A total body workout: a week in my life

I tend to change my routine depending on whatever research I stumble upon. I basically look at myself as a lab rat when I'm at the gym, and this workout routine page represents my latest up to date experiments I perform on myself. Here's this month's flavor of the month inspired by Louie Simmons' West Side Barbell website. I do the lifts in the order they appear.  Bench press, deadlift and squat come first. Then I follow up with the smaller muscles: triceps, biceps, abdomen, pectorals, and shoulders.


Sunday 8 am


Cambered bar bench press

Warm up

1 rep max out set and keep on doing max out sets until you feel fatigue and soreness in the fronts of the shoulders, chest, and tricep.

Also you're going to want to check out the the form for the benchpress here.



Stiff legged deadlift

Only do single rep sets for any kind of deadlift.  The position you first lock in your spine on your first rep will always be the most rigid and safest and you tend to lose that spine position the more you increase your reps, but if you can hold your breath for the entire set of reps and keep your spine locked in then by all means do some reps.


The form for the stiff legged deadlift is position yourself as close to the bar as possible. Your legs are as straight as possible with your shins resting on the bar and a slight bend in your knees. Take a huge gulp of air, hold it in and pull the bar up to knee lockout and a straight up and down position of the spine and head.

It's important to hold your breath throughout the entire range of motion in the lift to lock your spine in a straight up and down position. Also if possible, try to pull your glutes to the ceiling and arch your lower back before you start pulling the bar up. I only do single rep sets of the stiff legged deadlift until I
feel noticeable soreness in the lower back which usually happens after four sets of single reps.






Rack Pulls

Rack pulls are partial deadlifts in a squat rack. I don't wear a belt so I only do single rep sets of these as well. I do use the straps though.


The form for these is you pull your glutes to the ceiling and take a huge belly  full of air in and hold the air in to lock your spine in a severe arched lower back position throughout the entire range of motion in the lift.

These tend to wreck the shoulders, so quit if you start to feel sharp pain in them. You've had enough training simulation when that happens.




Pause back squat


These are very hard on the knees and the lower back.   The position of the exercise requires you to have the bar on the back of your neck which has a crushing effect on the lower spine. I used to single rep sets of these, but I went back to doing max out sets because the training effect is much greater than just doing single rep sets. Just remember to fill the chest cavity with air taken in through nostrils but not so much that you put an arch in your lower back before every rep you perform.

Here's a pretty good explanation of how to squat:




Tricep extensions using barbell.

Do the max out routine. If you feel extreme pain in the elbow, quit. This exercise is intended to strengthen your elbow joint as well as the tricep so quit if you feel pain. That's enough stimulation.  Also check this out if you're having any pain in the elbows.

Standing barbell curl

 I do max out sets of these. They add stability to your bench press range of motion, and they help increase your barbell row.




Pectoral flyes, inverted flyes, and shoulder presses

If I have any energy and protein shake left and I have the time, I'll do some light shoulder work mostly for recuperation after blasting my shoulders on the bench and deadlift. I'm aiming for a time under tension of a minute and a half to two minutes. Time under tension is the time the muscle or muscles are contracted or flexed. It can be accomplished by holding a lift in the range of motion at a point where the muscles are fully engaged and held for a time of a minute and a half to two minutes. You could also do reps for the necessary time or you could slow down the reps for the necessary duration of time. I prefer not to do too many reps as it wears down the joints involved in the range of motion. Sometimes I'll hold the weight at a position where the muscles are fully contracted and flexed.  If I can't hold the lift, I'll rest for a couple seconds and then start lifting again to accomplish a burning sensation in the muscle. Of course you have to do these with light weights or use bands that have a weak enough tension in them so you can keep the muscles contracted for a duration of minute and a half to two minutes.


The time under tension has a secondary effect of muscle hypertrophy. That's where the muscle becomes engorged with blood and intercellular fluid. The intercellular fluid is a byproduct of the muscle producing lactic acid. The lactic acid inflames the muscle and irritates it. This is what is referred to by bodybuilders as "the burn" or "the pump".  This adds definition and fullness to the muscle giving it a nice sculpted look as well as adding mass to the muscle which adds stability to your lift.


Time under tension can be used for any lift or muscle provided the weight is light enough and that you can maintain the proper form in the lift. Sometimes I'll do time under tension exercises for the tricep extension or the lats or the biceps. I guess they could also be done for leg extensions or calf raises.  I don't think it would be safe for deadlifts or squats because the spine has to be kept in a nice stiff position to safely complete the lift although I've never tried holding a squat or deadlift in a fixed position for any duration of time.



