Look around the gym and you’ll find the length of aSportsCenter segment dictates most guys’ rest periods. Turns out, you could be sacrificing your fitness results by watching Blake Griffin dunk the ball instead of watching the clock.
“Changing the rest period is the same as changing the number of reps, the load, or the amount of sets—it’s an extremely important part of your fitness routine,” says Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS, co-owner of Results Fitness and Men's Healthfitness adviser. So how long should you rest between sets? Cosgrove offers some general guidelines to follow during your next workout.
The LOWER your repetitions and the HEAVIER the weights, the LONGER you need to rest between sets.
All muscles are not created equal. When you lift heavy weights, your recruit your type II, or fast-twitch, muscle fibers. These fibers have the greatest potential for growth, and kick in when a task utilizes more than 25 percent of your maximum strength.
However, these fibers also fatigue the fastest. “With heavier weights, you target your nervous system more than with lighter weights,” says Cosgrove. “This can take up to 5 times longer to recover.” If you don’t wait long enough when working these fibers, they won’t train at their maximum ability during the next set. “Rest too short, and it becomes a cardio session,” he says. “The load you can lift will decrease. ”
The HIGHER your repetitions and the LIGHTER the weights, the SHORTER your rest.
Type I muscle fibers, also known as slow-twitch, offer endurance. They come into play during aerobic activities or when you lift lighter weights for higher reps. These fibers don’t require as much energy to contract as type II, so you want to limit how much time you spend at the water fountain between sets. Why? “With higher reps, you rev your metabolism. If you wait too long, you’ll undo this effect,” Cosgrove says.
So how do you figure out the right amount of time?
Don’t sacrifice results because you didn’t pay attention to your stopwatch. Here’s what Cosgrove recommends:
“Changing the rest period is the same as changing the number of reps, the load, or the amount of sets—it’s an extremely important part of your fitness routine,” says Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS, co-owner of Results Fitness and Men's Healthfitness adviser. So how long should you rest between sets? Cosgrove offers some general guidelines to follow during your next workout.
The LOWER your repetitions and the HEAVIER the weights, the LONGER you need to rest between sets.
All muscles are not created equal. When you lift heavy weights, your recruit your type II, or fast-twitch, muscle fibers. These fibers have the greatest potential for growth, and kick in when a task utilizes more than 25 percent of your maximum strength.
However, these fibers also fatigue the fastest. “With heavier weights, you target your nervous system more than with lighter weights,” says Cosgrove. “This can take up to 5 times longer to recover.” If you don’t wait long enough when working these fibers, they won’t train at their maximum ability during the next set. “Rest too short, and it becomes a cardio session,” he says. “The load you can lift will decrease. ”
The HIGHER your repetitions and the LIGHTER the weights, the SHORTER your rest.
Type I muscle fibers, also known as slow-twitch, offer endurance. They come into play during aerobic activities or when you lift lighter weights for higher reps. These fibers don’t require as much energy to contract as type II, so you want to limit how much time you spend at the water fountain between sets. Why? “With higher reps, you rev your metabolism. If you wait too long, you’ll undo this effect,” Cosgrove says.
So how do you figure out the right amount of time?
Don’t sacrifice results because you didn’t pay attention to your stopwatch. Here’s what Cosgrove recommends:
- 1 to 3 reps: Rest for to 5 minutes
- 4 to 7 reps: Rest for 2 to 3 minutes
- 8 to 12 reps: Rest for 1 to 2 minutes
- 13 reps or more: Rest for 1 minute
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