The specific workout style that you personally use will have a significant effect on your rest time between sets, since higher levels of training intensity will naturally require more rest, and vice versa.

Other programs will fall somewhere in the middle. Some programs use a lower volume/higher intensity approach (fewer total sets but with more effort exerted per set) while some call for a higher volume/lower intensity approach (more sets but with less effort exerted per set). There are many different styles of bodybuilding training out there, each involving differing levels of training volume and intensity. How Training Intensity Affects Workout Rest Time More specifically, it will be heavily influenced by your level of training intensity as well as the demands of the specific exercise you’re performing. You can’t just take one prescribed time frame and apply it across the board on every set of every exercise, since the amount of rest you’ll require is highly situational and can differ from exercise to exercise and from workout to workout. Let’s go over it… How Long To Rest Between Sets For Maximum Muscle GrowthĪlthough most people out there will try to give you one exact “ideal rest time between sets” that you should abide by 100% of the time, the real answer to this question is that there is no one single answer. Some will tell you to rest 1 minute, others will say 90 seconds, and others may recommend upwards of 3 minutes or more…īut what IS the ideal rest time between sets to build muscle and gains strength as effectively as possible? You’ll hear all kinds of recommendations on this one that vary all over the map… Once you’ve mapped out all of the exercises you’ll be performing in your workouts and have put them in the proper order, the next question to answer is how long to rest between sets for the best results.

Rest time between reps