Keep your reps constant

I see a lot of guys when training pausing between almost every repetition of a set. When you are performing a repetition the blood flow is restricted to the muscle, if you pause between every rep you are allowing the muscle a brief rest allowing it to clear away lactic acid.

Now although the rest pause technique can be used for increased strength and size, allowing you to squeeze out a few extra repetitions at the end of the set the whole set should not comprise of this technique.

Try something different

Reduce the weight you would normally use try to keep the bar or dumbbells moving without pause throughout the whole set. Aim for 8-10 repetitions using a tempo of 2 seconds on the lifting phase and 3 seconds to lower the weight. Use full range of motion but don’t lock out your joints (knees, triceps, biceps) as this take the tension off the muscle, giving it a brief rest.

This will feel surprisingly difficult and possibly quite uncomfortable at first. This burning feeling or ‘pump’ you experience has been shown to aid in muscle growth by stimulating many growth factors and hormones to be released. This over time leads to better muscle stimulation and growth.

Try this technique for 6 weeks on a body part that you feel is lagging behind others and see what improvements you make. The muscle doesn’t care how much weight you are lifting, it responds more to how much tension you place on it. If muscle size is you goal then this is what you should be aiming for.