Rest Period (sets)

[jJjburton]

Arnold Swartsnigger(this is a joke), said that he hardly took rest periods between sets. Said that he would do a set then sit down think about the muscle he did and how he will do it next (visualize) then do the next set. So he made it seem like he took 10-20 seconds between sets. He then said it's ridiculous how long people rest between sets. Go on there phones and such.(there is a video where he says this) (It is recent like within 3 years, so he is older)(Old people exaggerate about old days)

I used to do 1 min rests, timed. Now trying 30 seconds rests unless I really hit the lift hard. Sometimes I need a little more time.

How long do you rest for?
I do feel a different in weight I can lift if I rest to quick. But would there be a benefit to push through it and keep rest short?
Is he exagerrating to just make a point that people will do a set and then just sit on there phones and relax and not get a workout? Or do you think he really did rest that quick?

 

[D-Ballin]

Depends on the rep range. Sets of 5 and lower require a lot longer for me. 3-5m depending on where I'm at in the session. 8-12 range, about one minute. Sometimes more if I'm gassed.

I also like the FST7 thing, which I do with 30s rest periods.

Basically, I take as much rest as needed to complete my programmed sets.

Arnie took what he needed too. He just likes to make his points. It is funny seeing what people do though. One time I had to ask an old dude how much longer he had on a bench. He'd been done for ten minutes, zoning out on his phone. Flat bench, not park bench people. . .

 

[Docd187123]

I rest 3-5min between sets. Sometimes more if I'm doing max effort work.

The shorter your rest periods the less effort you'll be able to put in to the next set but the more you work your endurance.

 

[RodgerThat]

My shortest breaks are 3 minutes for OHP 4 mins for squat/bench/powerclean and deadlifts 4-6 minutes depending on if I'm working out alone or have a buddy and we need to swap weights about. I spend a lot of time in the gym too on purpose though. Short breaks kill my workouts, if you have the time why not attack the weights with the most possible energy so you can do more reps/ more weight.

 

[ROB581211]

I think it all comes down to what your goals are. If your going for a max pump screw how much weight your lifting and keep that pump pumping on taking sub 1 min breaks. On the other side of the fence if you are PLing you take what you need to get your reps in rather it be 1 min or 7 mins.

 

[ErikR]

September 2014 Rest periods edition - Bret Contreras
bretcontreras.com › september-research-r...
Mobile-friendly - Aug 29, 2014 - If short rest periods are not directly beneficial, then whether they are used is largely a matter of personal preference ... Do 1-minute or 2-minute rest periodslead to significantly different ... I think they did a study saying rest periods don't matter if hypetrophy is your goal.

 

[RodgerThat]

I think it all comes down to what your goals are. If your going for a max pump screw how much weight your lifting and keep that pump pumping on taking sub 1 min breaks. On the other side of the fence if you are PLing you take what you need to get your reps in rather it be 1 min or 7 mins.

Forgot not everyone is trying to be a powerlifter so I second this ^^^!

 

[jJjburton]

Good replys thanks.
I realize for heavier lifts more time is needed. So I guess Rogerthat said it good. Whatever it takes to get the weight up.

I do take longer on deadlifts, squats, and bench. Also some back wokrouts. When I do 5 or less reps. So forcing shorter rest can only lead to injury? Not having any positive impact on performance. When doing 5 or less reps. Not for hypertrophy.

How about keeping your heart rate up? Taking a longer break could essentially lower your heart rate to a point where your body won't perform as good right? Or would it not really lower that quickly.

 

[ROB581211]

Do some research of FST-7 training. You rarely if ever have a full min break. Some of the most elite lifters in the world use this type of training (Olympians).

 

[RodgerThat]

Good replys thanks.
I realize for heavier lifts more time is needed. So I guess Rogerthat said it good. Whatever it takes to get the weight up.

