Pause Bench Press (Barbell)
The Pause Bench Press is a compound strength exercise where you hold the barbell motionless on your chest for 1-3 seconds before pressing. This variation builds explosive power and reinforces bottom-end stability by eliminating the stretch reflex.
This exercise is highly demanding on the central nervous system because it forces you to generate force from a dead stop. The AI analyzes your HRV and sleep data to determine if your nervous system is primed for this type of explosive effort or if you should lower the intensity. Additionally, by tracking RPE specifically on paused reps, the AI ensures you aren't sacrificing the quality of the pause or the duration of the hold just to hit a heavier weight, helping you avoid form breakdown.
Form Cues
- Retract your shoulder blades to create a stable shelf
- Lower the bar with control until it lightly touches your sternum
- Hold the bar completely motionless on your chest for a full count
- Drive your feet into the floor to initiate the press
- Explode upward aggressively after the pause
- Don't bounce the bar off your chest
- Don't let the bar sink or heave into your ribcage
- Don't lift your hips off the bench
- Don't flare your elbows out past 90 degrees
- Don't rush the pause count
Common Mistakes
- Bouncing the weight
- Performing a 'soft' or moving pause
- Lifting the glutes
- Pressing before the full count is over
- Losing upper back tightness at the bottom
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily targets the pectoralis major, specifically focusing on generating force from the stretched position. It also heavily recruits the anterior deltoids and triceps for the pressing motion. Because the elastic energy is removed by the pause, these muscles must work harder to initiate the concentric phase compared to a standard bench press.
Primary
Secondary
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