# What is the ideal rest time between sets?



## Flex (Oct 19, 2003)

This is one of the simplest yet least understood concepts in all of BB....

Is there a "scientific" time you're supposed to take in b/w sets to in order to build the most muscle?

I've heard 30secs, 1min, 2 min, and even more b/w sets....

I've basically heard every answer in the book.

Powerlifters say to gain maximum size, you gotta lift max. poundages, so you gotta rest a few minutes. 

A few huge BB's i know say something similar, you gotta take a few minutes to lift as much as possible.

But on the other hand, many people suggest only 30 seconds rest b/w sets. You can't lift nearly as much as your max, but you get great workouts.

I am looking to build the most muscle possible (aren't we all) as opposed to strength etc...

Anyone know anything factual or just opinions in general?


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## prophet (Oct 19, 2003)

i think it's whatever works for you.. shorter rest time for smaller muscles and longer for big muscles


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## Pressalot (Oct 19, 2003)

I read about a study a few years ago that showed one set is all you need if you really give it all you got. I once did as many slow, perfect pushups as I was able to do. The last rep probably took be over 30 seconds, several gasps of air and every bit of strength I had. I tried another set several minutes later and could barely do one or two pushups. I felt weird for several hours after that. I wouldn't recommend it. (though I've heard stories about people working out until they vomited!)


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## Evil ANT (Oct 19, 2003)

It really varies depending on how you're working out.

For example, with power lifting where you train to gain strength, you'd want to rest at least a minute or two.

If you're training with a moderate amount of weight just to burn fat, stay in shape, and gain some strength, it's best to keep your rest period one minute or under.


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## Mudge (Oct 19, 2003)

For hypertrophy I have read 60-90 seconds, I use 80 seconds on my stopwatch. I used to use 2 minutes and I'd almost love to continue that, but I'm enjoying the newfound punishment. I have gone as low as 30 seconds before while on HST, sweat sweat sweat.


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## Mudge (Oct 19, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by prophet *_
> i think it's whatever works for you.. shorter rest time for smaller muscles and longer for big muscles



For heavier lifting sure, not neccessarily for size.


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## naturalguy (Oct 19, 2003)

The ideal  rest period is enough time to get your strength back after all the goal is to overload the muscle. If your rest period is too short it comprimises the amount of weight you can lift.

Alot of things we do in the gym feel like we are getting a great workout such as resting only 30 seconds however that does not mean you are stimulating muscle growth. 30 seconds may feel great, you will be huffing and puffing however you will not be able to maximally overload a muscle. You certainly are not burning calories effeciently as some people believe. There is cardio for that.

I rest about 2 minutes or so except during legs and deadlifts in which case it can be between 3-5 minutes.


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## Eggs (Oct 19, 2003)

I think its also a good way to vary your routine, changing your set timing that is.  I try to go for 60 seconds... have done 2 minutes as well in the past.  So even if you are lifting heavy and going for the longer rest periods, it might be good to switch that up now and again and try shorter rest periods to induce new stress.  After all, its stress that makes our bodies adapt, and in our case increase strength, increase muscle mass, etc.


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## JerseyDevil (Oct 19, 2003)

I vary my rest periods with rep range.  2-5 reps, 2-3 minutes rest.  6-8 reps, 90 seconds.  10-12 reps, 60 seconds.  Sometimes for variety, I'll switch it around so that for the high reps I'll go with long rest, and the low reps go only 60 seconds


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## gr81 (Oct 19, 2003)

I happen to think differently than alot of people on this topic. The accepted theory is that if you are a power lifter than you have losts of rest time and for a BB visa versa, right. Well that can be great for a goal of working up a 1RM, but I think that strength indurance is also important which will not be accomplished by working with a weight for just 8 seconds, nor will it be accomplished by lifting light weight for longer periods of time. That light and quick approach can train muscle endurance, but not strength endurance. I know that for someone competing in a power lifting meet this may not apply to b/c a 1RM IS the ultimate goal. But for most of us that train to be strong, I think that we could benefit from straying away from the simple black and white approach: either low rep lots of rest or no rest light weight and showing the body somehting different, going with lower rest time with heavy weight to gain some strength endurance, as well as using other techniques.


