How much rest between sets??

[josh8416]

hey guys ive been told soo many different things, and want to know which is the right way. im going for mass so when i do a set, do i rest for 30 seconds like i was told and do it again, or wait 2 minutes or 3 minutes or what????. i usually do 3 set of 8 for everything. i have also been told to go till failure on every set...im sooo confused, i need some advice, anything will help..thanks guy!!!

[kloter1]

well i usually rest about 1 min btwn sets. I rest about 4 mins between exercises.

[SMYL_GR8]

Training for mass and strength are totally different. Obviously, bigger muscles lift bigger weight, but stimulating muscles to grow is different than stimulating them to get stronger. You do not HAVE TO train each set to failure, but you have to stimulate the muscle in a different way than before, forcing blood into the muscle.

As for the rest, growth sets should have 60 seconds or less, strength sets 2-4 minutes between.

[Merlin_TM]

Training for mass and strength are totally different.

I couldn't disagree with this statement more.

And I think rest between sets is a lot less crucial than many like to think.

[IronReload04]

Training for mass and strength are totally different. Obviously, bigger muscles lift bigger weight, but stimulating muscles to grow is different than stimulating them to get stronger. You do not HAVE TO train each set to failure, but you have to stimulate the muscle in a different way than before, forcing blood into the muscle.

As for the rest, growth sets should have 60 seconds or less, strength sets 2-4 minutes between.

i have the mindset that a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle. it is my opinion that less rest less weight and more rest and more weight are equal in gaining mass and strength

[radar1234]

i train for power so i take between 3-4 mins between sets.

[bluethunder]

On heavy lifts you need more time to rest so your body can recover alittle before the next set. Rest periods are not in stone as everyone is different and have more or less conditoning. But on the same token you cannot rest too long so its best to see what you can handle either no rest,30sec, 45sec 1min-5min. Rest periods are dependant on what your trying to accomplish during that training session..

[Merlin_TM]

I think density plays a much bigger role than anything else on this subject.

[BigMike J]

big exercises i rest 2 min small exercises i rest 1min

[MrMondodondo]

Wow, so many opinions.....
I go by this- If I have enough energy and wind to talk to somebody, than I am
either resting too much or not training hard enough.....JMO

[josh8416]

ya i usually rest about 30-45 seconds in between sets, and 1-2 minutes for exercise, i was always told u dont get bigger by standing around..lol, i was just seeing what people think, cause im going for mass...i usually wait till my body seems ready..thanks for the comments though!!!

[znak]

hey guys ive been told soo many different things, and want to know which is the right way. im going for mass so when i do a set, do i rest for 30 seconds like i was told and do it again, or wait 2 minutes or 3 minutes or what????. i usually do 3 set of 8 for everything. i have also been told to go till failure on every set...im sooo confused, i need some advice, anything will help..thanks guy!!!

I rest as long as it takes for my partner to do his set and to put on the next weight.

If I am too tired, I wait until I am ready.

When you have more experience, you will know what YOUR body needs.

If you can do three sets of eight, it is impossible to go to failure everytime unless you cut down your rest time every time. Number of reps is a goal-- I you do eight, do eight because you can't do nine cleanly, with good form and safely.

Your number of reps or weigh should be changing every session (or almost).

[Hypertrophy]

Trainig Goal / Rest

Strength: 2-5 minutes
Power: 2-5 minutes
Hypertrophy: 30s-1.5 minutes
Endurance: <30 seconds

[IronReload04]

how and why does resting 30 s to 1.5 min cause hypertrophy and not strength

how and why does resting 2-5 min cause strength but not hypertrophy.

rep range probably has more to do with it

[Hypertrophy]

how and why does resting 30 s to 1.5 min cause hypertrophy and not strength

how and why does resting 2-5 min cause strength but not hypertrophy.

rep range probably has more to do with it

ATP/CP is used during hypertrophy training, therefore, shorter rest periods are recommened to; totally deplete these energy stores. This threatens the energy available to the working muscle. The threatening of homeostasis causes the body to increase its energy transport capacity. When this occurs, the body stores more CP in the muscle cells, which enhances protein metabolism leading to hypertrophy. Theoritically, this is why high volume training/shorter rest intervals (30s-1.5m) are associated with hypertrophy.
The CNS and ATP/CP stores are both used during maximal lifting. I will consider strength training maximal lifting due to the heavier weights associated with this style of training. The CNS takes longer to recover than the skeletal system. Longer rest periods are needed to fully recover the CNS and (ATP/CP system-usually recovered at the 3 minute mark). If these systems are under recovered, nerve impulses from the CNS and the energy needed from the APT/CP system will not be as great. Therefore, leading to less weight lifted. The main goal of strength training is to increase strength. Thats why 2-5 minutes is associated with this style of training.
Hypertrophy and Strength training do correlate with each other. As the muscle hypertrophies, more myosin and actin form, leading to more contractile units. The more contractile units, the greater force. This why it is crucial to incorporate both styles of training into your program. Yes, rep ranges are important also!