Standing Abdominal crunches using a band

I go mostly for the time under tension technique. I loop a band over an upright on a power rack, grab the two ends of the band and start doing standing crunches for a minute and a half to two minutes.  Of course the band has to be loose enough to accomplish the requisite amount of time. Sometimes I'll go slow in the range of motion or I'll take three or four second rests and then go back doing crunches until I feel a noticeable "burn" in my abdominal wall.







Tuesday 8 a.m.


Military Shoulder Press

I do military presses in front of the neck, and I start the lift with the bar resting on the safety crossbars on the rack.  I have the bar positioned just under my chin, so I can sink my elbows deep and give my shoulders and chest a nice stretch in my setup before the lift. In essence, it's a dead military press because I'm not using reflexive bounce to  complete the lift when I bottom out.

I have shoulders that are susceptible to injury, so I don't like to reach behind my head to unrack the bar. Also I take a sip of air through the nostrils to fill the chest cavity with air and lock my spine in a straight up and down position to support the bar throughout the entire range of motion of the lift.

Do max out sets until you feel soreness in the triceps. The main difference between doing  the military press and flat bench press is the  military press takes the lats out of the lift which means the lats don't have to be contracted to complete the lift.  This leaves the triceps to complete the lift which is the most important muscle used in the flat bench press. I learned this from Louie Simmons' site.

Another important thing about the military press is it puts your shoulders at a different angle in the range of motion compared to the flat bench press. This will help alleviate any shoulder pain you might have taken on while flat bench pressing.




Pectoral flyes with dumbbells on a flat bench or on a pec fly machine like the guy below in the video:

Yeah, I know I said I do these last, but since I'm in the power training phase where I'm training to gain strength I'm doing power max sets. I go for a very hyper extended position while in the range of motion of the lift.  I make sure the position of my hands are way behind the vertical plane of my chest as far back as comfortable. I also make sure my elbows are locked and my arms are straight as possible. Be careful as these are especially hard on the fronts of the shoulders. These help with raising  the bench press.


Leg Presses

My back is especially tender after a pause squat workout so I have taken to doing any kind of movement which involves bending the leg at the knee into a closed position and then pressing with the leg against some kind of resistance.  The main point is to take the weight off the back of your neck and give your spine a rest.

 This can take the form of doing leg presses on a machine. You can also do pistol squats or lunges. You can also do hack squats on a machine like this one:

You will need to know how to squat before you work out on this machine. If you don't know squat form, click the link above for pause squats because there is a risk of injury even though you're on a machine.

The main point of any leg pressing machine is take the weight off the back of your neck and give your spine a rest from doing back squats. You put a lot of stress on your spine when balancing a heavy weight on your neck.

If you don't have access to machines, I guess you could try barbell hack squats or front squats to take the weight off the back of your neck.




Good mornings

First off, I stopped doing these thanks to fact that I'm wearing powerlifting shoes.  The shoes prevent the buttwink problem that occurs when squatting barefoot, so staying upright is much easier.

But if you still want to do them here it is:

I only do single rep sets of these as well.  I take in enough air in my nostrils to lock my spine in and hold the breath in throughout the entire range of motion of the lift.  Of course you'll want to do these on a squat rack in case you miss and have to bail on the weight and let the safety crossbars catch the bar.


Notice the use of the safety squat bars in the first two videos and the straight barbell in the last one. I never tried these in a down position like the big guys are doing in the first and last video, and I don't know why you couldn't start in a down position like that off some safety crossbars on a squat rack. I'm sure you could achieve a safe and rigid position like they're doing without the bar being suspended by chains. Maybe if you setup a locked in spine position by holding your breath before getting under the bar, you could achieve a safe stable lifting base in your spine. That might negate having the need for the chains. I'm just wondering about this because I don't have chains at my gym.


Stiff legged deadlifts

Yeah I know I said I never do the same movement twice in a row, but I gave up doing deadlifts. The deadlift is really just a hybrid of a squat and stiff legged deadlift anyways, and if I gain in my stiff legged deadlift I'm almost certain to gain in my deadlift.

It's also important to note that the lower lumbar part of your back is a very resillient part of your body when it is strong and stable.


Bent over row

I do max out sets of these.


Tricep extensions

 I do max out sets of these. If you feel like mixing it up just use a different machine for your triceps.




