# rest time between sets



## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

*how long do you rest for between working sets*​
less than a minute1812.50%1min5840.28%2min4732.64%3min1611.11%4min10.69%more than 4mins42.78%


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## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

hi

Just wondering how long everyone rests between sets.

Could anyone who rests for less than a minute or more than 2 mins explain why.

This question is in regards to training for mass rather than training for strength,

thanks


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## MarkM (Sep 24, 2008)

I rest for around 2 minutes in between sets, any sooner and I don't think i'd have the strength to get all the reps.


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## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

As long as it takes me to stop feeling sick :laugh:

Nah I go by my heart rate bud, once its down to about 120 I do another set. No-one can say you must only rest this long or that long, everyone is different and will take a different amount of time to regenerate ATP and disperse lactic acid.

SD


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

i just do it how i feel. depends what im training too. say with legs i will rest much more than if im doing arms etc.


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## Ollie B (Mar 14, 2007)

BigDom86 said:


> i just do it how i feel. depends what im training too. say with legs i will rest much more than if im doing arms etc.


Same here


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## MXMAD (Oct 11, 2007)

About 60 seconds for me :thumbup1:


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## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

i forgot to say that i currenlty rest for 1min between most sets and 2 min between hi rep squat and deadlifting.


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## MasterBlaster (Dec 6, 2008)

I usually do about 45 seconds on arms. It depends on the muscle group I am working though. If I do calves or abs that are a multi belly muscle than I usually rest longer because I am going for more reps anyway.


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## squalllion1uk (Mar 27, 2008)

BigDom86 said:


> i just do it how i feel. depends what im training too. say with legs i will rest much more than if im doing arms etc.


Same as legs make me feel like im running a ****ing marathon in that set!

Pretty much internal clock.


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## Kezz (Sep 3, 2007)

as soon as my partner finishes his set i do my next one


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## stavmangr (Nov 25, 2008)

I always watch the clock 60-90 sec for squats,dead lifts and chins.

60 sec for all the other bodyparts.


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

if your squatting i dont see how you can go again in under say 90-120s. for me its just not physically possible


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## Rickski (Jan 24, 2008)

Average 1-2 mins although sometimes slightly longer if I am psyching myself up for a big lift, this being said around half of my resting time is used for stretching out my muscles so as to avoid injury


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## Joshua (Aug 21, 2008)

About 45sec to 60sec between sets, except for squats when it goes upto however long it takes me to get my breath back and feel ready to go again. I like keeping rest times low, as I feel it helps my work capacity (one of my goals), and makes me feel like I've had a good workout. Sometimes on DL I do single reps with 10sec rest between them.

J


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## Bonzer (Nov 26, 2010)

depends on what im looking to acheive if its size usually a minute if its strenght until im ready to go again


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## darkiwi (Feb 25, 2008)

hay yeah ive recently started incresing mine out to 2min aye started to lean more toward the strengh side of things tho.


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## RL_star (Jan 17, 2009)

id say on average about 2-3 minutes, i think the best thing to do is jsut rest until you feel okay and move about between sets


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## lethal86 (Jan 13, 2009)

About 1 min for me, bit longer for squats and deads!


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## Gerry_bhoy (Dec 25, 2008)

Does rest time affect your muscle development?


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## Meaz (Jan 22, 2009)

Sorry if this is a bit long but its everythink ull need to know about rest time.......

Believe it or not, the amount of time that you rest between sets has an effect on your training results.

When you are resting less than two minutes between your sets, you are using the lactic acid energy system. This is a medium duration energy source and is the primary energy source used in most body building workouts. If you rest longer than 3 minutes between sets, you are using more of the ATP-PC energy system. This is the most powerful energy system for short bursts of exercise. There is one more energy system called the Aerobic Energy System. Generally, this energy system is used for long duration, low intensity exercise, but it does assist with body building workouts. There is no switch that turns off one of these systems and turns the next one on at the two or three minute mark. In fact, they work together, overlapping in their duties, to handle the workload that we give them in our weight lifting plan.

