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How Long Should I Rest Between Sets For Strength And Muscle Growth

Question: I've seen in a number of publications that to emphasize strength and muscle mass you have to take two to four minutes between sets. You seem to have reduced the time between sets. Have you lost a lot of strength with that approach?

Answer: Although certain practices have been followed over the years by lifters and bodybuilders concerning time between sets, I do not believe there is a definitive study showing that within reason the time between sets is critical for the development of strength and muscle.

Strength would probably be compromised by a very short time between sets (10 to 20 seconds) but there may be little compromise once some threshold was reached, say, perhaps a minute.

There are various physiological and biochemical responses that are supposed to take longer than one minute to recover but I don't know if exercise scientists have considered that people can adapt through training over time so that a short interval between sets still enables maximum responses.

My own training illustrates this point.

I was looking at one of my training diaries from 1996 and it was apparent given the recorded time for the workouts and the number of sets, that on average I took three minutes between sets and sometimes longer for squats and deadlifts.

In 1999, my average time between sets is 75 seconds, sometimes less, and that includes squats and deadlifts. My records show that I'm stronger now.

Furthermore, the quicker pace of workouts now feels very "right". So much so, that a workout with 90 to 120 seconds between sets seems to just drag and waste time. I have obviously adapted to the quicker pace and one advantage is that my workouts take half the time they once did.

Here's another critical point to consider. For developing muscle mass the actual resistance you are using is not that important. What is critical is the degree of intensity and muscle tension.

So, for example, if you could preexhaust your thighs with leg extensions and then immediately do leg presses or squats, you would probably only use about 60% of the weight you could use on those movements without preexhaustion. However, the intensity and muscle tension may be higher with preexhaustion and the muscle response may be better than with just straight sets, long intervals between sets, and more resistance.

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