I do take longer on deadlifts, squats, and bench. Also some back wokrouts. When I do 5 or less reps. So forcing shorter rest can only lead to injury? Not having any positive impact on performance. When doing 5 or less reps. Not for hypertrophy.

How about keeping your heart rate up? Taking a longer break could essentially lower your heart rate to a point where your body won't perform as good right? Or would it not really lower that quickly.

I wouldn't say less rest with heavy weights would lead to injury although it could if you truly fatigue yourself and your form goes to shit but if form is good then you won't get hurt. Less rest will just effect your performance as you won't have the required ATP to utilize to push the weight. My resting heart rate is 50 BPM and I take long enough breaks to get back to around 60-70BPM it won't effect your performance negatively to have a lower heart rate as I'm sure mine skyrockets right back to 130+ after my first rep.

 

[jaymaximus]

I rest 3-5min between sets. Sometimes more if I'm doing max effort work.

The shorter your rest periods the less effort you'll be able to put in to the next set but the more you work your endurance.

My shortest breaks are 3 minutes for OHP 4 mins for squat/bench/powerclean and deadlifts 4-6 minutes depending on if I'm working out alone or have a buddy and we need to swap weights about. I spend a lot of time in the gym too on purpose though. Short breaks kill my workouts, if you have the time why not attack the weights with the most possible energy so you can do more reps/ more weight.

I agree with these fine gentlemen

 

[Skull]

No rest for the wicked Sorry I couldn't help myself I seen the chance an had no choice but to take it Carry on

 

[insertnamehere]

Late to the party again but yeah, your rest periods should correlate with your goals and purpose for your program and the lift being executed. When I do heavy doubles, I rest as long as I need to, no timer needed.

 

[biglumber69]

When I was powerlifting I would take 5 to 10 minutes for a rest between sets. Since I broke my back I only take 30 sec breaks it was tough at first now I am getting use to it. My goals are different now that is why I rest short. The crazy thing is I am still getting stronger but I never in increase the weight more then 5 lbs a week even if I can do more.

 

[DonQKong]

For my lighter lifts, 30-60 seconds. For my heavier, I wait until my breath and heart rate is back normal. Maybe 2-3 minutes

 

[Driven23]

I like to go about 60 seconds between sets, but have always wondered if I should rest longer when doing super sets!
I like to do a push oull routine so I favor a superset, even if it's a lift with a calistetic! Any opinion on this

 

[RodgerThat]

I like to go about 60 seconds between sets, but have always wondered if I should rest longer when doing super sets!
I like to do a push oull routine so I favor a superset, even if it's a lift with a calistetic! Any opinion on this

Rest as long as needed to complete your desired reps. Trial and error

 

[weighted chinup]

I used to do all my volume with strict rest pause when I trained exclusively with an 8-10RM the first 2 years I started train. Then as I got stronger even though the weight was still moderate intensity, rest pause or short rests became less viable and way more difficult to execute.

Now the intensity I train with on my main movements is too high to use 'short rests' but my rest times are nothing too excessive even with a 3-5RM thanks to training with short rests periods for so long. For push movements I may rest longer depending on how my joints or shoulders feel.

If someone wants to train with short rest periods as a main feature of their program for hypertrophy, I would suggest rest pause sets instead of straight sets because if you rest just long enough to get 2-3 reps in your subsequent sets for rest pause you end up recruiting and exhausting HTMU's / Fast MU's in almost every rep every time you perform a rest pause set. This is done without having to perform the first and middle portion of a set, since you are essentially repeating the last part of a lift / set over and over again by utilizing rest pause this way. 30 reps like this with a 10rm is more 'efficient' at recruiting / exhausting htmu's than 3 sets of 10 for example.

I have some crazy ass graph that explains MU recruitment for sub-maximal weight during a set but it's even more confusing than my half assed explanation. Just Google that shit if you're interested.

Lots of fun to train like this but ideally for a hypertrophy program, otherwise use it sparingly.