Time between sets

[IHateMyJob2004]

Today I was cleaning my basement between sets. I tyopically wait 3-5 minutes between hack squats for example.

Today though, I might have been putting as much as 7 minutes between sets.

Is this OK?

For what it is worth: By waiting this long, I surprised myself by not stalling on anything.

 

[conorvansmack]

The heavier the weight you are lifting, the longer your rest periods should be. I don't have any links to research, but a coach I was working with last month said that ATP recovers after about 5 minutes.

Here's an article that offers a little bit of information.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I've read the same thing. Seems like more than 5 is not needed. My concern is if there is a problem long term with making gains if you wait 7,8,9,etc minutes.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Reading more ... it seems if you start doing 7+ minutes between sets tehre is risk of injury due to "cool down".

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Reading more ... it seems if you start doing 7+ minutes between sets tehre is risk of injury due to "cool down".

That's doubtful. Unless you're going for a max effort though, something shouldn't be so heavy that you have to wait 5+min to get it done.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Back to the orignal question, would there be any risk in terms of gains? Or shoud lI make the same gians 6 months from now.

 

[Zivic]

Back to the orignal question, would there be any risk in terms of gains? Or shoud lI make the same gians 6 months from now.

in terms of gains, there shouldn't be. the longer rest periods allow you to recover so you are more able to handle heavier weights. So, they should be equating to better gains. If you are taking longer rest periods for the sake of longer rest periods -> meaning you could have gotten your same set/reps with 2 minutes of rest, but took 5, then you may not be getting the most out of your workouts. You need to take the amount of rest you need to do the given set. That said, be cautious of your muscles cooling down, like you have talked about

for me, I generally find around 3 minutes on my bigger lifts is about what I need. If I go over 5, I am am risking injury from a cool down.... and if I feel I need that long of a rest, I likely didn't eat enough, am dehydrated, or did too much cardio that day or the days leading up to that workout

 

[RavenSEAL]

I keep hearing 2 minutes...

 

[surfsatwerk]

I keep hearing 2 minutes...

The world is full of insane advice in regards to strength training. Take the time you need. If you are missing your sets and feel another minute or two of rest would help, take it. If you take ten minutes to hit on chicks and checking out the back acne on the guy next to you then speed things up.

 

[Zivic]

The world is full of insane advice in regards to strength training. Take the time you need. If you are missing your sets and feel another minute or two of rest would help, take it. If you take ten minutes to hit on chicks and checking out the back acne on the guy next to you then speed things up.

+1

 

[Saint Nick]

I wait between two and three minutes. Sometimes more on leg day.

 

[Spamela]

i lift when i'm ready & don't time anything. my breathing and pulse rate tell me when i'm good to go.

 

[darkxshade]

Don't sweat the minor details. Times will vary depending on the lift and how energized you are going into the workout. Some days you'll seeminly have a great workout with less than normal effort breaking PRs, some days you're just not feeling it and can't get anything done, most days are in between. Rest as long as you feel you need within reason to do the next set. Heck sometimes I even rest up to 30 secs-1min between reps when doing heavy squats.

 

[Wyndru]

Most info I have read states that for bodybuilding you should aim for <1 minute (better for hypertrophy and building overall muscle mass). Basically this is for a low weight/high rep strategy that people use to build a lot of mass.

For strength and power most studies recommend that you rest for and 3-5 minutes, which allows your ATP system to replenish energy for the heavier reps.

I don't think it really matters either way. You learn to listen to your body after a while and know how long the rests should be naturally.

 

[Zivic]

Most info I have read states that for bodybuilding you should aim for <1 minute (better for hypertrophy and building overall muscle mass). Basically this is for a low weight/high rep strategy that people use to build a lot of mass.

For strength and power most studies recommend that you rest for and 3-5 minutes, which allows your ATP system to replenish energy for the heavier reps.

I don't think it really matters either way. You learn to listen to your body after a while and know how long the rests should be naturally.

