This type of training gets the very last ounce of energy out of your muscles by taking the initial set of an exercise to fatigue resting and then doing some more. So if you thought your training was tough enough think again because this takes tough that one step further.

Why do it?

If you do the same workout day in day out the benefits at the start will be far greater than the benefits a couple of months later. If you are still doing the same routine months after that then the benefits to your health, wellbeing and goals are going to be minimal. The body does react to exercise but it reacts to certain aspects; one is variety and one is overload. So rest-pause training works on the overload theory by taking your muscles to fatigue, allowing them to recover for a few seconds and then getting that little bit more from them. The reason for doing your exercise this way is to see more results faster. This will use more muscle fibres and more energy than a straight set would.

How to do rest-pause training

This isn’t going to be the longest paragraph ever as this type of training isn’t difficult to understand. You take any exercise, perform as many reps as you can until the muscle you are focusing on fatigues. Take a rest of around 5 seconds and perform as many as you can before it fatigues again. Now you can rest properly before going into the next exercise. Not too difficult to understand and I’m even waffling to pad this paragraph out.

Understanding fatigue

With this type of training it is important that you understand at which point your muscle is fatigued. In exercise when we refer to a muscle being fatigued we mean that it can no longer do the job it is being asked with perfect technique. So if we take the biceps curl as our example: you are performing the exercise with a dumbbell, at around about 12 repetitions you notice that your upper body is starting to sway and that you are using momentum in your arm to aid the movement. These are a sure sign that your technique has gone, which in turn means that the biceps are fatigued, because they can no longer do the job without the help of the swinging motion being created by the arm and the upper body. Use a mirror where possible to keep an eye on your technique.

So in regards to this type of training you must rest (around 5 seconds) just before you lose perfect technique and then perform the final few repetitions again with perfect technique.

How to learn perfect technique

We thought you would never ask. Of course every exercise is different and every exercise has a different technique to learn. Visit our exercise library here where we have many exercises described in full detail so that you can learn perfect technique. If you look at the “Don’ts” section half way down the page of every exercise, these are the key points to look out for to see if the body is cheating and therefore if the muscle is fatigued. We really have thought of everything.

Be warned

This type of training can very easily lead to tears and strains in the muscle you are working and supporting muscles if the correct technique is not followed. Stop immediately if your technique fails. For some exercises e.g. the bench press it is important that you have someone to spot you. Due to the muscles being taken to fatigue there is every chance that you could end up trapped under a rather heavy barbell without any strength left to move it. So it is very important to have somebody who is strong enough to take the weight away if you get into trouble.

This is not an exercise technique for the beginner, you need to have a very good understanding of your body and exercise before attempting this style of training.

Always check with your doctor if this style of training is suitable for you before attempting it.

Finally, because we are taking the muscles to fatigue there is a real tendency to hold your breath especially on the last few repetitions. Please don’t, try and breathe out on contraction and in on relaxing the muscle.

Summary

This type of training can be combined with a number of other types to make up some interesting hybrid training styles. It is a great way to get the most out of the muscle you are training, but as you can see it can also be dangerous. If you are unsure whether to add it to your routine or not try adding it to just one exercise to start off with and build up from there.

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This entry was Posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Exercise, Training Styles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.