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## vanity (Oct 19, 2003)

keep it between 60-90 seconds.

Anything more than 2 minutes and your muscles go cold and you mess up the rhythm of the workout.


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## firestorm (Oct 19, 2003)

I stay within 60 and 90 seconds also on most days.  But on a heavy leg day I'll take a good 2 minutes or even 2 1/2 mins between squat sets.  When I get to extensions its back down to 1 1/2 mins and extensions 1 minute.


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## iron jock (Oct 20, 2003)

Its really based on what your doing and how much wieght your doing.  If you're doing squats with high wieghts you'll most likely need a longer rest between sets., but something like you arms you'll use less rest.  Its really depends on what you can take and your body needs.


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## Candor (Oct 20, 2003)

I would venture that there are 2 sides to this coin (outside of the PL to BB side).  First is what I call cardio recovery and the second are the muscular effects.  

When I am doing squats for 20 reps I absolutely cannot do another set after 90 seconds of rest.  My gut and head cannot sustain it...while my cardio conditioning does impact this I am reasonably fit cardio wise...so that said I think the first concern is getting your respiratory rate down to an acceptable level.  What that level is is likely individually dependent but folks who have been lifting for a while should recognize when their respiration reaches a point where they are prepared to lift again.  

I lifted back at lunch, my last exercise is deadlifts.  I do 20 reps, 15 reps, 12 reps, and 8 reps.  Even though I am lifting considerably less weight at 20 reps than at 12 it takes me longer to prepare for my 2nd set than my 4th set because this is such a physically draining exercise at 20 reps (vs 12 reps).  

So first and foremost is having your respiratory rate down to an acceptable level then you deal with muscle recovery or lack there-of.  

The faster the workout the better the immediate pump but I don't believe there is any universal answer for the appropriate amount of muscle rest between exercises for growth.  It is IMO very dependent on the individual and the muscle.  I personally like as much as 4 minutes for chest but keep back in the 90 second range. Arms I skip along at a minute or so.   

at this point I am not sure what I even have said so I will go back to my cave....


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## BabsieGirl (Oct 20, 2003)

30 secs to a min.

If the set is a circuit set...then 1 to 3 min.


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## Tha Don (Oct 20, 2003)

i keep it around 2 mins

give me time to change the weights/have a stretch then get focused for the next set

whist doing this i'm also allowing my muscles to recover a bit so i have energy to lift heavy again

i've tried shorter rest periods and only difference i notice is that i can't lift more

i do drop sets and supersets at the end of each bodypart to squeeze every last bit of strength out of it, besides that i keep my rests 2-3 mins

peace


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## Randy (Nov 18, 2003)

Depends on the exercise ...  If your going for extreme bulk lifting I have read where the pros will rest 3-5 minutes between sets.
I have thought about incorporating that method in some cases, but whenever I waited past 90 seconds I felt like I would hurt myself since I felt like my body was cold.


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## THEWIZARDOFKOZ (Oct 15, 2012)

sorry to bring up an old thread, but I wanted to get some more opinions. right now im taking 1 min between sets for all exercises. however, i like the recommendation to take 2 min between sets for squats and deadlifts.


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## cck99352 (Oct 15, 2012)

Conventional physiology theory (which may not correlate precisely with the real world, i.e. what works in the lab doesn't always work as well in real life) states the following:

The more reps you perform, the lighter weights you must use, and the less rest you need between sets.

Most physiologists recommend a 1:5 work/rest ratio to train the ATP-CP system, which is the energy system involved in high intensity muscle contraction. A 1:5 raio means that whatever time it takes you to complete a set, you need 5 times that long to adequately recover.

However, the nervous system takes about 5 times as long to recover than the muscle cell. This means that even though muscle cell energy stores may be replenished by a 1:5-6 ratio, your nervous system has not recovered enough to effectively activate the fast-twitch fibers responsible for muscle growth. 

So, if the nervous system cannot active the fast twitch fibers - what is the point in performing another set?

The above is excerpted from a book called "the Poliquin Principles".

