Thread: How long do you wait between sets?

Depends on what youre trying to acheive, what rep range you are using, and personal ability.

A 30 second RI may acheive something for you, that a 60 second RI would acheive for me. It depends what youre conditioned to handle.

Ive never gone shorter than 60s simply because i wouldnt be able to handle it just yet.

If youre doing heavy strength-orientated lifts with 1-4 reps, 120s+ is reccomended. Some say 90s is optimal for hypertrophy.

Good point, I generally go for 3x10 and I'm going for mass building.

Then 90s would probably be pretty good. I like to try and put in different Rep Ranges and RIs into the program anyway, helps keep things interesting.

Like one day you do 4 reps 2:00 RI, the other you do 12 reps with 1:00 RI, then the third day you use 8 reps at 1:30.

Or change the RR + RI every week, or go totally the other way and use multiple RIs in one session.

The possibilities are endless!

Originally Posted by mrmark

However, one of the very skilled members at my gym is a big advocate of waiting only 30 seconds as anything more allows too much recovery and makes it more of an fat burning session.

I'm pretty sure it's the opposite.

Shorter rest intervals = lower weights, which is more geared towards cardio. 30-60 second rest interval

Longer rest intervals = heavier weights lifted, which is strength training (4-6 reprange, 3-4 min RI). Your CNS needs time to recover when going this heavy.

And hypertrohpy is something in between.

I prefer shorter rest intervals, cuz it keeps my temp high, sweat pouring, which keeps me motivated. And it fits perfect for my goals, lower BF.

yeah sure short rest interval is more like cardio ..... when you are cutting you do short rest intervals(30 seconds or less) + high reps + lower weight to keep your heart rate constant , wich will utilize fats for energy .... and it's true that strength training requires more rest interval 2 minutes or more + highest weights + lowest reps...training for mass or hypertrophy is in between so if you are training for mass do moderate weights + moderate reps (8-10) +moderate rest interval (60-90 seconds)

training for endurance = high reps (>12) + low weights + short rest intervals(less than 45 seconds).

training for size and mass = moderate reps (8-10) + moderate weights and rest intervals (around 60 seconds)

training for strength = low reps (< 6) + high weights + long rest intervals (2 minutes or more) sometimes 3-4 minutes.

I like short RIs. Though I am not training for endurance, I was doing this for a cut. That plus some cardio afterwards really helped me lose weight and get in and out of the gym in less time!

2 min for big compound lifts 1 min for isolation fluff work