I will focus this article on the individual who actually wants to compete, the guy/girl who will put their social life, their vacation, happy hour with their friends, and their weekend leisurely activities on hold for three to 6 (or more) long months in order to prepare for one day, one shot, one 90 second posing routine to win it all. I will cover three major topics that should absolutely be addressed when preparing for a show; the food, the coach, the miscellaneous.

THE FOOD

Think you’re spending a lot of money on food? Be ready and willing to start spending more. Many of the leaner sources of protein, such as certain white fish, cost more per oz. compared to the chicken or ground beef you’re currently buying. How much more will your food bill increase? Well, that obviously depends on how many grams of protein you’re going to be taking in. In summary, the bigger you are the more you’ll be spending. So be prepared to see about a %30 – 50 increase in monthly grocery bills. A quick hint; put money aside from your checking account into a separate account for your upcoming contest prep diet. Sound funny? Well, when considering food is THE NUMBER ONE focus when dieting for that show you want to win…it suddenly isn’t a laughing matter. If you’re able to, get that Sam’s or Costco membership and/or become good friends with a butcher in your area and see if you can’t get a discount. You never know!

THE COACH

  So you want to compete…great! You want to win? Even greater! Here’s step number one towards obtaining that goal; HIRE A CONTEST PREP COACH! You need to work with somebody that can be your second set of eyes. Whether you’re doing fitness, physique, bodybuilding, or bikini….you absolutely need someone who is knowledgeable, experienced, and has worked with competitors before and/or currently. Here are a few key pointers when looking for a great coach/mentor for your contest prep;

-        Experience; How many years does this coach have under their belt working with competitors and how successful have those competitors been? Ask them to send you photos of their previous clients if they don’t have a website already set up.

-        Knowledge; Does your coach have a certification through some online trainer site that some shmoe joe put up last month? You probably don’t want to hire him. The more years the trainer has under their belt working with clients who are COMPETITORS, the better. Keep in mind that even though this particular coach may have had several competitors who went on to become successful athletes, the does NOT mean you will immediately jump to 1^st place. Let me summarize; a great trainer/coach/mentor is a person who has studied the sport via textbooks and research, who has worked with competitors or is currently prepping athletes for a show, and has competed themselves.

-        Camaraderie; Have a meet and greet with the coach if you can in person or over the phone and make sure he/she understands your goals, your lifestyle, and you understand their training style and program layout. It’s important the trainer understands your day to day schedule, struggles, and what obstacles you need to overcome in order to properly diet down for the show. On a final note, it makes things A LOT easier for you knowing you can trust this person and they will be with you every step of the way!

The Miscellaneous

                  This may be one of the most overlooked topics when financially preparing for your show and you might not even know it until its right on top of you. If you want to compete in a show that’s out of your city or state, put aside money for the departure NOW. With the unsteady cost of gas and transportation, it will make things much easier if you have money set aside for the plane tickets, the cab rides, the hotel, and the fees you are charged along the way. How about your posing trunks or suit? Be ready to spend anywhere from $40 – $400 just for your attire onstage. The guys have it easy since we only need either posing trunks or swimming trunks for the physique class. The ladies will definitely want to save a little extra for their stage attire! So you got the transportation covered, the suit ready for the stage, and you’re ready!…right? Not just yet. Depending on which federation or committee you want to compete in, you will likely be required to purchase a membership in order to compete which costs around $60 – $100. Then you’ll need to drop about $40 per each class you want to compete in for that show (open, novice, teen, masters, etc). Next, you need to have your tanning covered. If you choose to go down the spray tan route right before the show, you will likely spend about $50 – $100.

In no way do I mean to scare somebody out of competing when addressing this issue. I simply want to clarify the very real financial cost of competing. Is it expensive? It can be. Is it rewarding? HELL YES IT IS. As I stated earlier, be ready and willing to invest in yourself, in food, in coaching, and in everything else what comes with this amazing journey!!

