I try and watch the clock as much as possible. I weight train for 1 hour. In the beginning of my workout I wait about 15 to 20 seconds. About 30mins into my workout Im about 30 to 45 secs depending on the workout. I take longer rests while doing squats, maybe 1 minute between sets. What is a good rest time between sets?
I actually used to do all of my volume using strict rest pause. I would do around 50-60 total reps for all of my lifts. My first set I would do 10 reps close to failure and then rest 15-30 seconds, aiming for around 3-5 reps per set (more on isolation exercises) till I reach my total rep goal for that lift.
As my volume and exercise selection increased I scaled back the amount of rest pause work I did, so now I essentially do a combination of RP, short rests, and straight sets, so some lifts I rest 15-30 seconds, some around 45, and others 60-90 seconds between sets.
My workouts tend to run around 2.5 hours.
For rest times I would consider 15-30 seconds as rest pause.
30-60 seconds I would call short rest periods
and 60-90 seconds I consider just plain straight sets.
The only lifts I consistently do with strict rest pause anymore are weighted dips and weighted chinups. Most other lifts I just do straight sets or use short rests.
Rest pause really is the best way to go because when the tension is constant it increases to efficacy of the volume/reps you do. You can halve someones workload and increase its effectiveness if you do the majority of the volume rest pause style.
If my workouts were an hour long I would actually do everything strict rest pause. Its intense, difficult, but fuck if it doesn't facilitate some crazy strength and size gains.
You should give it a try sometime. Some people like to use exact seconds when doing RP training. I take a simpler approach, I rest just long enough to get 3-5 reps in the subsequent sets. Sometimes that's 10 seconds, sometimes 30-45, but its still effective because of the constant tension.
Fatigue is a huge factor, but I haven't had any issues with recovery or injury and I began using this method of training when I basically first started lifting. I've since tapered off its use but I would attribute most of my initial progress to rest periods of about 30 seconds in between each set.
Here is how I would structure a PUSH day If I wanted to get the most out of it and be out in an hour or so.
PUSH
Weighted Dips 50 Total Reps
First Set: 8-10 Reps
Rest 15-30 seconds in between each set and repeat until you reach 50 reps
(Adjust rest periods if you are getting too little or too many reps in the rest pause sets. 3-5 reps is ideal. 4-5 feels nice and safe for me when doing weighted dips)
Incline Barbell Bench 50 Total Reps
First Set 6-8 Reps
Keep the rest periods short, around 30 sec. I usually get about 5 reps per set. I wouldn't consider these strict rest pause, but def. short rest periods.
Pec Deck Fly 50 Total Reps
First Set 10 Reps
These are easy. Use strict rest pause until you get 50 reps. 15-30 seconds, as many reps as you can in each set.
Lateral Raise
First Set 10-15 Reps
EXTREMELY short rest periods here. I do these resting about 10-15 seconds in between each set. Do a set to/close to failure, put down the dumbbells, collect your breath, try and fight through the pain of the lactic acid, pick them up, and go again
Rope Pressdown
First Set 10 Reps
Again, strict rest pause with 15-30 second rest in between each set. Even when I use extremely short rest periods I still find I can get close to 10 reps in the following sets, so this one is fairly easy. Bring each set as close to failure as you can.
Single Arm Rope Pressdown
First set: Anywhere from 15-30 is good.
Alternate from left arm to right with almost no rest. Assist yourself with your other hand when needed. I like getting close to 20 reps in each set. The lactic acid build up is unreal. Do about 5 sets per hand. Its very easy to give up too early on these, but if you push through you will find these to be extremely effective for building your triceps and getting an ungodly pump.
To get the most of this routine, you need to constantly be getting stronger in your main lifts, in this case Dips & Incline. Always progressive overload whenever you can, getting really strong for a 8-10RM is the easiest way for most of us without access to large amounts of drugs or amazing genetics to grow.
