Sometimes, the fastest way to accelerate progress is to pause.
The pause deadlift, as demonstrated by Men’s Health Fitness Director BJ Gaddour, in the video above, can help you break through a lifting plateau and bump up the weight on your deadlift, Gaddour says.
The exercise focuses on your ‘sticking points’ – the phases of the rep that typically slow you down. These tend to be just after lift-off, midway through the rep, and just before lockout.
By making you pause for one to five seconds at one, two, or even all three sticking points, the pause deadlift places greater emphasis on the muscles involved in these crucial phases of the rep – not to mention your abs – forcing them to adapt and come back stronger for your next workout.
The result? Fewer sticking points, more reps – and more progress.