Within the world of weight training and weight lifting there are a varied of squat types including Front Squats, Overhead Squats, Zercher Squats, Box Squats, Bulgarian Squats and Back Squats. What differentiates the various squat types for the most part is bar placement.  Within the Back Squat there are two distinct styles, “High Bar” and “Low Bar”, the difference is where the bar is place on the back. The bar placement results in a significant difference in what you are trying to accomplish. In this article we are going address the issues around the Back Squat.

Even though, those who are knowledgeable in the world of weight training know that Squats are truly the King of the Lifts there is still a great deal of controversy about the lift. You hear it all the time, “squats are bad for you knees or I can’t squat I have bad knees and so on”. Mark Phillippi the great Strongman Competitor who was the Strength Coach at UNLV for fifteen years, stated in his presentation at the NSCA Conference “Squats bad for the knees? No, bad Squat Techniques are bad for the knees”!

To obtain the most from the Squat it is important to understand the terminology on squat depth:

• Partial or quarter squats – This would be something less that parallel
• Parallel or half squats – The top of the thigh is even with or just below parallel. Also, sometime measured where the crease at the hip and thigh when squatting is even with or just below the top of the knee.
• Full squats – Significantly below parallel, up to hamstring to calf contact. 

The issue of Squat depth is where the majority of controversy comes. Many advocate, including many in the medical field, only partial or quarter squats.  The Orthopedic doctor on the sports talk show in the Dallas area has advocated on numerous occasions that he would prefer that athletes not do squats but if they must, partial or quarter squats is all they should do.

The issue with Partial or Quarter Squats is it is a very Quad dominate exercise,  most athletes are already Quad dominate and this exasperates the imbalances between the Glutes/Hamstrings and Quads which can result in a much greater risk of injury, especially to the knees and low back .

To the other extreme you will see those that take the position that Full Squats even hamstring to calf are ok because Olympic style weightlifter train like this all the time and they have a very low injury rate. The issue I have with this is that unlike Powerlifters, Bodybuilders and other Athletes that train with weights, Olympic style weightlifters train on their lifting form as mush as they do for strength and power; this  results in them having excellent range of motion and flexibility, beyond what most athletes have. There are enough studies that indicate you get as much glut and hamstring work with Half or Parallel Squats as you do with Full Squats. See the 1999 study in published in “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.” I would recommend Half or Parallel Squats unless you have a training objective that requires Full Squats.

Along with Squat depth, bar placement on the back is extremely important. Knowledgeable Squat Coaches and Trainers break Squats down between High Bar Squats and Low Bar Squats:

• High Bar Squats – the bar is place high on the Traps, with hand placement in close to the shoulders
• This position most replicates the position required in a Squat Clean or Snatch and is used extensively by Olympic Style Weightlifters along with the Front Squat

• Low Bar Squats – the bar is place down on the Rear Delts. The bar will be approximately 1” or 3 cms below the top of the shoulders. Normally the hands will be much farther away from the shoulders in order to accommodate the low bar position.
  • Competitive Power Lifters use the low bar position when Squatting. The Federation putting on the competition rules will dictate how low the bar can be with 3 cms (1.18 “) being the norm.
• The lower the bar is on the back the closer the bar is to the lifters center of gravity and maximizes ones leverage

The picture below reflects the High Bar Squat position, bar on the Traps.

The picture below reflects the Low Bar Squat position, with the bar on the Delts below the top of the shoulder.

The picture below shows the High Bar Squat position at the bottom; more upright position with the hands close to the shoulders and the feet about shoulder width apart.

High bar squat, bottom position

The picture below shows the Low Bar Squat position at the bottom. The body has more lean, the hands are wider on the bar and the feet are Shoulder width apart or wider.

Low bar squat, bottom position

Along with Squat depth and bar position, body position when Squatting is extremely important to help insure safety and success. Greg Shepard, EdD, in his “`Big Faster Stronger” training manual advocated the following body position, with my notes in italics:

• Eyes on target (head level & focused)
• Use and athletic or jump stance
• Athletic stance, feet shoulder width, toes out
• Jump stance, feet hip width, toes straight ahead
• Be tall ( extremely important when squatting heavy)
• Spread the chest (lock in the lower back)
• Bring the shoulder bladed together & keep the chest high
• Align the toes
• Align the knees (knees over toes) (I prefer to say align the knee & the toes you really don’t want the knees over the toes)

The USAPL Club Coach’s training program keys are very similar to those listed by BFS, the following are additional points that are very important:

• Hips Back First!!!!!!!!
• The first movement of the squat should always be the hips going back.
• Breaking the hips first will put the body in the correct position from the start
• Weight on Heels
• Lifters weigh should always be on the heels
• Weight on the toes will cause the knees to go forward and make depth more difficult
• Force the knees out.
• Take minimal steps from the rack (you are not out for and afternoon walk)

In the October 2011 edition of “Powerlifting USA” Doug Daniels has an excellent article “Re-Evaluate Your Squat”. Once of the most important points he made was, “if your lifters knees are bowing in at the bottom you must back off the weight.” This not only develops and enforces poor form, it is a safety issue!

The last points, to add if you are going to squat big:

• You must have solid, hard sole shoes with some heel
• Learn to squat with a thumb less grip, much easier to get into the right position

The take away for this:  Squats are truly the King of the Lifts! But it is imperative to learn to perform and coach them correctly!

Reference Material:

• Tommy Kono’s, “Weightlifting Olympic Style”
• Greg Shepard, EdD, “Bigger Faster Stronger”
• USA Powerlifting, Club Coach Certification Course
• Powerlifting USA
• Louie Simmons, Westside Barbell Club, Books , Articles & Facebook posting

I don’t blame you.

Few sports combine the raw strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, power and overall athleticism MMA athletes portray each and every time they step into the cage. These guys are a different breed. They go all out for three to five rounds lasting 5 minutes each for a total of 15-25 minutes so your training has to compare tot this.

There are a few ways you can accomplish this, but the most common techniques are:

• Weight Training
• Plyometrics
• Sprints
• Running
• Olympic lifts

So where do you start? You have to ask yourself, do I gas out easily? Am I not exceptionally strong? These are the kind of questions to ask so that you know where you should be spending the most time. Remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link. Not to say that you should neglect your strong areas. You should continue to work on them also.
For my fighters I employ circuit training, but not the circuit training you might be thinking of. So let’s define what I like to call, “Fighter-Metabolic Training.” Circuit training is simply a form of conditioning in which you string together a number of exercises completing one after another without rest or with minimal rest. The exercises that you string together form what is called the circuit. Now there is a huge amount of room for creativity when it comes to creating a circuit. You can vary the overall length of time, how much time is spent on each exercise, the rest between exercises, what exercises you use (bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, sandbags, tires, sledgehammers, sleds, etc). Let’s take a look at some of the things to consider when creating a circuit training program to start training like an MMA athlete.

• Time: This one is pretty easy. You will usually want to try to mimic the length of time you will spend fighting and resting during a fight. For example, if you want to mimic a 3 round fight with each round lasting 5 minutes with 1 minute rest in between, then you would want to create a circuit that uses those times. Of course there are times you might want to vary your total time. For instance you may want to increase the intensity of the workout beyond what you will experience in the fight e.g. less rest and longer periods of activity.
• Exercises – I am a huge fan of movements that use large muscle groups, since that is usually what you use in a fight. Think deadlifts, swings, TGU, pull ups, push ups, bent-over rows, squats, sandbag cleans, etc. We do NOT do use isolated exercises like one arm bicep curls, calf extensions and triceps extensions. They’re just not effective for the fight game. Also try to make the exercises as movement specific as you can. For instance, rather than doing just squats, clean a pair of kettlebells, perform a front squat then press both kettlebells overhead. Return the ‘bells back to the rack position and repeat for the desired number of reps. Another variation is replacing wind sprints with an intense round of prowler sled pushes for 20-30 yards. That being said, you can pretty much use any exercise you want that will push you in the direction of your goal.