[IronReload04]

outstanding. good post very informative. just the explanation i was looking for

[IronReload04]

but, if you gained hypertrophy from the short rests, wouldnt that still mean that your bigger muscle is now a stronger muscle?

[bluethunder]

Good reply Hyper could not explain it any better. Just another good reason to supplement with creatine depending on your goal.

[Hypertrophy]

Good point. People can now see how creatine can potentially be an ergogenic aid.

[IronReload04]

hypertrophy, i like your argument very much. I still believe that as long as you train in the 6-12 range, hypertrophy will come with strength. I understand what you are saying as far as the atp vs short rest times. But still, a bigger muscle that can store more atp/cp will lift more weight? right??

This next quote has definately definately been said many times
"the best bodybuilding routine is a powerlifting routine"

my man ROnnie C has said he got most of his size when he was a powerlifter.

[Hypertrophy]

Yes, typically a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle.
Ronnie uses very light weights, he says it after every set, "that was light, real light."

[carbs-rule]

I would reccomend rests that correspond to getting back to a fairly normal heart rate. It usually takes around 90 secs. If you have a heart rate monitor, it is easy to check. You can estimate it by hand too. A heart rate monitor is awesome regrdless, you know almost exactly how many calories you burn and can keep track of your heartrate constantly.

[ImmmtheIceman]

I usually rest 2-3 min. when I go heavy. Heart rate is the best determinant of when to go to your next set

[se11]

I usually rest 2-3 min. when I go heavy. Heart rate is the best determinant of when to go to your next set

how can heart rate be based on rest time? i've never herd of that before, but would like to know.

[bermich]

I didnt read any of the posts above. I was always under the impression that
For endurance: You keep rest around 30 seconds.
Mass training: 1 to minutes for average exercises.
30 seconds isnt much time for rest between sets.

[HOLLYWOOD]

ATP/CP is used during hypertrophy training, therefore, shorter rest periods are recommened to; totally deplete these energy stores. This threatens the energy available to the working muscle. The threatening of homeostasis causes the body to increase its energy transport capacity. When this occurs, the body stores more CP in the muscle cells, which enhances protein metabolism leading to hypertrophy. Theoritically, this is why high volume training/shorter rest intervals (30s-1.5m) are associated with hypertrophy.
The CNS and ATP/CP stores are both used during maximal lifting. I will consider strength training maximal lifting due to the heavier weights associated with this style of training. The CNS takes longer to recover than the skeletal system. Longer rest periods are needed to fully recover the CNS and (ATP/CP system-usually recovered at the 3 minute mark). If these systems are under recovered, nerve impulses from the CNS and the energy needed from the APT/CP system will not be as great. Therefore, leading to less weight lifted. The main goal of strength training is to increase strength. Thats why 2-5 minutes is associated with this style of training.
Hypertrophy and Strength training do correlate with each other. As the muscle hypertrophies, more myosin and actin form, leading to more contractile units. The more contractile units, the greater force. This why it is crucial to incorporate both styles of training into your program. Yes, rep ranges are important also!

Hypertrophy, aren't you a firm believer in dc training??? "Theoritically, this is why high volume training/shorter rest intervals (30s-1.5m) are associated with hypertrophy." do you believe this over dc training?

[Hypertrophy]

Hypertrophy, aren't you a firm believer in dc training??? "Theoritically, this is why high volume training/shorter rest intervals (30s-1.5m) are associated with hypertrophy." do you believe this over dc training?

No, I am not a firm believer in DC training. I have never tried his method. I do believe it will work. Why? It is very basic. His training "philosophy" is different than 90% of the training population, therefore, it is going to provide an unknown stimulus, elliciting a new/different result. I haven't studied his training enough to make comments on it. Based on physiology, I wil stand behind my posts. I do not think there is a single training method that is better than the other. In order to maximize your strength/size/speed/etc, you must use periodization. Many different styles all integrated together to meet your goal.

[HOLLYWOOD]

oh my bad, i must have you confused with someone else!