Rest Breaks

Just wanted to hear your thoughts on rest breaks between sets. Personally i dont keep track of rest breaks, and usually start my next set when i feel recovered.
2-5mins, sometimes 10 mins is recommend as it allows for the CNS and ATP stores to fully recover before your next set.

main point im getting at is the importance you place on rest periods, are you a rest period nazi and use a stop watch or are you returning to your set when you run out of things to say the Hot chick on the treadmill? if so why?

For me, it depends on how many reps I do, if I go for 5+ then I'll need a couple of mins

1-2 mins max.

If I can't do it in this time frame, then I need to lower the weights.

haz said:

Just wanted to hear your thoughts on rest breaks between sets. Personally i dont keep track of rest breaks, and usually start my next set when i feel recovered.
2-5mins, sometimes 10 mins is recommend as it allows for the CNS and ATP stores to fully recover before your next set.

main point im getting at is the importance you place on rest periods, are you a rest period nazi and use a stop watch or are you returning to your set when you run out of things to say the Hot chick on the treadmill? if so why?

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When I was bodybuilding, my training tempo was very fast. 1 minute and less sometimes between sets. When the weights go up and the reps come down to 5 or so, then it would be 3-5 minutes between sets. 20 or 30 reps squats are an exception of course and would require about 5 minutes also but for a totally different reason than the low rep (CNS killers). At 20 rep squats, it's about cardiovascular recovery. And it was usually a maximum of 2 sets of 20-30 reps tops.


Fadi.

I do strict 2 min rest periods, just to keep it all equal, sometimes I might start my next set a little early, but I don't wanna go longer than 2 mins.

1min max

intensity = win

about 2 mins

Just be aware there is no correct answer.

Fatigue is the enemy to strength. If your goal is to get stronger, and you fail a set due to fatigue, you have failed.

The only timed rest periods we have at PTC is for German Volume Training.

Two minutes seems about right for some sets, but on massive overload sets, the rest period can be longer.

As far as intensity goes, reducing rest periods can increase intensity, but not if it forces you to use extremely light weights, like 60% of your 1RM, that would decrease intensity in my opinion.

For a change, reducing rest periods is fine, but to train that way exclusively will keep you fit and weak, great if your into Crossfit, not so good if you want to be stronger than a woman.

Same goes for having 5 minutes rest every set every workout. Unless you are doing some kind of cardio work, say with KB's to train muscular endurance, you will become an unbalanced lifter.

In my opinion the best thing you can do is to have very heavy weight sessions where all your weights are 85% of 1RM, take long rest periods to ensure you are completely recovered between sets, and to do 2 cardio sessions a week in circuit form with weights, no rest between sets, like KB compounds or BB compounds where the bar doesnt touch the floor.

This style of training has produced the best lifters in my gym. Nick is the strongest and close to the fittest, yet doesnt mix his sessions.

He does all the heavy stuff with long breaks first, then finishes with some of my killer cardio stuff. He is also the biggest lifter at PTC.

Must be something in that.

I've trained many ways over the years.
In my situation of being single parent of two girls I had limited time.

Fullbody HIT was my preferred choice, it was short, no rest but the intensity of work was extremley high, was it the best protocol for me? I don't know, it was progressive and I enjoy it I became stronger.
My life is still busy and I still train this way but I can afford it bit more time in the gym.

Squatting 5x5 100kg with a one minute rest then 60kg for twenty.
Not much progression these days a little bit here and there.

The question I do ask myself; does a trainee become big because of his routine? Or is it in spite of his routine.
All these questions keep popping up on forums with no definitive answer.

I use a stopwatch and go for a 2-3 min rest between sets. I find a minimum of 2 mins is enough for most exercises, sometimes it'll push out to 3 for others. I have found that if I approach 5 minutes and beyond between sets it can have a negative impact on performance.

Using a stopwatch also has a benefit (for me) of creating a consistent time variable with regard to measuring performance - the 3 variables of work being, time, weight and distance (reps).

Fadi might have the correct answer here, but I believe the minimum rest period between Olympic lifts is 2 minutes?

It feels like forever that i've used the stop watch on my ipod as a means to measure time. I generally go 2-3 minutes rest between sets depending on the intensity. if i'm workin in the range of 90% + i'll rest 3 minutes, perhaps a bit more. If it's bellow that (between 70% & 90%) on average it's 2.5 minutes.

