Pause Bench Press (Barbell)
A bench press with a full stop of one to three seconds on the chest before pressing back up. Also called Paused Bench Press.
- Pattern
- Press forward
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Works
- Chest, front delt, triceps
- Loads
- Shoulders, elbows, wrists
If something hurts
Not medical advice. Sharp pain, numbness or swelling needs someone qualified to look at it.
Each swap below spares one joint.
Shoulder Floor Press (Barbell)Try it if it feels okay
Stops the bar above chest level so the shoulder never reaches end range.
Elbow Cable Fly
A fly's elbow stays fixed, so no elbow bend loads it.
Wrist Chest Press (Machine)
Fixed handles: the shoulder stops short of the bottom stretch and the wrists stay neutral.
When it stalls, these usually help
Direct work for your front delts, which this lift also depends on.
Direct work for your triceps, which this lift also depends on.
How Swolver coaches it
This lift is read from your own sessions. When it goes flat for four weeks, Swolver names the likely cause in plain words, such as weekly sets that dropped, and the one change to make. The rules are all on the method page.