Mass comes from heavy lifts

 

[Wyndru]

Mass comes from heavy lifts

Sure, if you can do heavy lifts at high reps

Lots of articles out there on this (it's actually the main difference between bodybuilding and power/strength training), but here is one that better explains it:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hale6.htm

In general, bodybuilders are more muscular than powerlifters, but powerlifters are stronger. How does training with weights that are 90% of 1RM develop strength and power, but do very little for hypertrophy? Studies have shown an intense set of 5 reps involves more fibers than an intense set of 1rep. Research has shown that using loads in the 90% range causes failure to occur before a growth stimulus has been sent to the cells. Therefore other factors besides muscle fiber fatigue result in termination of the set. The muscle simply does not have sufficient time under tension to stimulate the growth process. High rep training produces high levels of phosphate and hydrogen ions, which enhance the growth process. Research has shown heavy lifting enhances neural efficiency (improved motor recruitment, and firing rates), which enhances strength, but does not necessarily result in muscular growth.

 

[Zivic]

Sure, if you can do heavy lifts at high reps

Lots of articles out there on this (it's actually the main difference between bodybuilding and power/strength training), but here is one that better explains it:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hale6.htm

Based on that tid bit you quoted 5 reps is a high rep routine? 5 reps is a good solid rep range for strength and size. I am not talking singles and doubles every workout when I say heavy weight is needed for mass. You need to move some weight to build muscle. no low weight high reps is going to build any significant mass

 

[Pantlegz]

5 reps is considered low rep work, 8-10 are medium and anything beyond that is normally considered high rep. Heavy isn't an abstract number that someone else considers heavy but what is heavy compared to your 1RM.

 

[darkxshade]

5 reps IMO is the sweetspot. I don't know what it's like for the rest of you but strangely enough, at the gyms I go to, it's somewhat of a rarity to see people lifting for 5. Most of the time, I see them going for 10 or more.

 

[Deeko]

I (and everyone at my powerlifting gym) rest a minimum of five minutes between work sets. We also consider doing five reps to be a cardio workout. However, given the number of people with state/national/world records at this gym, I'd say its safe to assume the long rest period is not inhibiting their long term gains.

 

[Pantlegz]

5 reps IMO is the sweetspot. I don't know what it's like for the rest of you but strangely enough, at the gyms I go to, it's somewhat of a rarity to see people lifting for 5. Most of the time, I see them going for 10 or more.

I don't know how many times people have asked me why I do so few reps and I explain it to them and they look at me like I'm crazy or tell me I'm wrong then months later they see me moving considerably more weight while they're still basically where they were before and come up and ask me what I'm doing and when I tell them the same thing, they still look at me like I'm crazy. anything more than 6 reps is going to start to promote hypertrophy more than strength.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I (and everyone at my powerlifting gym) rest a minimum of five minutes between work sets. We also consider doing five reps to be a cardio workout. However, given the number of people with state/national/world records at this gym, I'd say its safe to assume the long rest period is not inhibiting their long term gains.

I'm sorry but without a link to bodybuilding.com you can't expect anyone to take your post seriously.

 

[Deeko]

I'm sorry but without a link to bodybuilding.com you can't expect anyone to take your post seriously.

If I were in the habit of linking to memes, this is a time where I'd be linking to the "not sure if serious" picture.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I (and everyone at my powerlifting gym) rest a minimum of five minutes between work sets. We also consider doing five reps to be a cardio workout. However, given the number of people with state/national/world records at this gym, I'd say its safe to assume the long rest period is not inhibiting their long term gains.

Start a thread with some info about this gym. is it a world renowned gym?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I don't know how many times people have asked me why I do so few reps and I explain it to them and they look at me like I'm crazy or tell me I'm wrong then months later they see me moving considerably more weight while they're still basically where they were before and come up and ask me what I'm doing and when I tell them the same thing, they still look at me like I'm crazy. anything more than 6 reps is going to start to promote hypertrophy more than strength.

If I'm moving my workout weight easily in SL for some reason, I usually try for 6. Should I stop?