Double pause bench percentage
Stop a centimetre off the chest, then again on the chest. Two stops, one rep — and no other calculator has a place to put it.
A range, not a number — because the same variation costs one lifter 4% and another 14%. The app turns it into a single weight and remembers your coefficient. How the model works.
Want the exact number?Set the pauses, the descent and the ascent, pick reps and RPE, get one weight — and the app learns your own coefficient.
Get the free appHow much weight comes off for a double pause bench press?
A double pause bench — one second held roughly a centimetre off the chest, then one second on the chest — is typically 86 to 93% of your competition bench. The floating pause is the expensive half: suspended off the chest you hold the whole load actively, with no contact and the worst leverage in the range. The chest pause that follows costs less, because a competition bench already contains one.
Common double pause schemes and typical load
| Variation | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| 1s at chest | 100% | This is the competition lift, the reference |
| 2s at chest | 93-98% | Only the second beyond competition is extra |
| 1s floating (1 cm off) | 92-97% | No contact, worst leverage |
| 1s floating + 1s chest | 86-93% | The scheme most coaches mean |
| 2s floating + 1s chest | 83-91% | Deep into positional work |
| 1s 2-board + 1s chest | 88-94% | Higher first stop, cheaper |
Why two stops cost more than one long one
The expensive part of a pause is not the holding, it is the arrest. Every stop kills whatever elastic contribution was left and forces you to re-initiate force from zero velocity. Two stops mean paying that twice, which is why one second plus one second is harder than a single two-second hold, not easier as the arithmetic of total time would suggest.
The floating pause is the harder of the two positions, and by a clear margin. Resting on the chest you get a stable reference and the torso takes a fraction of the load off your hands. Suspended a centimetre above it, nothing is under the bar: you hold the entire weight actively, at the point in the range where your leverage is worst. Any lifter who has done both knows which one ends the set.
The chest pause that follows costs less than you would expect, and for a specific reason: a competition bench is already a paused bench. The judge waits for the bar to settle. So roughly the first second at the chest is baked into the max you are calculating from, and is not an extra. What is extra is arriving there already stopped, with no rebound left.
What moves your number
- How far off the chest the float actually is. A centimetre and five centimetres are different exercises: the higher you stop, the cheaper it gets.
- Whether you keep tightness during the float. Lifters who relax between the two stops lose far more than the numbers above.
- Arch and shoulder position: a big arch shortens the range and makes the float shallower, which makes it easier.
- Where your sticking point is. If you fail just off the chest, this scheme hits you exactly where you are weakest and will cost more than the range suggests.
How to find your own number
Three sessions and a bit of honesty are enough to replace the range with your own coefficient.
- Work up to a set of 3 on the double pause bench and stop at RPE 8 — two reps left in the tank, honestly judged.
- Divide the weight you used by the weight you would have used for 3 reps @ RPE 8 on your competition bench. That ratio is your coefficient.
- Repeat it once or twice over a training block. If the number holds within a couple of percent, that is your number — use it instead of the range.
PRO What the app does with it
- Applies the pauses, the descent and the ascent on top of the variation, second by second — the first second costs the most, the following ones progressively less. A slow ascent is charged more per second than a slow descent.
- Crosses it with the RPE chart, so you get the weight for 3 reps @ RPE 8 on that variation, not just a max.
- Learns your personal coefficient from a set you actually did, then remembers it for every future session.
- Works offline, in the gym, with the plates already worked out.
Stop guessing on your variation days
RPE Calculator is free on iPhone and Android. The variation calculator — pause, tempo, deficit, boards — comes with RPE Pro, an annual subscription you can cancel any time.
Get the free app Launching on Google Play — final testingFree download · Pro is an annual subscription · Cancel any time
Frequently asked questions
Why would a coach program two pauses in one rep?
To remove every trace of the rebound and expose the position just off the chest, which is where most benches fail. One long pause tests holding; two stops test re-starting, twice.
Is a floating pause harder than a pause on the chest?
Yes, at the same duration. With contact you get a stable reference and the chest carries a small part of the load; suspended you hold all of it, at the worst leverage in the range.
How much should I take off for 1 second floating plus 1 second on the chest?
Typically 7 to 14%, so 86 to 93% of your competition bench. Lifters who rely heavily on the touch sit at the bottom of that range.
Does the chest pause still count if I already paused above it?
It costs something, but less than the first stop. A competition bench already includes about a second on the chest, so that part is already inside the max you are working from.