As background, I had just finished a heavy set of deadlifts and then went to do 1ct pause bench press for 5@8 x 4 sets. I hit my first set of 5 at 200lbs at about an 8 I’d say. I went to do my second set after 6-8 min of rest but then failed on my final rep. In my opinion, a paused lift is sometimes harder or easier depending on how well I hit the pause (even more prone for hitting it poorly when I am not used to the paused variant of that lift).
If I fail the rep on a pause-variant lift, should I still stop that lift and go onto the next or should I give that lift another try, either at the same weight or maybe dropping a small amount?
Hello! You should always complete the prescribed volume in this situation, even if that means that you need to drop the weight a bit. If you are doing sets across at RPE 8, it is normal to adjust the weight down for the final set or two. If this was your second set and you rested 6-8 min (which we consider a longer time than generally needed), I’d guess your first set was also a bit too heavy and you might now have had 2 more paused reps in you for that set. I agree that new movements and pauses are more difficult, so you want to adjust the bar weight o allow for that and still hit the RPE>
Ok makes sense. So in an intermediate program like the bridge, is it more important to keep the desired intensity or try to push yourself and keep the weight constant at a set across?