Rest times between sets

[oldtimer1]

Go by feel. If you are doing low sets and relatively low reps rest enough so you can give it your all on the next set. I don't know any power lifters or Olympic lifters that time their rests between sets.

If you are training for endurance or even for bodybuilding you can use short rests like 30 to 45 seconds to push the endurance envelope. This of course will limit the weight you can use but it will build endurance and pump using a different energy system. Again you don't have to time it.

[adams345]

As many people here, I go by feel, but I'm becoming not so sure now.
I suppose my body is not always right telling me 'stop, give up, lay on a coach, relax, what's all this for'?

I tried calculating rest time and experimenting with shorter periods, it felt strange, but not overall harder. For me, the biggest problem was time calculation itself. So distracting.

[Charlys69]

i Train holistic in most of my workouts...so i use different rest times between sets....

after warm-up some heavy sets between 4-8 reps and longer rest (CNS), after moderate weights for moderate rest in between. The end of a muscle Group it´s just to finish with a Maximum pump, higher reps, supersets,....only little rest-times  (sometimes less than 30 seconds).

[The Ugly]

Slow ten count. Anything more, you're just in the way.

[Bigmacdaddy18]

Interesting. My method:

2 minutes for sets of 12 reps and under
60 seconds for sets of 15 or higher

[Primemuscle]

Interesting. My method:

2 minutes for sets of 12 reps and under
60 seconds for sets of 15 or higher

Seems like a lot of rest time. Can you explain why this works for you?

[Bigmacdaddy18]

Seems like a lot of rest time. Can you explain why this works for you?

I was a 60 second between sets person for years. 1. Never really got bigger. 2. Never really got stronger and 3. Never really got a great pump. I did some reading and found that by waiting longer between sets your intra-set recuperation is greater. It was hard going from 1 minute to 2 minutes, felt like forever but it has been 6 months now and I am stronger, bigger and leaner. The last set, 20 reps, I wait 60 seconds or less just to stimulate those slow twitch muscle fibers.

Hope that helps.

[Primemuscle]

I was a 60 second between sets person for years. 1. Never really got bigger. 2. Never really got stronger and 3. Never really got a great pump. I did some reading and found that by waiting longer between sets your intra-set recuperation is greater. It was hard going from 1 minute to 2 minutes, felt like forever but it has been 6 months now and I am stronger, bigger and leaner. The last set, 20 reps, I wait 60 seconds or less just to stimulate those slow twitch muscle fibers.

Hope that helps.

Thank you. I'll give this a try.

[jpm101]

There is the TUT (Time Under Tension) theory in BB'ing  that states that you want to move a greater amount of a work load (weight used in a exercise) in the shortest period of  time. Getting a quicker pace to a BB'ing workout and keeping that Time Under Tension. . That means doing the given reps faster  and the time between sets shorter. You don't want any period of increased recuperation between sets or exercises (TUT again). That would be self defeating for the purpose of putting max focus (and time) on the muscle(s) being worked. I call this the brief and to the point way of training. Quite a few BB'ers, past and present, follow this protocol for steady gains. I'm not a BB'er but have experience this style training for short periods (6-8 weeks) taking a break for heavier, max weight training methods.

90 seconds between sets is the usually pattern followed by the BB'ers I come in contact with. And 90 to 120 seconds between exercises working the same muscle area. Like benches to dips...90 to 120 seconds rest period.

Bigmacdaddy give a good example of how even making slight adjustments to a training program can give unexpected results , in a good way. Changing a rep scheme, the way a movement is done, rest periods (shorter...longer),weight used (light..moderate...heavy) can recharge training attitudes and training gains.  I usually suggest 6 to 8 weeks on most programs. 12 weeks on some occasions. The body will adapt, fairly quickly, if keep on doing the same old exercise, the same old way. Change can do a body good.

When breaking into a completely new training program/style it will usually require 2 to 3 weeks to get adjusted to the bodies response....good or bad. If feeling that that program, after 3-4 weeks or so, is not fitting your needs, that drop it  (no matter what others, or the "experts" say about it) and make a change to another style training program. BB'ing will depend on finding out what works for you and not what MR Big Balls of 2010 had done in workouts. That's usually BS, just trying to sell video's or training books. BB'ing is a great personal experimental effort. Selecting what gives you the gains that you seek.

