Barbell squatting is a great way to get strong and it should be a staple movement in everyone’s fitness routine. But eventually people get stuck at a weight and everything starts to slow down. At this point, pause squats can really help you out.
To do pause squats, first make sure that you have solid squat form and that you aren’t leaning forward too much or rounding your back or allowing your knees to cave in. Pause squats primarily help people come out of the “hole” quicker and will fix the problem of getting stuck half way up. So they won’t help you if you have another problem.
To do pause squats, put about 60-70% of your 1RM on the bar and do the squat as you normally would. But this time when you get to the bottom of the squat, stay there for 5 seconds then push your way up out of the squat as fast as you can. Do 5-6 reps and take a rest.
It’s very important that you maintain your form when you’re at the bottom of the squat. DO NOT relax!! Go slowly into the bottom position, hold the tension in your muscles for 5 seconds and then push up quickly.
Too many people get used to bouncing out of the bottom of the squat as if their tendons were rubber bands. This is a very bad habit that could cause you to get hurt when the weights get really heavy. Uusually the bounce is doen by people to want more power or who are training for athletic performance. But completely stopping the squat at the bottom and then pushing up out of the hole as fast as you can actually recruits more muscle and gives you greater power than bouncing.
Try it out and tell us what yout think.