• How often? – For the beginner (I consider anyone a beginner who has less than 6 months training experience, or is not currently training in some type of martial arts), I would recommend no more than 2 day’s per week to start out. This is an extremely intense way to train, and you will need ample recovery time between workouts. This is not an easy question to answer because it will vary from person to person, but it is definitely an important one to ask so that you can prevent the likelihood of injuries. Here are a few basic questions you can ask yourself.
o Am I gearing up for a fight or just trying to maintain the fitness level I already have?
o What other training am I doing and how intense is it?
o Have I recently had a fight and need to recover?
o How intense is the circuit I created?
Lastly nutrition is a key component that must not be overlooked. Make sure you are taking in quality calories so your body can operate at peak efficiency and fully recover between workouts. Lean proteins and clean quality carbohydrates throughout the day are what I recommend to my fighters. Chicken, lean beef, fish, brown rice, sweet potatoes, healthy fats, and plenty of vegetables are key to fueling your body for those intense workout sessions.
It would also be a good idea to incorporate a supplementation program to replace nutrients you will need to support your system during bouts of intense training. I recommend using a quality protein powder, glutamine and a simple multi-vitamin. You don’t need to go overboard with these.
Hopefully this will give you an idea of how often to implement circuit training into you MMA conditioning program. If you are not involved in a MMA strength and conditioning program, and would like more information about how to add this to your training program, feel free to contact Steve Trentham at steve@combatsportsstrength. com.

If you have been following our blog the last two posts have been about the land that we purchased to build our awesome new facility on and that we are super excited to have Fit Gear Republic, dealers of Gasp and Better Bodies, inside the new location!

Those blogs can be found here if you want to get up to speed:

The NEW Metroflex Plano: The Site.

http://metroflexplano.com/around-the-gym/the-new-metroflex-plano-the-site/

The NEW Metroflex Plano: FitGr, Gasp and Better Bodies:

http://metroflexplano.com/around-the-gym/the-new-metroflex-plano-fitgr-gasp-

and-better-bodies/

A new gym, and a bodybuilding exclusive clothing line, could this get more awesome? The answer is YES! We are happy to announce that Ultimate Sport Nutrition will have a 1500 sq. ft. supplement shop inside of the NEW Metroflex Plano. Ultimate Sport Nutrition currently has 8 locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and this store will make number 9. Ultimate Sport sets itself apart from other supplement shops by their great inventory, knowledgeable staff, low prices, and the absence of pushy sales tactics. We are very excited to have them apart of Metroflex Gym of Plano and know that the synergy between USN, FitGR and Metroflex will be unparalleled in any facility in the country right now.

Here is what owner Michael Perkins had to say about the new location:

“Ultimate Sport Nutrition has been providing name brand supplements at wholesale prices to the Dallas Metroplex for the past 12 years. Myself as well as my business partner Ray Baker, and the original franchise owner Brad Baca, are very excited to team up with Metroflex Plano as well as FitGR. Having these three great business’ in one location will create the perfect atmosphere for a wide range of bodybuilders and athletes. This will be our first location in a gym setting; and we are very excited about the opportunities it will create to provide the Metroflex members as well as the surrounding community with a knowledgeable staff and great prices.”

The meet is limited to 50 people so SIGN UP TODAY to reserve your spot in this awesome meet.  Here is a link to the entry form and it’s pretty easy to follow instructions from here!

http://metroflexplano.com/events/

We will have trophies for the top three in every class and swords for both the Male and Female best lifters.

Our Sponsor, Muscle Nutrition, will be providing all the lifters with a free t-shirt, product samples, and will be giving free product to some of our top lifters at the meet. There is a lot of protein, weight gainers, creatine, glutamine, pre workouts, and more to be won!!