Good Luck.

 

[Bigmacdaddy18]

There is the TUT (Time Under Tension) theory in BB'ing  that states that you want to move a greater amount of a work load (weight used in a exercise) in the shortest period of  time. Getting a quicker pace to a BB'ing workout and keeping that Time Under Tension. . That means doing the given reps faster  and the time between sets shorter. You don't want any period of increased recuperation between sets or exercises (TUT again). That would be self defeating for the purpose of putting max focus (and time) on the muscle(s) being worked. I call this the brief and to the point way of training. Quite a few BB'ers, past and present, follow this protocol for steady gains. I'm not a BB'er but have experience this style training for short periods (6-8 weeks) taking a break for heavier, max weight training methods.

90 seconds between sets is the usually pattern followed by the BB'ers I come in contact with. And 90 to 120 seconds between exercises working the same muscle area. Like benches to dips...90 to 120 seconds rest period.

Bigmacdaddy give a good example of how even making slight adjustments to a training program can give unexpected results , in a good way. Changing a rep scheme, the way a movement is done, rest periods (shorter...longer),weight used (light..moderate...heavy) can recharge training attitudes and training gains.  I usually suggest 6 to 8 weeks on most programs. 12 weeks on some occasions. The body will adapt, fairly quickly, if keep on doing the same old exercise, the same old way. Change can do a body good.

When breaking into a completely new training program/style it will usually require 2 to 3 weeks to get adjusted to the bodies response....good or bad. If feeling that that program, after 3-4 weeks or so, is not fitting your needs, that drop it  (no matter what others, or the "experts" say about it) and make a change to another style training program. BB'ing will depend on finding out what works for you and not what MR Big Balls of 2010 had done in workouts. That's usually BS, just trying to sell video's or training books. BB'ing is a great personal experimental effort. Selecting what gives you the gains that you seek.

Good Luck.

 
Exactly. I play with rep schemes a lot but my core is 8, 12, 20. That works for me and may not for 5,000,000 other people. Have to try new things. It depends how I feel walking into the gym that particulate day. Today I did legs. 10 sets of 10 on the leg press. That was it. Pumped and feel like I trained like never before. Have fun.

[ratherbebig]

guess it would depend on my level of fitness and how hard the training would be.

if im not used to do high reps i would need some good rests or ill just be out of breath.

if i would do some dorian yates to failure kinda training i would need all the rest i could get, if only to prepare for the lift...

right now as im doing 3x10 not going to failure, im good with less resting time.

[Bigmacdaddy18]

When I worked at the WWE and had a chance to train with Fred Hatfield and those guys the rep scheme was 6, 12 and 40, 3-4 sets of each.

Not saying it works for everyone and for me 40 is just a bunch too many but you have to mix it up.

I do 100 rep sets once in a while, a great while!

[jpm101]

Might also suggest to avoid going to complete failure on every set of every exercise.. Not encouraging the CNS (Central Nervous System) to accomplish what it's meant to do...recover from the last training system and go on for progress in muscle size and strength for future workouts. . .

 Experienced BB'ers, PL'ers and Olympic lifters understand this all too well. Try halting at 1 or 2 reps before reaching that point of not being able to do a complete good rep. Doesn't mean your not getting a great workout, just not allowing the overextending of the body's ability to recover for the next workout....and future progress.  Even if juiced up, you may still find not  going to failure may be to your advantage.  

Great opportunity working with Dr. Squat, Fred Hatfield.



Good Luck..

[Bigmacdaddy18]

Not a big go to failure guy, more like set the number of reps and make the resistance tough enough so you have to work to get the number. I wish I could train to failure more often, just something I don't do.

Fred, aka Dr. Squat, 1019lbs I think, was ahead of his time for sure. I was one door down from him in the WWE's Titan Tower in Stamford. Got to train hamstrings with Tom Platz on Saturday afternoon....20 years later and I am still sore!