Rest between sets in some situations is as important as the actual work done within the set. Imagine the work & rest that a boxer takes. He'll work like crazy for 2 minutes, then rest for a minute (which is similar to what he does in the ring...in a way), then back at it for a few more minutes. For a bodybuilder, who isn't so much perforamnce based, it's IMHO the work he does between his rests

Shame said:

I use a stopwatch and go for a 2-3 min rest between sets. I find a minimum of 2 mins is enough for most exercises, sometimes it'll push out to 3 for others. I have found that if I approach 5 minutes and beyond between sets it can have a negative impact on performance.

Using a stopwatch also has a benefit (for me) of creating a consistent time variable with regard to measuring performance - the 3 variables of work being, time, weight and distance (reps).

Fadi might have the correct answer here, but I believe the minimum rest period between Olympic lifts is 2 minutes?

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Seeing as this is the STRENGTH side of the forum and not the BODYBUILDING side, I'm going to assume the question was about optimum rest for strength performance improvements.

Rest as long as it takes for you to recover. If you fail a lift due to fatigue, your an idiot. This is not true in bodybuilding.

Olympic lifting, try 10 minutes sometimes. You need to replicate a competition enviroment. I've been watch ing the World Championships this week on Foxtel, sometimes it exceeds 10 minutes between attempts.

Train as you play. The minimum rest an Olympic lifter has is 2 minutes between lifts, if you're following yourself. There is no maximum.

PTC said:

Olympic lifting, try 10 minutes sometimes. You need to replicate a competition enviroment. I've been watch ing the World Championships this week on Foxtel, sometimes it exceeds 10 minutes between attempts.

Train as you play. The minimum rest an Olympic lifter has is 2 minutes between lifts, if you're following yourself. There is no maximum.

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crap...i've started doing a bit of olympic lifting....ten minutes rest ? That's crazy...i dont think i need 10 mins just yet...somethin to try tho

As Markos said there is no one correct answer.

Get to know your body, do what feels right and works for you.

Personally I'm a fan of longish rest times. Probably because I rarely go over 5 reps per set and I'm almost always over 80% of 1rm's. So I'm pretty stuffed after a set.

PTC said:

Seeing as this is the STRENGTH side of the forum and not the BODYBUILDING side, I'm going to assume the question was about optimum rest for strength performance improvements.

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Apologies, I didn't pay attention to the location of the thread. I did answer with a bodybuilding mindset.

PTC said:

Rest as long as it takes for you to recover. If you fail a lift due to fatigue, your an idiot. This is not true in bodybuilding.

Olympic lifting, try 10 minutes sometimes. You need to replicate a competition enviroment. I've been watch ing the World Championships this week on Foxtel, sometimes it exceeds 10 minutes between attempts.

Train as you play. The minimum rest an Olympic lifter has is 2 minutes between lifts, if you're following yourself. There is no maximum.

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This has me curious. In one instance you say you should rest as long as you need, in the other you say you need to replicate a competition environment? If the minimum rest period is ruled at 2 minutes, this would mean that an offiical can call you to lift again anytime from 2 minutes after your last lift? Therefore if you condition yourself to have longer rest periods aren't you doing yourself an injustice? You can't say to the official "but at training I get a longer rest"? This isn't my area so you may need to bring me up to speed if I'm missing something?

The gym I train at hosts some of this coutries best athletes whether they be bodybuilders, powerlifters, strongmen, athletics competitors (sprinters, field athletes etc) and I can honestly say I have never seen any of them have a 10 minute rest between sets. Then again, I'm not monitoring their entire workouts either; but we do share training ideologies/methodologies and I can't ever recall a 10 minute rest being advocated.... not saying it doesn't happen though.

Markos is saying the MIMIMUM rest period for a competing lympic lifter is 2mins, but usually more.

Just out of interest who are the top level strength athletes who train at your gym? If you watch a serious powerlifter I'm sure you would find some very long rest periods. Particularly on heavy or overload days.

Sorry mate, but I'm not one to name names. If you've got time make your way to a Doherty's gym (I'm at Dandenong mostly) and you'll see some of them in action. I'm entertained by the fact that they've just been put in to the non-serious lifter category for not taking 10 minute rests - that's classic.

Dohertys does have some serious athletes lifting out of there.

And dont twist my words.

Pfft, if there not from PTC they are not worth knowing though... Right?

To change things up, why doesn't PTC have a differ t type of comp to this batb and aus day stuff, why do t they have a comp against another gym? For example dohertys vs PTC and have the best 15 lifters from both battling it out? That would be interesting

i wont put words in his mouth but what i took from what NPR said is Shame doesnt know how the serious lifters at his gym train, not that the serious lifters at his gym dont know how to train.

morgan you seem to have a chip on your shoulder about PTC. doesnt markos' results with his clients give him some authority?