Lastly if I have energy, I'm doing recuperative training on the shoulders using ultra light weights or bands that have a small amount of tension in them. I'm mostly going for a time under tension like I talked about in the above paragraphs. Pectoral flyes and/or inverted pectoral flyes, tricep extensions, bicep curls and shoulder presses are some of the time under tension lifts I do.  Also I do some more abdominal standing crunches using a band and go for an extended time under tension as well.




Thursday 8 am

I've changed my position on doing three consecutive workouts in a row with 48 hours rest between them.  That third workout really makes me hate my life and lose motivation
to go to the gym, so this third workout is totally optional. Also if you were to skip this third workout, your next workout would be on Friday if you worked out on Tuesday. This will give your central nervous system enough time to recover, and Friday's workout would be Sunday's workout, and repeat the cycle between the alternating workouts.


However if you're set on doing the third workout in a row, just do Sunday's workout again on Sunday of course.  Here's my take on two vs three times a week workouts.




In conclusion take notice of when I'm doing the workout. I like to workout in the morning.  My central nervous system is at it's prime operation condition in the morning because I'm haven't been stressed out by the usual trials and tribulations that happen to me throughout the day. Consequently, my strength gains are more consistent.

 I stay away from doing the same workout routine twice in a row, so the next workout on Sunday will be the Tuesday workout, and on Thursday I'll do the Sunday workout. Read this to see why you shouldn't do the same workout two times in a row.

If you learn anything from Louie Simmons' website, one thing you should take away is that strength is more a product of conditioning your central nervous system to fire off electrical impulses to the requisite muscles in order for the body to complete the lift. Sure, muscular development is necessary for strength training but the central nervous system dictates how strong you will be, and I don't care if you have big muscles because if you don't have a well and rested central nervous system that fires off electrical impulses to your body in a timely and efficient manner there is no way you're making that lift no matter how big your muscles are. Read this to see how long you should rest between workouts.



Any of these workouts takes 2 1/2 to 3 1/2  hours to complete. Also I drink about 80 grams of whey protein while I workout, and I drink a small amount of whey protein before any one rep set. Read this on why drinking whey protein while you workout is important.

I used to do supplements.  I would take three grams of creatine and three grams of beta alanine daily to boost my endurance.  I usually  eat a meal of eggs with a carbohydrate food source about an hour before working out. Oatmeal works the best because it is low glycemic so it's absorbed slowly into bloodstream. This helps prevent insulin spikes. You definitely do not want to go into a sugar coma before you workout because it will make you weak and mess up your workout.  Protein is not necessary before you workout provided you drink whey protein while you workout. Additionally, I used to take 3 grams of omega 3 fatty acids which equals about nine pills of fish oil daily. This helps keep your heart healthy.

You're going to be completely wrecked if you do these workouts, so check out my post workout recovery routine.   Also click here to see how you should eat after working out.

Bent over row for upper back development

Form for the bent over row

First off make sure you have a solid base to lift from. Stand either on hard rigid flooring or concrete or two forty five lb plates placed side by side.  One foot goes on one plate. The other foot goes on the other plate. Also make sure the floor is level because any incline in the floor will put your body out of balance and could lead to injury in the spine or hips or shoulders.

Now put your spine in a deadlift position. If you don't know what I mean, read this.  Now reach down with hands slightly shoulder width apart. You should have a huge breath of air in your lungs to lock your spine.  Grab the bar with a double over hand grip and pull it to slightly below the top of your abdomen. It's real important to hold that breath of air in your lungs. The weight of the bar has a pulling jarring effect on the lower back and could lead to injury if you lose that breath.  This is especially important if you plan on doing reps because you'll have to hold your breath during the entire set of reps. That's why you should probably stick with the max out routine. For the simple fact it only requires you do three reps  max.

Also this exercise is pretty hard on the rotator cuff, so I don't recommend you do it every work out. If you're alternating between regular deadlifts and acute angle deadlifts, do bent over rows on your acute angle deadlift days because your acute angle deadlift weight will be considerably less than your regular deadlift weight you work out with. So the upper back and shoulders are not being sufficiently stimulated compared to the load placed on them in a regular deadlift. Think of the bent over row as a complement that addresses the shortcomings of the acute angle deadlift's lighter load.

You wanna get strong? Sleep more, workout in the morning, and ejaculate a lot

Here's an article recommending more sleep to elevate testosterone.

