Strength training rest intervals

There is no universal "optimal rest interval" for strength training. The current industry-accepted reference range is 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The specific length you choose is completely determined by your training goals, movement load, and body recovery ability. Sticking to the same standard will slow down your progress.

Xiao Yang, the novice student I brought along last week, has gone through this trap. He followed the fitness blogger every day for 3 months and memorized the iron rule that "muscle hypertrophy requires 60 seconds of rest between sets". He did 3rm sets of 100kg deadlifts. When the alarm clock went off, he gritted his teeth and pulled up. After the third set, he just skipped the waist and rested for half a month before he dared to return to the gym. To put it bluntly, I just don’t understand it. The length of rest is never a number carved in stone and must change according to the actual situation.

If you are training to reach the limit of powerlifting, or focus on maximizing strength, and do compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses at 1-3rm, don't worry about the time. It is normal to rest for 3-5 minutes. When I was trying to PR for the 210kg deadlift last year, I sat there between the two sets and ate half a protein bar. I chatted with my muscle friend next to me about the recent competition. I waited for almost 7 minutes before pulling the second set. It was really not a fisherman - this kind of near-limit weight was powered by the phosphagen system. If I didn't recover hard enough, I would fall off the standard of movement at least, or get injured directly and it would be ineffective.

Some people must ask, why do some bloggers say, "Shorter sets and rest periods lead to faster muscle gain"? In fact, this is the difference between training schools, and both opinions are valid. In the traditional bodybuilding system, a medium weight of 8-12rm is used for sets, and most of them choose a rest time of 60-90 seconds to ensure that they can withstand the weight and complete the number of sets. If the mechanical tension is sufficient, the muscle-building efficiency will naturally not be bad. ； However, the high-volume metabolic stress training that has become popular in recent years relies on short rests of 30-45 seconds to keep the muscles in a state of congestion and soreness throughout the entire process. Existing research has confirmed that the muscle hypertrophy gains of the two methods are not much different. It is just that the former is more suitable for people who want to press weight simultaneously, while the latter is more suitable for office workers who squeeze in time for fitness and want to quickly increase their capacity.

If you are training small muscle groups such as biceps, triceps, mid-shoulder bundles, and calves today, don’t wait for two or three minutes. The weight itself is not heavy, and it does not require much mobilization of the core and body muscles. Resting for 30-60 seconds is enough. I met a muscle friend before who did 12 sets of 15kg dumbbells for bicep training, and watched short videos for 10 minutes between sets. After the exercise, his arms felt no soreness at all. To put it bluntly, he rested for too long, and the muscles were completely cold. All the metabolic stress accumulated before was gone, and practicing again was like restarting, and the efficiency was ridiculously low.

There is no need to worry about training that focuses on muscle endurance, such as chest presses with a light weight of 20rm or more, walking lunges, and strength movements in HIIT. You can rest within 30 seconds or even 10 seconds. What is important is that the heart rate does not drop and the muscles continue to be fatigued. What is practiced is tolerance.

Really don’t get stuck on the timer, your own body feelings are more accurate than anything else. Rest until your breathing has calmed down, and the muscles that were exerted just now no longer feel so soft and fluttering. Try an empty bar or a small weight to stabilize it without shaking, then you can start the next set. I usually bench press 80kg for a set. After resting for 1 minute, I feel like I'm shaking at the first push. Then I need to rest for 30 seconds, which is much better than straining my shoulder by pressing hard for 60 seconds.

Of course, don't use "recovery" as an excuse to catch fish. It's normal for veterans to rest for 1 minute on the same weight. It's normal for novices to rest for 3 minutes. But if you squat 40kg on the empty bar and rest for 5 minutes to chat with someone, and you have done a total of 10 sets in two hours, you are just coming to the gym to enjoy the air conditioning.

I have been practicing for almost 8 years, and I have seen people achieve 45cm arm circumference by doing 30-second sets and rest, and I have also seen people achieve the same circumference by doing 3-minute sets and rest. Essentially, as long as your total capacity is sufficient, your movements are standard, and the rest time is within a reasonable range, there is not much difference. Don't get hung up on such minutiae for a long time, and instead forget to practice exercises, eat and sleep well, which are the core of building strength and muscle.