Hey

 

Have you ever wondered how long should you rest between sets?

In general, you will see rest periods of 1-3 minutes featured in our programmes. This window of rest will likely be enough time to allow you to enter the next set with similar levels of performance to the last, which is ultimately our goal when choosing rest periods. 

You may have read online that shorter rest periods are better for muscle building, as this is a prevalent idea in bodybuilding circles. This logic is based on 1) the sensation of a greater burn and more fatigue, and 2) the hormonal response to training. However, the former is not necessarily a proxy for greater muscle building, and the latter doesn’t seem to have any meaningful effect either. 

Instead, the rest period should serve to facilitate the performance of the next set. If it is too short, the fatigue from the last set will affect your ability to perform. If it is too long, you may “cool down” both physically and psychologically, reducing your vigour going into the next set, but it will also prolong your workouts more than is necessary.

So, very simply, the rest period will primarily serve as a means of facilitating performance. If you do find at any stage that a rest period is either too short or too long, you can feel free to adjust as necessary to meet that goal. You also don’t necessarily need to time every rest period, but rather use it as a guide. At the beginning, it can be helpful to time yourself, as you may be surprised at how short or long your current rest periods are.

This discussion of rest periods has been taking from the supplementary training manual provided to our group coaching members. If you are interested in getting involved in group coaching, and getting your training and nutrition on track for just €50 per month, click here for more information.

 

Kind Regards,