 This article recommends eating vegetables,  having sex and early morning workouts to increase testosterone.

This guy is strong. Maybe you should eat like he does.

This guy eats a lot. In this article he talks about how he used to eat compared with how he eats now.  He also recommends eating peanut butter sandwiches. The guy is strong as heck
so I would listen to him.

 Here's some healthy snacks for you in between meals.

A nice combo: tricep workout

You need strong triceps if you expect a successful elbow lockout for your bench press. Tricep extensions help with that. I alternate between doing tricep extensions using a barbell with a double overhand grip on one day and I use dumbbells on the next  workout day. I avoid repetitive movement injury by using this system.  The potential for injury is mostly in the wrists, and dumbbells give the hands and wrists mobility to  decrease the potential for injury.  You can do them either standing up, sitting down or laying flat on your back on a bench. Be mindful of filling the chest cavity with air taken in through the nose and holding the air in to lock your spine in a straight up and down position before attempting any lift while standing up or sitting straight up. Holding your breath with your back flat on the bench will give you a stable base to lift from.

I also take the bar to full bent back elbow position with my forearm touching my bicep.  This taxes the elbow joint incredibly so watch for pain in them and quit if the pain becomes severe.

I go through a warm up phase gradually increasing the weight and then I do max out sets until I feel fatigue and soreness in my triceps.  The tricep is such a small muscle so it may take ten or more max out sets to achieve fatigue in the muscle.  

Putting it all together: a total body workout

So here's a typical workout week for me.  By no means, do you have to do everything.  It's just a suggestion.  The rest periods are somewhat lax.  I usually take 48-60 hours rest between workouts. Sometimes I get unmotivated and take 72 hours rest.

Monday 11 am

Reflexive bench press

Warm-up

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps (usually twenty to fifty pounds less than single max out rep weight)

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps

Single rep max out set

Tricep extensions (these can be done either using a cable hooked to a machine or suspending a bar over your chest with a double overhand grip and lowering the bar by bending the forearms and lowering the bar at the elbow to the point where the forearm comes close to touching the bicep)

Warm up

Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set

Add more single rep sets if needed to attain a feeling of soreness in the tricep muscles

Standing Bicep Curl with straight barbell(these have to be done while standing on concrete or two 45lb plates.  You need a stable surface so you can keep your whole body in alignment.  It's also important to take a small sip of air and hold your breath before lifting and after completing the lift because it keeps your lower back in a locked tight position)


Warm up

Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set


Single rep max out set

Add more single rep sets if needed to attain a feeling of soreness in the bicep muscles

Regular Deadlifts 

Warm-up without straps and when the weight gets too heavy to grip, switch to straps.

1 rep max out set with straps

1 rep max out set without straps

1 rep max out set with straps

1 rep max out set without straps

1 rep max out set with straps

1 rep max out set without straps

1 rep max out set with straps

 Reflexive squat

 Warm-up

1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set

Add more single rep max out sets if needed to achieve soreness in the quadriceps and glute muscles




Wednesday 9 pm



Pause bench press


Warm-up

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps (usually twenty to fifty pounds less than single max out rep weight)

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps

Single rep max out set

1 set of 3 reps

Single rep max out set


Seated military press (these are done while sitting and lifting the bar by grasping the bar with a double overhand grip and pressing both arms overhead. They can either be done at a military press rack or squat rack with adjustable safety arms. Take a small sip of air to maintain tightness in the torso but not enough to cause any arch in the lower back which could lead to injury. The start of the lift is to have the bar at shoulder level where it's high enough to get the palms under the bar but low enough where you can touch your forearm to your bicep. Never lift the bar out from behind and above your head. This puts the shoulders in a position susceptible to injury.)

Warm up



1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set


1 rep max out set

Add more single rep max out sets if needed to achieve soreness in the tricep muscles.

Standing dumbell curls or one arm cable bicep curls (the main point of this is to extend the hand or hands behind the vertical plane of the torso before the lift is initiated. The form for this is the same as the standing bicep barbell curl. Before the lift you're going to take in a small sip of air  through the nostrils to lock the lower back in place but not so much that you put a severe arch in the lower back.  Stand on either concrete or 45lb plates to give your feet a nice stable foundation to lift from.

