How long should you rest between sets?

You can have both sides of the scale here, you could be in the category where you superset everything, perhaps your in the category where you sit on your phone between every set or maybe you are just somewhere in between. It doesn’t matter, in this article we will outline what the science has to say regarding rest periods, and what is optimal.

Whats Below? ⬇️

What the scientific evidence has to say regarding rest periods for strength and hypertrophy
Potential differences in rest required based on exercise.
Some examples and tips you could implement if your short on time.
Practical Applications.

So How long? ⏱

Generally, rest periods of 1 minute to 90 seconds has been more closely associated with hypertrophy (muscle growth) and rest periods of 2-5 minutes is normally associated with strength and performance training, but what does the evidence say?

A study by, (Schoenfeld et al., 2016) [1] published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning, carried out an 8 week trial on 21 resistance trained men, training 3x full body sessions per week, to compare the difference between shorter rest periods of 1 minute and longer rest periods of 3 minutes. They test the 1 rep max bench press, 1 rep max squat, muscle thickness in the biceps, triceps, quadriceps femoris and muscular endurance using 50% of 1 rep max bench press until failure. The Results? 1 Rep Max in both the bench and squat were significantly higher in the 3 minute rest period group and muscle thickness growth was much greater in the quads for the longer rest period also. They state that the triceps had a “trend” for greater muscle thickness in the long rest period group also, while upper body muscular endurance was similar between both groups. This study shows a favour to longer rest periods vs short.

A review by (de Salles et al., 2009) [2], examined 35 studies, with the aim to compare rest intervals and how it affects the results on strength, muscular power, endurance and hypertrophy. Their findings? When training with loads between 50-90% of your 1 Rep Max, a rest period of 3-5 minutes allowed for more repetitions to be performed over multiple sets therefore producing greater increases in strength due to more training intensity and volume. Muscular power was also shown to be greater in the 3-5 minute rest period compared to a 1 minute rest period. However, the study does state that some tests suggest that 1 minute may be enough between repeated 1 Rep Max attempts. (The key word there is some, this article aims to bring you all the data and not bias one side of the proverbial coin). This review, unlike the one above, states that a combination of moderate intensity sets with shorter rest period sets of 30-60 seconds could be optimal for hypertrophy due to higher acute levels of growth hormone from shorter rest period workouts.

A systematic review by (Grgic et al., 2017) [3], compared 23 studies with a total of 491 participants (413 male and 78 female) to assess which rest period was optimal for muscular strength adaptations. Conclusion? Good quality muscle strength gains can be made even with rest periods between sets under 60 seconds, however longer duration rest intervals of 2 minutes or more were need to maximise strength gains in trained individuals. It notes that in untrained individuals rest periods of 1-2 minutes were sufficient at maximising strength gains. Our opinion is that this could be due to the trained individuals lifting much heavier weight and requiring longer rest periods to accommodate this.

A randomised controlled trial by (Willardson & Burkett, 2008) [4], compared squat strength results in 15 trained men with either 2 or 4 minutes rest between sets. The results showed large strength gains for both groups, with no real significant difference between groups, showing that you can make decent gains in squat strength with just 2 minutes rest or with slightly more rest of up to 4 minutes.

Potential Differences in rest requirements. 🧐

The studies cited trend towards longer rest periods, 2 minutes and over promote strength and muscle size. However, they all compare strength and hypertrophy improvements incorporating mainly compound lifts such as squats, bench etc.

Smaller isolation movements may not need as much rest time. For example, the Calves and Forearms are very well vascularised and are mostly not strenuous to train, meaning the burn may dissipate quicker and breathing is not too heavily impacted. Who really wants to wait 2-3 minutes between sets of calf raises anyways!

Taking the results of the studies into consideration, with a focus towards getting stronger and building more muscle, you could apply the approach of using longer rest periods on your main lifts each day (squats, bench, deadlifts & cleans) and main accessory movements (Incline dumbbell press, dips, leg press). Lower the rest period for smaller movements such as, lateral raises, curls, calf raises etc.

Maybe you don’t have time to wait Longer? 💨

Maybe you don’t have the time to wait 2-5 minutes between every movement, maybe you don’t want to? A good solution is to use antagonistic supersets.

Antagonistic supersets involve doing opposing muscle groups supersetted with each other. Pullups and Dips for example. You can perform these one of two ways.

Option#1 - Doing them back to back, no rest between movements then resting when both are done. The only thing to remember here is that the second exercise may be limited by breathing and general body fatigue. If this is the option you want to take to save maximal time perhaps on your next session that week you flip which movement is first. For example (Upper day 1 - Pull then Push / Upper day 2 - Push then Pull)

Option#2 - Doing them as a superset but allowing for 1-1.5 minutes rest between the movements. This method also saves time, instead of doing 3 sets of movement 1 + resting 3 minutes in between sets, then 3 sets of movement 2 + resting 3 minutes in between sets. Instead you achieve roughly 3 minutes rest between each movement. For example, 3 sets of (Movement 1) - Dips. Rest 1-1.5 minutes. Then perform (Movement 2) - Pullups. Rest 1-1.5 minutes. Repeat. That way you achieve roughly 3 minutes between each bout of dips and pullups.

Some examples of ideal, easy to set up antagonistic supersets which require minimal set up using the same equipment.

Incline Dumbbell Press + Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows
Dips + Pullups
Hammer Curl + Dumbbell Skullcrushers

Sample Upper Vertical Push Focused day using the above information implementing various rest periods and methods.

Overhead Press - 3x5 (3-5 minutes rest)
Incline Dumbbell Press + Dumbbell Chest Supported Row - 3-4x8-12 (Antagonistic Superset / 1.5 minutes rest between)
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x8-12 (2 minutes rest)
Incline Dumbbell Curl + Dumbbell Skullcrushers - 3x12-15 (Antagonistic Superset / 1 minute rest between)
Dumbbell Lateral Raises - 3x15 (1 minute rest)