Forced growth: A new way to build muscle Advanced rest break training for bodybuilders
Training to muscle failure is the most effective way to build muscle - but only if it is used in the right way (low training volume) and the right exercises are used (isolation exercises and exercises that do not put too much strain on the body). So what is the best method for training to muscle failure? The answer is rest-pause training. No other training method will lead to faster hypertrophy.
Rule 1: Train to contractile muscle failure
Contractile failure is the primary trigger to stimulate muscle growth. The key with rest-pause is not to accumulate fatigue, but to achieve muscle failure multiple times during the same set.
Perform the maximum number of FULL repetitions you can. You cannot cheat yourself here - you must be sure at this point that you are no longer able to perform even one more complete repetition. On the other hand, you shouldn't try to do another repetition that you can't finish. Even though this is effective in stimulating muscle hypertrophy, the stress on the CNS is so high that you could only perform 1 to 3 sets in this way during your entire training session and still be able to recover sufficiently from that training session.
By going to the point where you know you would not be able to perform another full repetition, you will achieve the stimulus needed to stimulate growth without overloading the CNS too much.
Rule 2: Keep the muscles under maximum tension
Perform the repetitions in such a way that the target muscle is kept under maximum tension the entire time. This means avoiding accelerating the weight during each repetition.
The best way to describe how you should perform the repetitions is "smoothly" or at a constant speed. The lifting phase should last about 2 seconds. Concentrate on tensing the muscle as hard as possible at each point of the range of motion. The eccentric phase of the repetition (lowering the weight) should also be performed under control (about 2 seconds) or deliberately slowly (about 5 seconds), depending on the method.
If you perform the repetitions using too much acceleration on the upward movement, then you will lose a lot of stimulus from this set. Yes, you will need to use less weight if you perform consistent reps at a constant speed. But the weight used doesn't matter that much when it comes to stimulating muscle growth, as long as you reach the point of muscle failure.
5 proven rest-pause variations
1 - Tempo contrast rest-pause
Tempo contrast refers to a change in the speed of movement during the set. In a rest-pause set with two pauses (three mini-sets), you use a slower, more controlled tempo during the first mini-set and increase the speed a little more with each subsequent mini-set.
This approach works for two reasons:
- First, the slower eccentric phase in the first part of the rest-pause set activates mTOR to a greater extent, which activates more protein synthesis. The slower eccentric phase performed at maximal tension in the target muscle also increases the quality of the subsequent contraction, making the repetitions more effective in activating more muscle fibers. As the slow eccentric repetitions are more strenuous, you will need to use less weight than during a normal rest-pause set.
- Secondly, each phase of the rest-pause set is performed with progressively lighter repetitions. This allows you to use a higher total load compared to a normal rest-pause set. This higher mechanical workload, combined with reaching muscle failure three times within a set, will provide a very strong stimulus for increased protein synthesis.
What such a set looks like:
Perform two rests during each set, which means three mini-sets. The pauses are 10 to 15 seconds long. Use a weight with which you can perform about 12 normal repetitions.
Perform slower repetitions in the first mini set, especially in the eccentric (lowering) phase. Lower the weight over a period of 4 to 5 seconds. In the concentric part of the movement (lifting phase), the actual speed is not so important. However, it is important that you try to accelerate the weight as little as possible. As soon as the weight starts to move, you move it with the same controlled speed through the entire range of motion while tensing the target muscle as hard as possible.
If you do this correctly, you should be able to do 6 to 8 repetitions. If you can do 10 to 12 reps, then you have either chosen the wrong weight or are not working the muscles hard enough with each repetition.
Go to the point of muscle failure - until you reach the point where you know the next repetition won't be possible. Go to the point where the last repetition is extremely difficult, but don't resort to techniques such as bending or changing position to be able to perform more repetitions. The goal is to reach the point where you can no longer contract the muscle hard enough. You thwart this by shifting the load to other muscles during the set.
When you reach the point of failure, pause for 10 to 15 seconds. Use the same weight and perform the second mini set. Change your repetition style to "normal" repetitions. This means that you can speed up the weight slightly on the upward movement, but you should still control the weight and focus on tensing the muscle. This is the way you will perform your normal isolation repetitions. You may be able to do 5 to 8 extra reps, but this doesn't really matter as long as you go to the point of muscle failure.
When you reach the point of muscle failure again, pause for 10 to 15 seconds and move on to the third mini set. Now use a looser repetition style. However, don't use a terrible form of exercise execution. Just use enough momentum to get the weight moving. Ideally, you should be able to do another 3 to 5 repetitions.
If you can do more than 5 reps, then this most likely indicates that either the weight was too light on the first two mini sets, or that you used too much momentum on the third mini set. Remember that the goal is not to perform more reps, but to exhaust the muscle fibers more.
2 - Death by rest-pause
"Death by" means that you keep doing mini sets until you can't do any more. For our purposes, this means that after every 10 seconds of rest, you perform further mini sets until you cannot perform another mini set with even one repetition. As these sets are extremely effective, but also very demanding on the body, you should only perform one or maybe two of these sets per exercise.