Egg intake

On the advice of this doctor, I've increased my egg intake three fold.  With every meal I'm eating three whole eggs,  so that makes my total egg consumption nine eggs a day. It seems like I'm less hungry and I can go a  longer time without eating between meals. I haven't had my cholesterol levels measured so I don't know if I'm wreaking havoc in my body.  As far as strength gains go, I did go up in my  pause back squat and slightly in my cambered bar bench press. The gains weren't anything miraculous but I'll take a couple small gains rather than nothing at all.

Bench press form: squeeze your glutes

This is from a trainer who recommends squeezing your glutes.  He also recommends doing light then heavy days for muscle building in the bench press.  I can't really agree with that, but the glute squeezing I agree with.

Eat fats to build muscle

This article recommends eating oils to build muscle.  Check it out here.

Pause front squat from power lifter

A nice combo: the bicep workout

I do bicep curls to help me add stability to my bench press. They work the wrists, the forearms, and the biceps which all work together to stabilize the bar throughout the entire range of motion in the bench press.

 I alternate standing bicep barbell curls on one workout day with seated dumbbell bicep curls  on another workout day to avoid repetitive movement injury. When you have your hands wrapped around a bar in a fixed position, it places a great amount of stress on the wrists and forearms and shoulders. The seated bicep dumbbell curl reduces that because the hands have the mobility to move around.

The form for the standing bicep barbell curl is first load a barbell with weights. I prefer to have the barbell at a waist high position either sitting on safety crossbars of a squat rack or power rack. It reduces the amount of work to complete the lift but if you have to lift the barbell off the ground then it's no big deal. Although you will have to put your lower back in a deadlift position to protect your lower spine
when lifting the bar off the ground. Also the floor you lift on has to be rigid and level otherwise put two forty five lb plates on the ground and step on those to give yourself a stable base to lift from.

Now take in a breath of air through the nose to fill the chest cavity to lock your spine in a straight up and down position.  Grab the bar underhanded with both hands in a slightly wider than shoulder width position. Now while keeping your elbows close to your sides, curl the bar to your chin by bending at the elbows.  It's an absolute must you hold your breath throughout the entire range of motion in the lift. This will lock your spine and reduce the chance of back injury. It will also stabilize your body to give you a nice powerful lift.

Now let the bar down on the rack or floor. If you want to do reps, you'll have to keep that breath of air in you or let the bar down and reset your breath and lock your spine again before attempting to lift again.

Form for the seated dumbbell curl is completely different. First off sit on a bench and place two dumbbells on the outsides of  both your feet. Take in a breath of air through the mouth and put a severe arch in the lower back and lift the dumbbells off the ground.

Now take in a breath of air through the nose to fill the chest and lock your spine in a straight up and down position.  Curl the dumbbell with one hand bending at the elbow while keeping the other dumbbell in your other hand stationary by your side. This will give stability to your lift.

Notice how to clear the dumbbell past your bent knee you have to keep the dumbbell perpendicular to the floor. When you clear the knee, twist the dumbbell to a horizontal position parallel to the floor. This will tax the wrists and forearms and strengthen them. If you experience any soreness in the wrists, rub the point of pain on your knee to dissipate the pain.  Check out  why this works here.

Lower the dumbbell back to your side and curl the other dumbbell in your other hand. If you have to exhale between the alternating curls, keep in mind you'll have to reset  the air back in your chest and relock your spine in a straight up and down position.   Now lower the dumbbells back to the ground.

I try to do only single rep sets when I'm bicep curling because it yields the greatest adaptive strength gain response although if I feel like I can do a couple more reps I'll go ahead and bang them out to achieve soreness and fatigue in my biceps.

A nice trio: exercises for core, back and leg strength

I've been experiencing annoying nagging soreness and swelling in my knees thanks to to doing reflexive squats and then alternating with pause squats.  The range of motion in both exercise forms is identical so I pretty much expected pain in the knees. The problem is for the strength gains to keep coming in the squat, the range of motion where you bend the knees and lower the glutes to almost touching the ground  has to be severely taxed and stimulated in a consistent manner.  So how do you make strength gains in the squat with limited knee pain?

Enter the acute angle deadlift. The beginning of the lift has you standing  on two stacks of two forty five lb plates stacked on top of each other. One foot goes on one stack. The other foot goes on the other stack. The stack of plates on either side of the barbell remain on the ground. This forces your body to be in a balled up position. Your knees are in a bent position but not as severely as in the squat. Your lower back and shoulders are in a rounded position. This places a great amount of stress on the legs and lower back so quit when you start to experience severe soreness in the lower back.

