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018 Pauses, Stretching, and Partials
Episode 19

018 Pauses, Stretching, and Partials

Hypertrophy Past and Present · Chris Beardsley and Jake Doleschal

September 22, 20251h 24m

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Show Notes

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake and Chris unpack Reg Park’s calf-specialisation phase before discussing the physiology of pauses: when they work, when they don’t, and how they compare to partial reps.

Key topics include:

• Reg Park’s 1952 calf-specialisation program
• Straight-leg vs bent-leg calf work and how they bias gastroc vs soleus
• The physiology of pause fatigue: metabolite vs calcium-related mechanisms
• Why static “passive” stretching isn’t the same as active pause contractions
• How to assess whether a given exercise will actually benefit from pauses

Topics

hypertrophybodybuildingmuscle growthstimulating repsnatural bodybuildingresistance trainingsilver eraexercise sciencetraining frequencypre-steroid bodybuildingJake DoleschalChris Beardsley