[Jona]

extremely interesting. I would have thought the shorter rest times would produce greater hypertrophy given the age-old bodybuilding "rest times".

[gluteworkout]

Wednesday, 27 May 2009 
Written by Robbie Durand 

Hormones such as human growth hormone (GH) and testosterone have been shown to play a role in muscle hypertrophy and strength gains. One of the core training principles for muscle hypertrophy in bodybuilding is short rest— less than 1 minute between sets. In 1988, anabolic hormone guru William Kraemer, PhD, performed a study that literally changed the world of bodybuilding overnight.   In this landmark study, Kraemer reported that heavy resistance training protocols with shortened rest periods (less than 1 minute) between sets elicited greater GH and testosterone response than resistance training protocols with longer rest periods (more than 3 minutes).

A previous study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined the effects of three different loading routines on testosterone and cortisol levels.2 Subjects were randomly assigned to a power workout (8 sets of 6 reps, 45 percent of 1-repetition maximum, 3 minutes rest), a hypertrophy workout (10 sets of 10 reps, 75 percent of 1-repetition maximum, 2 minutes rest) and a maximal strength workout (6 sets of 4 reps, 88 percent of 1-repetition maximum, 4 minutes rest). The hypertrophy scheme (10 sets of 10 reps) increased testosterone and cortisol, whereas the power and maximal strength schemes produced little to no endocrine change.

In general, the post-exercise testosterone and cortisol response to the hypertrophy scheme was greater than the other two schemes, which themselves displayed largely similar profiles.  There is no doubt that short rest periods are going to lead to enhanced fat oxidation and a greater metabolic effect, but should you train with short rest periods year-round? 

Longer Rest Periods Superior For Strength
A previous study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that short rest periods led to a decrease in the number of repetitions performed in the workout. In the study, resistance-trained men performed an upper-body workout consisting of two experimental training sessions. Both sessions consisted of 3 sets of 8 repetitions with an 8-repetition maximum resistance on six upper body exercises: wide-grip lat pulldowns, close-grip pulldowns, seated machine rows, barbell rows lying on a bench, seated dumbbell arm curls and seated machine arm curls.  The two experimental sessions differed only in the length of the rest period between sets and exercises: one session was performed with a 1-minute rest and the other with a 3-minute rest period. It should be of no surprise that the group that rested 3 minutes between sets was able to perform a greater number of repetitions compared to the 1-minute rest session.1 Think about a few extra repetitions performed during each workout over a six-month period and how much added strength and size that would add up to. New research has shown that the body has an incredible ability to adapt to exercise.
 

Short Rest Periods Increase Anabolic Hormones During The First Week, But Effects Decline With Training
 In a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers from the University of Nebraska recruited subjects and randomly assigned them to a 10-week resistance training program with either 1 or 2.5 minutes of rest between sets, training four times per week. Subjects were advised to consume 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass each day to ensure adequate nutritional resources for training-stimulated adaptation. Researchers found that in the first week, the ‘1-minute between rest’ group exhibited a greater overall hormone response to weight training than the ‘2.5-minutes’ group.
In week one, post-exercise testosterone and cortisol levels were significantly greater in the 1-minute group than in the 2.5-minutes group. However, these differences diminished by weeks five and 10, in which post-exercise hormone levels in the two groups were similar. What this study shows is that the body adapts to its training routine; the physiological stress of resistance exercise is diminished with time. The bottom line is that you have to constantly shock your body with new training routines!

Longer Rest Period Increased Muscle Hypertrophy More Than Shorter Rest Period
 Another interesting finding was that the longer rest period group (2.5 minutes) tended to have greater increases in muscle arm mass than the short rest period group (1 minute). Additionally, the longer rest period group tended to have larger increases in thigh mass.

The author concludes that periodic changes in training protocols are needed for increased anabolic hormones and that there is an adaptation response that occurs to training. The groups became more alike as the weeks went along, as both groups adapted to their training regimen.

The key point of the study is that the hormonal responses (GH and testosterone) were greater during the first week and had diminished by the 10th week of training. The study emphasized that changing your workout reduces the training adaptation that takes place and keeps you growing.

thank you for sharing