An off-season bodybuilder trying to put on some serious muscle mass in his free weight training program may choose to lift very heavy weights for sets of 6 to 8 reps to reach his goal. By resting for 3 or 4 minutes between heavy sets, the ATP-PC energy system will be able to almost completely replenish the energy in the muscles between sets, allowing this bodybuilder to lift this heavy weight for more sets and reps before running out of gas. If he were to try this same workout with only 90 seconds rest between sets, he would have to drop the weight sooner in the workout, and would not be able to lift that same weight for anywhere near the same number of sets and reps.

The Lactic Acid Energy System is not able to replenish the muscles as quickly, but there is a good reason that it is the most commonly used energy system for body building workouts. By training with shorter rest periods during the workout, there will be increased levels of growth hormone in the blood afterwards. Another reason to use this system is that you can finish your workout in less time, and it has been shown that the body's natural testosterone levels take a noticeable dip after 45 minutes of training.

Proper rest between sets can maximize your training results, along with the proper supplementation.

How does the Aerobic Energy System fit into the big picture for body building? The body does not switch from the Lactic Acid Energy System to the ATP-PC system at exactly 2 minutes rest between sets. For some people it will be sooner and for some it will be later. Either way, it is not a sudden change, but rather a gradual changing of the guard with the Aerobic Energy System helping to bridge the gap between the two.

So what is the best way to manipulate these energy systems for maximum muscle growth?

The answer depends partly on your weight lifting plan, but generally speaking, bodybuilders should spend most of their training time using the Lactic Acid Energy System. A significant amount of time should be spent doing heavy weight training with 3 or 4 minutes rest to increase your strength, and the rest of the time (maybe 70 percent of your training) should be done with rest periods of 90 to 150 seconds rest between sets.

By training like this, you can build your strength levels during the heavy training with longer rest periods, and then use that new strength to lift more weight for more reps when you train using the Lactic Acid Energy System. This will maximize the benefits of each energy system and keep your body from adapting, which will result in amazing muscle growth!

Hope this helps mate................!!


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## EDDIE.H (Dec 21, 2008)

Kezz said:


> as soon as my partner finishes his set i do my next one


yep thats what i do as well


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## The_Kernal (Apr 5, 2008)

depends what im training, i find if its a small er muscle less time. 1min max

but then if have a training partner its at least 2mins.

then if i am doing big muscles, Squatting 220 or Dl 260 i need a week to recover between sets :laugh:


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## donggle (Aug 28, 2007)

It depends on the bodypart for me.

Arms will be around 1 minute. Legs will be around 2 minutes (plus lots of lying down and feeling sick).

I do it when I feel the muscle is recovered enough to cope with another set.


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## TaintedSoul (May 16, 2007)

oh fck I thought it was rest time in between exercises.. Need more sleep!!


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## ZAXXXXX (Oct 3, 2008)

Between 1 and 2mins for most movements but if I'm going really heavy (1-5 reps) then anything up to 5mins.

If there's any fit ladies training in the gym the rest between sets could be longer due to broken concentration


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## Heineken (Feb 6, 2009)

Big lifts - I'll return to the bar once I feel I'm recovered

Small lifts - 30 secs/1 minute


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## big (Sep 14, 2004)

That's odd. Many people are saying 1 min. Considering a set takes around 30 seconds, someone doing a relatively high volume routine of say 16 work sets should be done and dusted in the gym in under 30 mins, including time for changing weights, warm-ups etc.

I wonder how many people are actually strictly timing the 60 seconds.


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## jw007 (Apr 12, 2007)

Depends what or how im training at time, as little as 60 secs to over 10 mins if heavy squatting


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## corbuk (Jan 18, 2008)

sometimes its 2 mins , other time's i have no rest.....Just depends on how im fealing ...


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## DRED (Apr 13, 2006)

depends on the body part...


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## gumballdom (Dec 14, 2008)

It depends what exercise im doing. For the big compound lifts i tend to take 3 - 4 minutes rest inbetween sets. For isolation and assistance exercises i tend to shorten the rest period and try to keep it to only 60 seconds.


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## gerg (Aug 17, 2008)

as little as needed, 1RM attempts usually need a longer rest than higher rep stuff.

