Today’s issue is all about rest-pause. I really think more people should be using that technique, so I wrote this big guide. It’s coming up next, with a bunch of studies on rest-pause at the bottom. Enjoy!
Carl Juneau, PhD
PS. The intro to the guide:
In 1962, Cuban weightlifter Sergio Oliva received political asylum in America. In 1969, he would become the first (and only) bodybuilder to ever beat Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger later wrote:
“Then for the first time, I saw Sergio Oliva in person. I understood why they called him ‘the Myth’. It was as jarring as if I’d walked into a wall. He destroyed me. He was so huge, he was so fantastic, there was no way I could even think of beating him.”
In 1984, a reporter for MuscleMag spent 3 days in Chicago with Oliva. He noted:
“I would estimate that Sergio used rest-pause on 90 per cent of his exercises. On all upper body exercises Sergio used the rest-pause principle on just about every exercise and every set.”
Since then, exercise scientists have studied rest-pause, and their results are fascinating.
Recently,
Prestes et al. (2017) found that you could build muscle just as fast with 1 rest-pause set than you would with 3 normal sets. In other words, with rest-pause, you can build muscle in less than half the time.
On a personal note, I’ve been training with rest-pause since Sep 2017. I’m seeing similar gains with shorter workouts, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
I’m also coaching a small group of forward-thinking lifters. Many have been testing rest-pause, and they also report similar gains in about half the time. In fact, rest-pause works so well, I’ve decided to make it my default training technique. But with a twist, to make it safer and (perhaps) even more effective.
To be honest, I wonder why not more people are using rest-pause. Especially since this technique has been around for so long. It’s just as effective at building muscle as normal sets, and it takes only about half the time.
Many people say they don’t have time to train. They should use rest-pause. If you feel that way too, please share this guide. Thanks!