My theory is that the combination of alternating  the pause squat on one workout day with the acute angle deadlift on the next workout day will see an increase in the reflexive squat with reduced knee soreness. I say reduced because you'll always experience knee soreness if you bottom out while doing squats. Another benefit is if you make a strength gain in the acute angle deadlift it will transfer to a strength gain in the deadlift. Also if you make a gain in the pause squat I'm theorizing that a strength gain will be made in the acute angle deadlift.

The Seesaw Effect of Strength Gains

It's really hard to make consistent strength gains over the course of time. As an overall generalization over the course of a year you will make strength gains, but in the span of a month's time your strength gains will always go up and then down.

The reasons for this are many. You lack motivation. You're sore. You take too long a rest between workouts.  You don't eat enough. You don't eat enough before a workout so you don't have the energy to complete your workout. I could go on and on.

The point is to keep focused on your gains in the course of a year rather than in a month.  Don't beat yourself up if you don't make a gain in the short term. It's human nature to lose motivation or skip workouts. You'll lose strength if you miss a workout but keep in mind  how you progress over the course of a year.

Repetitive Movement Injury and why translative exercises are necessary

I think we can agree on one thing. If you do a movement enough times, the muscles and tendons and ligaments involved gradually weaken over time. If you fight through the pain, it will eventually lead to injury.

Look at people who work in manufacturing. They constantly do the same movements day in and day out. Over time they develop carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive movement related  injuries, and they don't even lift maximal loads.


How does this relate to strength training?   Strength training involves consistently doing the same movement over time. If you constantly do the same workout, even though you're making gains you raise the probability you will become injured.

How do you avoid injury but still make strength gains in your targeted movement? The solution is to add translative exercises to your workout. For example, the standing barbell bicep curl puts severe stress on the forearms and wrists because you're constantly fighting the fixed position of your hands wrapped around the bar.
The translative exercise to remedy this is the  dumbbell bicep curl. In this movement  you're giving your hands an increased mobility but you're still working the biceps, forearms and wrists.

The bench press puts severe stress on the fronts of the shoulder. If you fight through the pain, you risk tearing ligaments and tendons that run across the chest and shoulders.

Interestingly enough, the translative exercise which avoids injury puts the shoulders in a more severe swept back position and has the elbows bent more to take on more severe sharper angles. I know I'm always talking about the cambered bar and it gets repetitive, but the cambered bar actually stretches the chest and shoulders and loosens them up which helps alleviate stiffness in them which will help you to lessen the potential of repetitive movement injury. If you don't have a cambered bar, use dumbbells or get on a machine that will sweep the shoulders back and have you sink your hands  behind the chest.

It's important you don't do the same exercise two workouts in a row. That's why you worry about translative exercises. You're looking to do exercises that will help you gain strength in your targeted movement such as the bench press or squat. Although of course for some stubborn plateaus, you  might have to do the more difficult translative exercise such as the cambered bar bench press two or three  workouts in a row to bust through your bench press plateau.  But keep in mind you're increasing the likelihood of becoming injured  and  negating the  adaptive response effect because the body only can adapt so much before it stops responding so for you to  keep on doing the translative exercise is a waste of time.

Of note, the translative exercise for the back squat, the pause back squat, uses the same range of motion as the back squat. The only difference is the pause that occurs when you bottom out. Because they have identical ranges of motion, the potential for soreness and swelling in the knees is great.  But I can't think of any translative exercise that complements and sees more consistent strength gains in the back squat as the pause back squat. I suppose you could do front squats where the bar is laid across the front of the chest. But the knees do not bend deep enough I'm assuming to make strength gains in the back squat.

Bench press form. Stan Efferding has a quirky way to bench press.

Notice how these world class powerlifters
are looking at the bar as it goes down, and when it hits their chests they slam their heads into the bench.

I'm guessing the reason for this is that
it's accentuating the arch in their chest and  lower  back  and it's helping them gain momentum to clear the bar off  their chest when they slam the  back of their heads onto
the bench.  Give it a try.

The Egg. A doctor recommends them to gain strength.

This doctor recommends eating eggs to boost testosterone production.  He cites
a couple studies that recommend eating eggs. The major problem with that is egg yolks have a ton of cholesterol in them but he argues that the cholesterol in eggs will not elevate blood
cholesterol levels.

 I don't know the funding sources for the studies he cites but I do recommend eating eggs for muscle production although I can't really stand behind eating the yolks. I guess the only way to tell if the yolks are affecting you is to test your blood cholesterol levels frequently.