What such a set looks like:
The working set does not have a predetermined number of mini sets. You continue until you can no longer perform any more repetitions with the correct quality. Start with a weight with which you can perform 6 to 8 repetitions. The number of actual repetitions does not matter. This is only to help you choose the weight.
Go to muscle failure and then pause for 10 seconds. Continue the set using the same weight and go to muscle failure again. Continue this pattern: repetitions to muscle failure, 10 seconds rest, repetitions to muscle failure, 10 seconds rest...until you reach the point where you can't do another full repetition.
Continue the whole process until you can only perform a single full repetition as part of a mini-set and you know that a second repetition would not be possible.
3 - Omni-contractions rest-pause
The goal of this type of rest-pause is to achieve contractile muscle failure in all three types of muscle actions: concentric, isometric and eccentric. This approach is undoubtedly the most powerful hypertrophy stimulation you can achieve. The only disadvantage is that you need a training partner to perform it.
What a set looks like:
Each set consists of three mini-sets. The pauses are 10 to 15 seconds long. Start with a weight with which you can perform 8 to 10 technically correct repetitions and go to contractile muscle failure. Pause for 10 to 15 seconds.
Move the same weight up until you reach the position with the highest tension (most strenuous position of the range of motion). In most exercises, this position is somewhere in the middle of the range of motion. Hold this position while tensing the target muscle as hard as possible until you can no longer maintain the contraction and you reach the point of isometric muscle failure. Pause for a further 10 to 15 seconds.
Continuing to use the same weight, a training partner will assist you in the upward movement of the weight, while you then slowly lower the weight without assistance over a period of 4 to 5 seconds. Perform as many repetitions in this way until you can no longer control the weight during the lowering phase.
4 - Stage rest-pause
This technique works best with isolation exercises and pressing exercises (but not pulling exercises). You go to muscle failure and then use only partial repetitions on the second and third mini sets, which are performed to muscle failure.
It is important to understand that the partial repetitions must be performed slower than the full repetitions if this approach is to be effective. The range of motion is short. If too much acceleration is used from the start, the muscle will never be under enough tension to effectively stimulate growth. Perform the partial repetitions with as little change in speed or acceleration as possible. Imagine that the partial repetitions should last as long as a full repetition.
What such a set looks like:
Each set consists of three mini-sets. The pauses between the mini-sets are 10 seconds long. Start with a weight with which you can perform 8 to 10 repetitions. Perform full repetitions until you reach the point of contractile muscle failure.
After reaching muscle failure, pause for 10 seconds. Then continue the set, but only move the weight through the upper half of the range of motion - from the middle position to the highest position. Perform as many partial repetitions until you reach the point of muscle failure. Pause for another 10 seconds.
Initiate the last mini-set by performing partial repetitions across the lower half of the range of motion, starting at the lowest point of the movement and working up to the middle point of the range of motion. Go to muscle failure here too.
5 - Descending rest-pause sets
This approach, which has been used successfully by many bodybuilders, is probably the most challenging of all rest-pause variations. It combines rest-pause and descending sets. You reduce the weight when you reach the point of muscle failure and continue the set.
Think of each set as a set with two rest-pause episodes. The second episode is lighter than the first rest-pause. This type of rest-pause allows you to work each muscle fiber harder, resulting in greater growth stimulation. As you might imagine, this is very demanding and no one should need more than two sets of this per exercise. In most cases, one set will be sufficient.
What a set looks like:
Each set consists of four mini-sets: two rest-pause episodes, each consisting of two mini-sets. The pauses between all mini-sentences - including the descending sentences - are 10 seconds long.
Start with a weight where you think you will reach contractile muscle failure after about 8 to 10 repetitions. Perform as many repetitions until you know that one more repetition will not be possible. Pause for 10 seconds and continue the set with the same weight until you reach the point of contractile failure again.
Pause for another 10 seconds while you reduce the weight by about 20% and continue the set with the new, lighter weight until muscle failure. Pause again for 10 seconds and perform a final mini-set to muscle failure.
How you can incorporate rest-pause into your training program
For the big multi-joint exercises, I perform a heavy workout where I don't go to muscle failure and combine this with a workout to muscle failure with isolation exercises. For hypertrophy, I only use rest-pause. I don't know of any other method that is more effective. The only reason some exercisers don't get the results they want with rest-pause is because they do too many sets per exercise.
Rest-pause is an intense and effective method and proper training nutrition is a must. If you go to true contractile failure (and multiple times per set), one set will be sufficient for most, though individuals with primarily slow contracting muscle fibers will need more sets. These people will need two sets per exercise. So far, I have yet to see a case where a person has needed three sets per exercise to achieve maximum growth. It's better to move on to another exercise than to do more sets with the first exercise if you've already achieved all the growth stimulation it has to offer.
Give rest-pause a serious try. If you are tough enough to handle multiple points of muscle failure per set, then you will be rewarded with maximum growth.
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/forced-growth-a-new-way-to-build-muscle
By Christian Thibaudeau