Lest rest time = less reps, right?

[GRardB]

Lately I've been timing my rest time between sets (lifting), and man, I never knew that 45-60 seconds was that short. I'm guessing that before I started timing, I would rest about 2-3 minutes between each set. Lately my weight and/or my reps haven't been as high as before. Is it safe to say that it's because of the shortened rest time? I thought so, but just to be on the safe side, I'm asking here lol.

 

Also, is it better to rest more or less for bulking? I always read to wait 45-60 seconds, but I read somewhere that you should wait 4-5 minutes for bulking. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Gerard

[Odidnetne]

I do 2 - 3 minutes, drink a couple of sips of water, and try to walk around a bit to keep my heart moving.

[xveganjoshx]

Two minutes is fine for most things. You can justify 3 or 4 (maybe) minutes between heavy leg stuff like squats, but that's about it. More than two minutes for most things is too much IMO.

 

When I first started training, I was so new that I used to take several minutes between sets of bench presses. After training for a little while, though, your body gets used to it.

[Guest]

For mixing things up its nice to do sets like that at a high intensity as it really breaks the muscles down and allows you to hit muscles that are already fatigued. If you cycle right and don't do that all the time you'll even get stronger. If you don't then you may gain some muscle but more than anything you'll gain lots of endurance and the strength gains will be a bit slower.

[dontxhide]

I usually take about a minute to two. I may just be used to is but when I used to wait 3 minutes I felt cold and not at all warmed up, making me scared to do the workout.

 

Even two minutes sometimes does that to me.

Edited October 24, 2007 by dontxhide

[bcetiger24]

Unless you are powerlifting, there really is no reason to rest more than two minutes. There is no doubt about it that less rest will decrease your ability to handle weight and reps in your next set. Rest, like weights, reps, angle, etc., should be varied to attack the muscles with different types of resistance. I have done programs where I did less weight but rested only 30 seconds between sets, and I have done powerlifting routines with heavy weights and long rests between. All have their place, but assuming that most people here are more interested in being lean and fit than in being massive or uber-strong, I would probably err on the side of using shorter rests and keeping the heart rate up.

[drjoe]

Using shorter rest intervals (i.e. 45-60 seconds) will definitely effect the amount of weight you are going to lift during your workout. However, the quicker pace will keep the muscles slightly fatigued throughout your workout. When you perform each set in a slightly fatigued state, the body part you are working will recruit more muscle fibers into action. This is a good thing!

 

Would I train like that all the time? No. Once in a while? Sure, why not.

[GRardB]

Would I train like that all the time? No. Once in a while? Sure, why not.

 

Just curious, why wouldn't one want to train like that all the time if more muscle fibers were recruited?

 

Thanks for all the other replies, btw

[drjoe]

Would I train like that all the time? No. Once in a while? Sure, why not.

 

Just curious, why wouldn't one want to train like that all the time if more muscle fibers were recruited?

 

Thanks for all the other replies, btw

 

I wouldn't want to train, using the same method (i.e. 45-60 second rest intervals), all the time because my body would eventually accommodate. I am constantly setting up my training in a quest to avoid accommodation. Once you accommodate to your training program (which can occur in as little as 3 weeks) you no longer make progress. Therefore training with slightly lighter weight at short rest intervals is great, training with heavy weight with longer rest intervals is great, etc. It all works. The key is keeping your body confused. When your body has the answers, it's time to change the questions.

[Odidnetne]

Would I train like that all the time? No. Once in a while? Sure, why not.

 

Just curious, why wouldn't one want to train like that all the time if more muscle fibers were recruited?

 

Thanks for all the other replies, btw

 

I wouldn't want to train, using the same method (i.e. 45-60 second rest intervals), all the time because my body would eventually accommodate. I am constantly setting up my training in a quest to avoid accommodation. Once you accommodate to your training program (which can occur in as little as 3 weeks) you no longer make progress. Therefore training with slightly lighter weight at short rest intervals is great, training with heavy weight with longer rest intervals is great, etc. It all works. The key is keeping your body confused. When your body has the answers, it's time to change the questions.

 

I like how you worded that.