Many of my workouts are timed, which encourages me to use as little rest as possible, in order to get a good time.


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## mazarmy (Feb 19, 2009)

Kezz said:


> as soon as my partner finishes his set i do my next one


likewise here!


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## judge-dred (Feb 11, 2009)

i train with a friend soon as hes finished i go straight into it,soon as im finished he goes straight into it and so on


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## jonti1leg (Sep 21, 2008)

Kezz said:


> as soon as my partner finishes his set i do my next one


same as above


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## Heineken (Feb 6, 2009)

No set time,I pick the bar up again when I'm ready


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## Tom1990 (Dec 21, 2008)

depends what ur lifting. if im goin really heavy, i tend to have like 1-2 mins rest, however if your doing something that involves high intensity, eg. fst-7 training, the rest is around 30 seconds(i think)


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## Jake H (Oct 31, 2008)

between 1 and 2 mins for me


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## ragahav (Jun 11, 2008)

It depends on what I am training like for squats it usually is 2-2.5 min at max 3 min... for chest max is 1.5-2 min in heavy set. In any case the min. rest is 45sec. and max is 3 min.


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

All depends what I am looking to achieve.


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

varies from session to session anywere from 30 secs to 2 mins


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## Dizzee (Mar 30, 2009)

Depends on many variables. Generally speaking the more muscle groups used in a lift the longer you will rest. Compound lifts put a lot of stress on the CNS (central nervous system) and you need to let your CNS recover if you wish to carry out the desired number of reps with good form in the exercise you are completing. 1-3 minutes is needed between sets of heavy compound lifts. Isolation exercises put very little or no strain on CNS so rest times can be between 30-60 seconds. If training for hypertrophy your aiming to train in an oxygen deficit so rest times will be as low as is physically possible. Also, the more you train Your CNS to failure the better your capacity to carry out more reps and recruit more muscle fibres to lift heavier loads becomes (however doing this too often will slow repair and have an adverse effect on the body.)

IT also depends if your training to before failure, upto failure or after failure on your sets, but obviously the higher the intensity the more time you will need to rest before your CNS recovers.

Rest times should always be kept low to help increase the fat burning potential of your workout. I see people who do a set of bicep curls or lateral raises then sit down for 3 minutes between the next set, these people will never make any progress and probably become fatter in the process too.


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## ryoken (Jan 8, 2009)

I always go again when i feel ready but i will hazzard a geuss at 45-60 seconds


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## ragahav (Jun 11, 2008)

varies with the amount of weight lifted, exercise ..


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## T_Woody (Jul 16, 2008)

45 Seconds


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## Gym Bunny (Mar 25, 2009)

It depends on the exercise. Things like abs or lat raises or general isolation stuff and so on - 60 secs.

Heavy deads/squats and oly lifts - 2 mins.

1RM maybe 3mins.

Also limit no of reps per set of oly lifts to a max of 6, after that I find my form goes.


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## anabolic ant (Jun 5, 2008)

i havent voted cos this is a variable you'd be hard pressed to actually put a exact measure on!!!!

everyday,training,stress etc etc could mean different recovery...some days i work too fast,some days i work slow...generally i work at a fast rate,but there are so many obstacles in the gym too...like people!!!!

so i'm undecided...sorry!!!


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## poacher (Dec 20, 2008)

Do mainly drop sets so just keep going til i cant take anymore


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## Willie (Feb 17, 2008)

big said:


> That's odd. Many people are saying 1 min. Considering a set takes around 30 seconds, someone doing a relatively high volume routine of say 16 work sets should be done and dusted in the gym in under 30 mins, including time for changing weights, warm-ups etc.
> 
> I wonder how many people are actually strictly timing the 60 seconds.


My workouts used to take me about an hour taking what I thought was about two mins between sets. A couple of months ago I bought a stopwatch to time myself and since then have properly kept an eye on rest time and i'm getting out the gym much faster - chest workout took me 32 mins today (12 sets). It's so easy to end up taking 3-4 mins between sets if you get distracted.


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## IanStu (Apr 12, 2009)

Age is also an important factor...I find about 2 hours works for me!!


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