Well, Dave the answer depends on several factors. First ask yourself which “type” of exercise are you doing? Secondly, WHY are you doing the movement. And don’t forget to ask, with what exercise device is the movement in question being preformed.

As to the “type” of movement. Is the exercise a compound or “multi joint” movement, or an isolation or “single joint” movement? Now, take that confused look of your face and let me explain.

A compound movement would be, say an overhead press. While an isolation movement would be a dumbbell lateral raise. Both movements involve the muscular makeup of the shoulder gird but one rotates around and involves “more” that a single joint, while the single joint movement “duh” would rotate and involve only ONE joints involvement. In a press, as you move into the TOP of the press less and less muscular involvement is present until at the very end of the movement (lock out) it is the bone structure that is supporting the weight, not the contractile strength of the muscles. On or during such a movement a pause or squeeze is of little value, a bit difficult to really squeeze the bone structure wouldn’t you agree? In compound movements it is of much greater value if you move slowly into a position of “almost” lockout then smoothly without pause return to a stretched position.

With the lateral raise you are performing a single joint or isolation movement that will result in the contraction of the lateral head of the deltoid when the weight reaches a position where the upper arm structure is parallel to the floor. HERE you should pause and let the muscle structure work to hold the weight in that position. This being done because it IS the muscle you are working that is actually holding the weight in that position.

Remember. foremost importance in any exercise is the amount of muscular involvement in the movement. While it is impossible to involve ALL the available muscle fibers in a contraction, one must strive to involve as may fibers as he or she can, and when this is accomplished ( at the position of full contraction.. The ONLY position that involves the maximum amount of fiber involvement) the most in results will be generated if a small “hold” or squeeze is executed through muscular contraction, insuring that as many fibers as humanly possible are stimulated to experience the resulting growth stimulus. All going back to the total amount of time a muscle is under the load of the weight during exercise.

Now ask yourself “why” you are doing the movement. Is it to “look” good to the girl on the stair stepper or your buddies in the gym, or is it to get the MOST out of what time you spend in the training process. If the answer is the later, then pause when the muscle you are trying to work is actually doing the max amount of work, thus creating the most in results.

 

And finally ask with what training tool are you performing the movement. Not all machines actually offer resistance of a significant nature in the final fully contracted position, while others do. Always migrate to the machine that offers this feature, oh and it will be the one that you DON”T appear to be the son of Hercules when you use it. And if say dumbbells are used for the lateral raises, then ONLY if the trainee stops the upward movement at a position where the upper arm is parallel to the floor will the proper resistance be applied at the point of full contraction of the lateral deltoid head.