RSVP on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/events/271565136260355/

The NPC and IFBB Bikini Division has become extremely competitive due to the sheer amount of competitors out there and the publicity the division commands drawing in a lot of premium talent. Bikini training is far from a “dumbed-down” Figure routine; it takes a whole new approach to create the ever elusive winning Bikini physique.  Because the Bikini division doesn’t like any one end of the muscularity or conditioning spectrum, designing Bikini programs requires a true “touch”.  In Bodybuilding, and in a lot of Figure training, the goal is pushing body part development, conditioning and fullness to the max. Whereas in Bikini, you have to create a level of tone with the right degree of softness that can be a very tricky look for the trained athlete to achieve. It requires peaking with a balance of definition and softness and a training system that will develop the RIGHT body parts for Bikini competitors while leaving some body parts purposely under- developed to create a pleasing, flowing, natural look.

Partial Range of Motion Training is an absolute MUST for Bikini competitors.  You have to take core movements and use the right portion of that movement to develop the correct muscle groups without over-developing the wrong muscle groups.  The best example I can give you is with glute training. Bikini is all about the booty, and as the sport has progressed the tightness of the glute/ hamstring section of top competitors has also progressed.  Many of the girls attaining pro cards and winning pro shows have visible glute/ hamstring tie-ins, which until recently, has only been apart of the figure and bodybuilding side of women’s physique sports.  To create the amount of muscle in your glutes WITHOUT growing over-dominating quadriceps can be hard!  Think about the movements that put the most muscle on your glutes: squats, lunges, deep leg press, step ups, ..etc. These exercises all have A LOT of quad stimulation. The last thing you want as a Bikini competitor is big set of thighs. If your conditioning is off or if you are a little on the soft side, you will look like you are sporting “Thunder Thighs”. Even if you are very tight and well conditioned with big thighs, they will look overly muscular and usually display more muscle separation than is pleasing in Bikini. In order to combat this problem, Partial Range of Motion Training is essential. Generally speaking, you need to use the lower portion of the glute building movements to keep the stress and tension on the glutes and hamstrings so that you keep the quads from doing too much work.  I’ll list out some great movements for this at the end of the article and tell you how you can work them into your routine NOW to start getting instant results. Another area that Partial Range of Motion Training is essential is in your shoulder training. The girls at the top of the Bikini division display some pretty well developed shoulders, but over-developed traps and upper back is NOT what the judges want to see in Bikini. When you are training your shoulders, especially rear delts, using a Partial Range of Motion is perfect for hitting the heads of the shoulder without recruiting too much trap and rhomboid work.  You have to create sexy shoulder tone and leave the traps for the bodybuilders!

Here are a couple movements and a sample leg training routine that uses Partial ROM Training for you to try on your next lower body day!

Low Partial Dumbbell Squats:

This is really a modified Plie Squat.  Take a dumbbell and lay it on its side.  Stand on either side of the dumbbell with your feet about shoulder width apart (at this width and the dumbbell on its side instead of on its head, you will be able to squat lower and recruit more glute muscle at the bottom of the squat). Squat down low, with your head and chest up and grab the dumbbell while its still on the ground. You should be in a pseudo catcher’s stance.  Proceed to stand up like you’re doing a squat but stop about 60% of the way up from a full squat and squat back down until the dumbbell touches the ground.  I’d recommend using a dumbbell from 20 to 40 pounds depending on your strength and to use a rep range of 15-25 reps.

Single Leg Low Partial Leg Press:

In a traditional 45-degree leg press, place one foot on the sled toward the upper middle portion of the sled.  Bring the sled down low so your knee is coming into your chest (be careful not to let your butt come out of the seat as this can be a strain on your lower back).  From the bottom of the rep, press up and stop about 60% of the way and lower the weight back down to the bottom to repeat.  Pressing from the bottom part of the movement will emphasize your glutes and hamstrings, while staying away from the top part of the press will limit the amount of quadriceps involved.

