Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Quads

Pause Squat

BarbellCompoundTakes some practice
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads

Also glutes

You need

Barbell, Squat rack

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Squat to your normal depth
  2. 2Hold for two seconds, staying braced
  3. 3Drive up without bouncing

Most common mistake

Relaxing at the bottom and losing tightness.

Watch a demo
A
For quads
#17 of 33
See the full list →
Research
70
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 70
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionStrong
Low costGood

The pause removes the bounce, so the quads work harder out of the bottom, at a higher fatigue cost.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

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  • SHack SquatMachine
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