Rest Longer, Perform Better
Resting between sets is an integral part of our training, but they may be more influential than you initially assume. They’re more than just a brief respite from the intensity, they can completely change the effectiveness of your training. To highlight my point, allow me to explain why ensuring your resting at least 3 minutes between sets over just merely 1 minute could potentially fast track your progress.
Why Longer inter-set rests are superior
After we perform a set, there’s a whole host of fatigue mechanisms occurring throughout the central nervous system, cardiovascular system and the involved muscle groups themselves.
These fatigue mechanisms are a massive reason as to why there is a diminishing return with each additional set (that’s a post for another day).
In the presence of fatigue, motor unit recruitment diminishes (our ability to recruit muscle fibres), reducing the total stimulus the muscle group can receive and lowering our ability to generate force.
But there are things we can do to reduce the effects of fatigue within our programming and the session itself. One of the most impactful methods is to rest longer between sets, to allow some of the accumulated fatigue to drop. Now that’s not to say the longer you rest the better, as with anything there is a diminishing return and a point in which each additional minute of rest provides no additional benefit. But consistently studies have shown that resting for 3-5 minutes improves muscle size and strength outcomes.
HERE’s THE proof:
Let’s go over this study by Schoenfeld et al. (2016). It’s probably our most effective study on this subject to date, however not the only one displaying these results
Title: Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men
Authors: Brad J. Schoenfeld, James Krieger, et al.
Published in: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Link: PubMed Abstract
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Participants: 21 resistance-trained men
Duration: 8 weeks
Training Protocol:
3 full-body workouts per week
3 sets of 8–12 reps per exercise (to failure)
Exercises: Squat, bench press, leg press, lat pulldown, shoulder press, etc.
Group A: 1-minute rest between sets
Group B: 3-minute rest between sets
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Muscle Size:
After the 8 weeks, the 3-minute rest group had significantly greater increases in muscle size:
Biceps brachii:
+7.0% (3-min) vs +4.0% (1-min)
Triceps brachii:
+8.0% (3-min) vs +5.0% (1-min)
Anterior quadriceps (mid-thigh region):
+13.3% (3-min) vs +6.9% (1-min)
Strength:
The 3-minute rest group made greater gains in 1RM:
Back Squat:
+15.2% (3-min) vs +7.6% (1-min)
Bench Press:
+12.7% (3-min) vs +4.1% (1-min)
Across the board the 3-minute rest group experienced greater progress than the 1-minute rest group. Factoring in real world experience I can say undoubtedly that longer rests yield greater results.