Here is a sample of how I would recommend using Partial ROM Training in a Bikini competitor’s lower body routine to add muscle to glutes and hamstrings while keeping quad development under control.

Glute Kick Back 4 x 15 each leg

Lying Leg Curls 4 x 20

Stiff Leg Dead lift 4 x 15

-Superset with Low Partial Dumbbell Squats 4 x 20

Walking Lunges 4 x 24 steps

Seated Hamstring Curl 4 x 20

Single Leg Press 4 x15 each leg

Donkey Calf Raise 4 x 20

-Greg

Twitter.com/Greg_McCoy

Facebook.com/TrainerGregMcCoy

I’m looking forward to serving the fitness community to an even higher degree by providing easy to apply video content that will help you every day in the gym, in the kitchen, and with your supplement routine.

Greg

Metroflex Plano was well represented at this contest with 14 competitors competing in 4 different divisions it was a great show for the gym.  We’ll start with Men’s Bodybuilding. Luis Moreira placed third in the Super Heavy Weight Division, while Frank Callochino was his personal best to date also in the Super Heavy Weight Class.  Sut Am had a great day placing first in the novice lightweight class and 2^nd in the open lightweight class gaining his national qualification. Travis Thompson showed off his best package to date by just barely squeezing into the open lightweights placing third.  Vance Turner and Kevin Ofurum are also great friends of Metroflex Plano and train with us on occasion. Vance brought a conditioned package to the Super Heavy Weight Class and Kevin won a very competitive heavy weight class and the overall trophy!   While we had a large number of athletes on the bodybuilding stage we also had Dallas Fire Fighter Jerod Anderson competing in the Strongman contest. Jerod was in the heavyweight division and placed first in that weight class.  In the figure division Jennifer Baker won a HUGE figure A class and Figure overall, a great accomplishment for just for her first show. See her interview with RXmuscle here! Sarah Starchevich made a great appearance in her stage debut, representing her sponsor Total Nutrition well, while Geraldine Ravago showed amazing improvements to her physique with a great tapered waist, capped delts and streamlined quads from the last time she was on stage.  Shari Richter also made a great appearance at this year’s Ronnie starting off her competitive year. Shari showed great conditioning as always and not only made a great appearance but prepped her first competitive clients for the show, Danielle and Tracy, who both looked great!  Yolanda Rodriguez also made her debut at this year’s Ronnie making incredible improvements to her physique. The Bikini Class was also a great success for Metroflex Plano.  Kelsie Bergin won Class D and the coveted bikini overall title. Amy Brown took 1^st place in a very competitive C class in just her second show while Jenna Potter took 2^nd place in the B class, both gaining their national qualifications. Marcie Aguilar and Tina Michelle also made a great appearance at this weekend show. Marcie was making her debut while Tina was on stage for the second time in this contest.

Not only did Metroflex Plano have great competitors in the show but we brought the Pro’s out too! Tawna Eubanks was in the building presenting trophies to all the bikini winners and giving a little posing demo in Friday night’s meeting. And Mr. USA Steve Kuclo brought the house down with a great posing routine!

Here is a great photo of the CREW at the prejudging, showing off the awesome new booth set up.

What a great weekend for Texas Bodybuilding. Metroflex Plano is proud to be a part of this sport and we promise to continue to provide great athletes with a great place to train and access to the best training in the area.  Make sure and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and leave us your email address so you can stay up to date with everything going on!

Greg

Inside of the NEW Metroflex Plano will be a 4,000 Sq. Ft. Warehouse and showroom for Fit Gear Republic, the dealer for GASP and Better Bodies!  Many of you are familiar with the Brands GASP and Better Bodies as their fitness clothing has a quality and style that is unmatched in the US, and their clothing has graced the cover and inside pages of many of your favorite fitness magazines on many of your favorite athletes and models. Metroflex and FitGR are very excited about teaming up together in this building. Both companies strive to serve the top 10% of the fitness industry. The people that want more out of their workout, and require more out of their fitness apparel.

