How long to rest between sets, exercises, and workouts | The truth

Rest, load, and volume are the most important variables when it comes to getting stronger, faster, and more powerful.

Though I have various certifications, the advice I’m going to provide to you here comes from years of training experience. I’ve listened to the best lifters in the world. I’ve been certified and educated by great trainers.

In this article, I’m going to cover rest in a few different angles and or goals. These are the angles:

Rest for hypertrophy:

When it comes to hypertrophy, which means increasing lean body mass, you must first choose the right weight. Hypertrophy can occur due to stimulation of muscle fibers. To keep things simple, your body essentially contains but is not limited to two types of muscle fibers. Type 1’s and type 2’s.

Type 1’s are the endurance fibers dominant in endurance athletes. Type 2’s are dominant in strength and power athletes. Type 1 dominant athletes are slender because type 1’s are smaller fibers but are great for endurance sports. Type 2 athlete’s are powerful looking muscular but fatigue rather quickly.

In order to maximize lean body mass you must stimulate both fiber types. You do this by training for both endurance and hypertrophy. High repetitions to failure will increase the type 1 fibers. Choose a weight that will take you to about 80-90% of your max effort and allow to you perform anywhere from 15-30 reps. To stimulate type 2 fibers choose weights that will take you to 80-90% of your max effort between 6-10 reps.

Because type 1 fibers are suitable for endurance, you can keep rest periods to about 30-45 seconds. This will create the famous pump. Type 2 fibers will need about 3-4 minutes between sets. Type 1’s are more effective at recycling ATP and thus is why you need less rest.

Rest for Strength and Power

Strength and power are all predominantly stimulating type 2 fibers. The difference between strength and power is small but significant. Strength requires you to reach about 75-85% of your maximum effort within 3-5 reps. Power requires you to reach about 75-85% of your maximum effort within 1-2 reps. Power is maximum amount of load that you can lift in the shortest amount of time. Strength is the maximum amount of weight you can lift regardless how long it takes you to lift it.

Though they are similar, the dynamics are different. The rest periods between sets for strength training is about 3-5 minutes. This is something you need to figure out with time and patience. Beginners I recommend stay at the 5 minute range to ensure they maintain the best technique and avoid potential injuries. Power training requires you to rest about 5-7 minutes between sets.

Rest for muscular endurance:

Muscular endurance is essentially about being able to perform high repetitions with as little rest as possible. With that said, even endurance has levels.

Marathon runners have to maintain their endurance for up 2-3 hours. Ultra runners have to be able to go for days. Crossfit athlete’s need to perform high repetitions for different circuit training routines and can be as short as a few seconds to 20-30 minutes. Runners usually only battle their environment.

Crossfit athlete’s have to battle environment, the type of exercises, how much weight is used, and other bodyweight complex movements. In the end, the idea is to be able to perform reps for long periods of times with as little rest as possible. Rep ranges are 15 or higher for multiple sets or much much higher.

In reaity, it’s a hard question to answer because it depends on your sport. In the end, it boils down to knowing your sport, what’s required of you, and finding the variables to create the right program.

Rest day between workouts:

You’d be surprised how many gym rats believe the idea that rest is unnecessary. I used to be one of them. Though there is some truth to this, it’s not what the “hardcore” non educated gurus and social media influencers tell you to believe. On your days off, depending on your goals, you should be doing recovery workouts, stretches, massages, or whatever you have to do to heal your body and get it prepared for your next lifting session.

If your body is sore you will not lift as heavy or as efficiently. Your muscles won’t contract maximally and eventually you will hit plateaus. You must also change your training routines. Strength, power, and hypertrophy require more rest per week then endurance training.

For strength and power I would tell you to rest 2-3 days in the week. For endurance sports I’d tell you to rest about 1-2 days per week. The rest days can also be used differently depending on how hard and intense you’re training. Yes you can push through some days but for me, rule of thumb is, if I’m very sore and it’s a strength or power program, I will take an extra day to rest. For endurance training, I can push with more confidence.

