to much, go for some strict reps and think of your explosion when the bar is on the way down. once it hits your chest go for it. When it gets heavy during the set you may pause naturally because it will be harder to explode.

Yes its better than people that go 3-4" above their chest, they load up plates and think they are Mr. Macho while they are doing half reps...