 Here’s what Fit Gear Owner, Wade Warren had to say about the “team-up”:

“It can’t happen soon enough!  Our customers are polite so they don’t say it often, but we know they would really like to have more elbow room when they come over to check out their favorite brands GASP and Better Bodies.  Our new space with Metroflex Plano will accommodate that and much more!  Since a large part of our business is online we’ll be able to ramp up our warehouse to a level it needs to be.  And it will be integrated into our store for a unique and sort of hardcore customer experience.

Since we’re the only company in the USA that focuses exclusively on these brands we’ve got people coming in regularly from far away.  They deserve to find the kind of destination they would expect.  Teaming up with Metroflex Plano in our new building will make our combined presence a destination visit to look forward to, and one to remember.”

We are all looking forward to this new facility and this great partnership. To continue to get updates on Metroflex Plano and the progress of the NEW Metroflex Plano keep check back here in our blog, or sign up for our newsletter! http://metroflexplano.com/contact/

Sincerely,

Greg

What is rest-pause?

A rest-pause set is a multi-set in which very brief rest periods are taken in between each bout of reps, totaling about 4 ‘sets’ in which the weight is not decreased, but the total output of each ascending set is lessened simple due to muscular failure. In relation to the widely used drop set method, your rest periods are a few seconds longer, about 8-10 seconds, and you never decrease the weight. You will need to do the following;

• Warm up properly and perform 3 working sets, pyramiding up in weight and reaching failure for each set. Your rep range should be around 15 for the 1^st, 10 for the 2^nd, and 5-6 for the final heavy set. For these sets, rest no more than a minute in between.
• Set the weight at about 70-80% of your 12 rep max. So, for example, if your max is 200 lbs on the exercise, set it to about 150-160 lbs.
• Incorporate rest-pause; perform 10-15 reps with PERFECT form and a very controlled negative (about a 5 count). Make sure to flex the working muscle as hard as you can when at full contraction for a brief moment. Reach failure.
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Immediately attempt the same weight for another 8-10 reps with pristine form and tempo. Again, you much reach failure
• Repeat this process until you are not perform more than 3 reps. If you are reaching 4 sets and still able to get more than 6 reps, make note that you need to slightly increase the weight about 5-10%.

So in your journal, the entire exercise would look like this

• 1 set x 15 reps (60 second rest)
• 1 set x 10 reps (60 second rest)
• 1 set x 5  reps (60 second rest)
• Rest-Pause set:
  • 1 set x 10-15 reps (70-80% of 12 Rep Max for all four sets)
    • 10 second rest
  • 1 set x 8-10 reps
    • 10 second rest
  • 1 set x 5-8 reps
    • 10 second rest
  • 1 set x 2-5 reps
    • Done

DO Rest-pause with the following exercises;

Chest; Smith Flat or Incline barbell bench press (set the safety harnesses at the proper angle to catch the weight if you are not able to hook it back into place)

Back; Deadlift, Pull-downs or Pull-ups

Shoulders; Seated Smith Military Press (again, use the safety harnesses) or dumbbell side/front raises

Traps; Standing Upright Rows barbell or cables

Legs; leg extensions, lying or seated curls

Biceps; Preacher curl with barbell or dumbbell

Triceps; Standing pushdowns with rope or triangle attachment

DO NOT use rest-pause for;

Barbell Squats, Leg Press, Barbell Bench Press of any angle, or Good Mornings!!

Remember, this article is geared towards those who are training without a partner and want to achieve absolute failure with maximum weight. Don’t be stupid and put yourself under a bar when the goal of the movement is to make sure you can’t move it at the end!

If you have any questions about rest-pause or anything else related to bodybuilding, nutrition, or supplementation please feel free to contact me. Best wishes and have fun!