Note that I typically do about 35 sets in 75 minutes - so effectively I am averaging about 90 seconds between sets (more on heavy sets, less on lighter sets - but averaging about 90 seconds). But as I get back into power lifting, my rest times will increase.


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## bjg (Oct 15, 2012)

no clear answer for that, it also varies with individuals, 
my answer is  that i listen to my body, and also use variations, for small muscles i can rest anywhere between 30 secs and 90 secs and naturally for bigger muscles you need more time so i rest anywhere between 45 secs and 3 minutes...in some days i tend to be on the faster end of this range and on some other days on the slower end. which end gives better results ? i don't really know i think the variation between the two gives the best results.


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## Kenny Croxdale (Oct 16, 2012)

cck99352 said:


> Conventional physiology theory (which may not correlate precisely with the real world, i.e. what works in the lab doesn't always work as well in real life) states the following:
> 
> The more reps you perform, the lighter weights you must use, and the less rest you need between sets.
> 
> ...



*CCK*

The Poliquin information that CCK posted keys in on it.  

*Bodybuilding, "The Pump"*

"The Pump" in bodybuilding creates an anabolic environment for muscle growth.   Blood pools in the mucles producing this "Cell Swelling" Pump.  

*Rest Periods*

By taking short rest periods with moderate to higher repetition, the "Cell Swelling" Pump effect is prolonged.  Thus, you extend the amount of time the muscles are in this anabolic muscle growth environment.  

Kenny Croxdale


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## THEWIZARDOFKOZ (Oct 16, 2012)

Kenny Croxdale said:


> *CCK*
> 
> The Poliquin information that CCK posted keys in on it.
> 
> ...





Kenny,

I was hoping that you would chime in, as i respect your opinion. I am currently taking 1 min rest between sets, but on deadlift and squat ive increased the time to 2 min. I am trying to get 10-12 reps on final working set.


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## bjg (Oct 16, 2012)

the human body does not work as an exact or simple machine , each person is different, the key is to learn from experience and learn to know your body in order to get the maximum benefits. thus there is no magic number or exact number on how long one should wait between sets and it is not even possible to know that number from studies. that said:
most bodybuilders rest between 30 secs to 3 minutes depending on  the intensity and the type of exercise


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## colochine (Oct 16, 2012)

bjg said:


> the human body does not work as an exact or simple machine , each person is different, the key is to learn from experience and learn to know your body in order to get the maximum benefits. thus there is no magic number or exact number on how long one should wait between sets and it is not even possible to know that number from studies. that said:
> most bodybuilders rest between 30 secs to 3 minutes depending on  the intensity and the type of exercise



What do you do for sweating balls?


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## CaptainNapalm (Oct 16, 2012)

prophet said:


> i think it's whatever works for you.. shorter rest time for smaller muscles and longer for big muscles



Yes I second that.


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## Kenny Croxdale (Oct 16, 2012)

THEWIZARDOFKOZ said:


> Kenny,
> 
> I was hoping that you would chime in, as i respect your opinion. I am currently taking 1 min rest between sets, but on deadlift and squat ive increased the time to 2 min. I am trying to get 10-12 reps on final working set.



*Deadlifts and Squats*

Exercises like these usually require more time between sets.  

Two minutes is with in the acceptable range. 

Kenny Croxdale


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## AKIRA (Nov 20, 2012)

Ill chime in here as i am an advocate of increasing/decreasing intensity just by fudging with time.

If your goal is to lose weight, i cant stress enough about 30-45 sec RI. Heart rate is always up, ure always moving, and ure saving time. Go as heavy as u safely can so the body gets trained so to speak, to not ditch the muscle because, obviously, the user needs it. This is why i hate marathon runners' pride. Sprinters look better than runners.

For size, its gonna be 60-120 sec. Id recommend 90 sec. You're doing more volume and this is when your muscles need to recover from all that burning. Eventually, you get used to it and the onset muscle soreness becomes alleviated in less recovery time. Whats funny about pre workouts is that they work. Your muscles become so engulfed in blood that rom is reduced. Thats no good. Full rom is needed for size. Take away point, youll need more recovery from preworkouts typically. Next thing you know, you're in the gym for fucking hours.

For performance, take as long as necessary. Its that simple.


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