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Extra tips for training you may find useful:

When it comes to strength and power training, you don’t necessarily have to rely on weights. You can also build strength and power using treadmills, ellipticals, and stairmasters. No matter how you go about it or what equipment you use, the point is to make your body and muscles reach their maximum fatigue point through a series of contractions using resistance through bands, weights, and machines. Power and strength will depend how fast you reach maximum or close to maximum fatigue.

When you reach 100% fatigue during an exercise there are a couple things that you need to consider. Just because your body can’t perform another repetition using a certain weight, it does not mean it can’t continue contracting with a smaller weight.

What are drop sets? When you decrease the weight or resistance on an exercise in order to continue performing reps.

One great way to lift weights is to use the drop set by dropping one or two levels. You can drop set from one weight to another, and you can also continue to drop set until you can’t drop set any further. You always drop set from a heavier weight to a lighter weight. This can really help with both muscular endurance and hypertrophy.

In order to be able to do repetitions with the initial weight, your rest period may take anywhere from 45 second to 90 seconds to get most of your energy back. If you can go back to the initial weight before 30 seconds and continue to do repetitions, this means that you never actually forced your body to 100% fatigue levels. Most likely you didn’t even reach 50% fatigue level.

If you don’t challenge yourself, your body will not adapt, it will not grow, and you will not get the results you’re looking for. You won’t know unless you try!

What I tell my clients is that your have to earn your rest.

You don’t always have to go 100%. Again, it depends on your program. However, you must push your body to at least 85% fatigue so it is force to recover. If you aren’t getting sore or tired and requiring rest, your body isn’t really trying to progress. No adaptations will occur and you will quickly hit plateaus.

If you’re just going through the motions then your results will be minimal. Unless you are already in great shape, already have your desired lean body mass, already at the body fat level you want, going through the motions is a waste of time.

Rest is a variable in exercise all by itself.

Less rest will enable your body to grow as long as you’re reaching that 75-90% fatigue level. Longer rest allows you to lift heavier weights making you stronger. The combination of both systematically will result in whatever results it is you’re looking for.

What is the ultimate advice I can provide regarding resting periods:

  1. Take it whenever you need it. Push your muscles and body to the limits required by your program.
  2. Do not take too long of breaks especially when doing circuit training. A lot of the breaks you take are most likely mental. However, leave maximum effort and fatigue for competitions.
  3. When trying to reach your 100% fatigue levels by drop setting, take as little as rest possible as long as you are maintaining proper form. If you feel any stress in any other body part but the one you’re targeting, either drop the weight further or just stop and get your 45 to 90 seconds break that will allow you 75 to 100% recovery. Again, this type of training should only be used if it’s part of your program.
  4. Know your limits, remember your fatigue points, keep your form, try to write it all down so that next time you do a similar circuit or workout, you know how far you can push and how much more you can try to push the next time.
  5. Do not be afraid to reach your max fatigue point. By not being afraid I am talking about exercises you know you can maintain great form with and have been doing for a while. You don’t want to go for 100% fatigue point on an exercise you were just introduced to. Allow your body to get a feel for exercises, to adjust, and to properly engage the required muscles for that specific muscle.
  6. When engaging in high intensity interval training classes, do not be afraid to take breaks. Do not feel that you have to go out of your comfort zone in order to impress others. With that said, yes you want to push your limits, yes you want to venture out of your comfort zone, but only if you are positive that you are keeping your form or are under the supervision of a professional.

When it comes to rest, it is important that you understand the true value of it.

Understand how important it is and how to use it properly. I hope this tips help you on your next trip to the gym and you start applying the science to your workout. If you have a trainer, make sure he is helping you reach your ultimate goals in a professional and responsible manner.

Remember, when it comes to your knees, shoulders, and back, you only have one set of each. Do you really want to tear anything? Work hard, push your limits, but be smart. You have absolutely nothing to gain from getting hurt. You should know your goals, you should have an objective, and work towards those goals and objectives.

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