This Lifting Method Might Be the Simple Ticket to Increased Strength and Muscle Size

6 min readPOV: You’re a regular at the gym, and have been for a long time. Recently, no matter how heavy you lift or how many reps you aim for, it seems like you have hit a plateau. Your strength feels stuck, and you’re getting frustrated at your lack of progress. It might be time to switch up your strategy.Many are turning to the rest-pause method as a way to progress their lifts and build strength—and they might be onto something. Science suggests this method might be a simple ticket to increase both strength and muscle size.There is a method to, well, this method. Certified personal trainers and certified strength and conditioning specialists break down the rest-pause method, how to use it in training to gain strength and build muscle, its potential benefits, and their insider tips for your next workout.What Is the Rest-Pause Method? Simply stated, “it is a single set that is broken down into multiple mini-sets, with very short rests between them,” explains Garrett Kriegseis, CPT, CSCS, and Level 1 Weightlifting Coach. “This allows you to hit a failure point, and then push past that point to fully fatigue the muscles.” Think of this method as a way to work in more reps than you would during a traditional straight set. “It turns one hard set into a cluster of mini-sets, all at the same load,” notes Cooper Napoli, an NCSF-Certified Personal Trainer and Westside Barbell Special Strengths Coach.Take a set of hamstring curls, for example. Say you’re supposed to do three sets of eight reps. You complete your eight reps, and get pretty close to failure doing so. Then, you break for 15 to 20 seconds, and bang out another three reps. You repeat that process once more, and complete a final two reps. You made it to 13 (!) reps, instead of stopping at your programmed eight.This technique is designed to push muscles beyond their usual point of failure to maximize growth. Instead of stopping after your usual number of reps, you take a very brief pause for about 10-20 seconds, and then complete as many additional reps as you can.“To grow stronger, you need to stimulate the muscles and push them to a fatigue point that tells the muscle it needs to adapt,” says Kriegseis. “This method makes you hit that point multiple times in a single set, so you are only resting to recover enough ATP (the energy your muscles use) to do a couple more reps to another failure fatigue point. This also allows you to have a more intense workout in a shorter amount of time because you may only need to do two of these sets, instead of four.”How to Use the Rest-Pause Method in Your Own Training Want to try it for yourself? Here is how you can use the rest-pause method in your own training.“If you are first starting your strength training journey, focusing on your form will be your main priority before doing any type of major volume manipulation,” says Kriegseis. “Through proper form, you can have very significant strength and muscle gains in the beginning of your journey.” Bottom line: If you are new to weightlifting, focus on your form before adding more advanced training techniques like this one.If your form is solid and you want to give this technique a go, only use it for a few sets. “I would safely recommend just 1-2 exercises per workout, simply because this puts a lot of demand on the body physically and neurologically that you need to recover from,” explains Kriegseis. Try it on the final one or two sets of an exercise on which you’ve been struggling to make progress.Want to build muscle and burn fat? Grab our Body Recomp Guide here. Keep the rest windows short and consistent. “Count it out (10 to 20 seconds) instead of eyeballing it, or it turns into a regular rest period, and you lose the whole point,” says Napoli.Finally, focus on recovering properly. Like we said, this technique places considerable stress on the system, so you’ll need to give your body everything it needs to recoup. Make sure you are getting a solid night’s sleep after your workouts, ensure you’re eating enough, and drinking enough water, says Kriegseis.Benefits of the Rest-Pause MethodThe rest-pause method “can be a really useful tool,” Kriegseis says. Here’s why.It can help boost your strength.This technique helps you complete more reps than you otherwise could at your selected weight, says Kriegseis. “Being able to hit more reps at a higher load over time will stimulate the muscles, forcing them to adapt, and over time make them stronger.” It may help your muscles grow. It’s not only your muscle strength that can benefit. Increasing your overall training volume and workload is the main driver of muscle growth, says Kriegseis. “With this method, you can not only improve your strength, but also improve your muscle growth in a very convenient manner.”Of course, you need to ensure you’re properly fueling your body for muscle growth, too. That requires eating enough protein and carbohydrates—more on that, here.It may support bone density. Increased strength and muscle size can both help improve bone density.“Your bones are like muscles in the way that they also want to adapt,” says Kriegseis. “Muscles connect to the bones, so by putting more stress and workload on the muscles, we are also putting it on the bones, which will make them adapt and work on maintaining their strength and density, or even improve!”It can help you break through plateaus. If you have been hitting a plateau in the gym, the rest-pause method may be a solution. That’s because this method introduces a new stimulus that can spark muscular adaptations, says Kriegseis.“By using the same weight that you have been using, but increasing the reps and introducing multiple muscle fatigue points, it can greatly increase the stimulus for the muscle to respond and grow stronger, possibly even breaking through that plateau in just a couple of sessions, he says. Worth a shot!It can save time. The gym is time consuming enough as it is. Use a method that helps with boosting your strength while cutting your workout time down? We’re sold.You really only need two or so sets of the rest-pause method to see results—and that’s probably faster than doing your normal three or four. It’s an efficient, quick way to finish your sets strong.Tips for Using the Rest-Pause MethodIf you are interested in trying the rest-pause method in your own training, here are some additional tips on how you can safely try it out for yourself.Try It with MachinesOne of the best ways to use the rest-pause method—especially if you are lifting solo—is with isolation machines like the leg press, leg extension, hamstring curl, etc., Kriegseis says. “I say that because they are built to be safe, and if you hit a muscular fatigue point where you can’t lift the weight, then there is no risk of dropping anything on you; you just won’t be able to move the weight.”That doesn’t mean you can’t also try the method with dumbbells, cables, and other free weights, Napoli says. You just might need to pay a little more attention to form, and ensure you’re not sacrificing proper positioning to cranking out those last reps.Lift with a FriendBecause this method involves pushing closer to failure, it’s helpful to have a safety net—and your lifting buddy might be the best person for the job.“If you do have a training partner, you can definitely do a few more reps since you will be having someone to safely spot you,” says Kriegseis.Test It During Your Next ClassIf you lift more often in a group setting, no fear—you can still implement this method into your routine.Although group fitness classes are not the most ideal situation to test out this method—because you do not control the exact rest periods—you can apply the general concept.“If a station has you doing reps for time, instead of grinding out continuous reps until the clock runs out, take a couple of 10-second micro-pauses on purpose partway through,” shares Napoli. “You'll get more total quality reps than if you just ground to a slow stop. Plus, you'll probably impress your instructor by calling out the method by name!”Find the Perfect Women’s Health Training Program for YouJustin SteeleRona Ahdout//Hearst OwnedAshley Martens is a wellness writer based in Chicago. With a lifelong passion for all things health and wellness, Ashley enjoys writing about topics to help people live happier and healthier lives. With a foundation in fitness, food, and nutrition, Ashley covers it all including sexual health and travel topics. Ashley is also a NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor.