Training
Rest between sets: how long to wait in each exercise
What studies show about rest time in strength training, why big lifts need longer breaks and a log to adjust it in your next workout.
· 6 min read
Key points
- Rests longer than 60 seconds brought a small extra gain in muscle; beyond 90 seconds, the difference no longer showed.
- In big lifts with heavy loads, 3 minutes kept far more reps than 1 minute.
- Total weight lifted matters more than the clock: short rests with extra sets built the same muscle.
- The best test is your own: log the rest and the reps of each set and adjust when reps drop a lot.
The rest between sets sets how much you can repeat in the next set. Too short, and reps drop; too long, and the workout takes longer with no clear gain. This guide shows what studies measured and proposes a simple log to choose the rest for each exercise based on results.
How long to rest between sets
A review of 9 studies in healthy adults compared rest times in strength training. Rests longer than 60 seconds brought a small muscle gain compared with shorter ones, and beyond 90 seconds there was no clear difference [1]. The authors suggest that short rests reduce the total weight lifted, and that this effect stops growing from that point on. Most participants were beginners, and the studies lasted 5 to 10 weeks.
In trained people, the longer rest won by a wider margin. In 21 men who trained for 8 weeks, the 3-minute group gained more strength and more thigh muscle than the 1-minute group [2]. But total weight lifted explains much of that: in 28 people over 10 weeks, the thigh grew 13.1% with 3 minutes and 12.9% with 1 minute when the short-rest group did extra sets to match the total weight. With 3 minutes and less total weight, the gain was 6.6% [3].
Phone use during rest has also been studied, with no single conclusion. In 16 adults, 30 minutes of social media before squats reduced the total weight lifted [4]; in 12 trained adults, use before or during training did not change the load [5]. Neither measured just a quick look between sets.
On cleaning equipment, a study in 2 gyms found viruses, mostly cold viruses, on 63 of 100 hand-contact points, more on strength equipment (73%) than on cardio machines (51%) [6]. The study is small and old. Wiping the bench after use is still a courtesy to whoever comes next.
Rest log by exercise
The type of exercise changes the answer. In 15 trained men doing 5 very heavy sets, the bench press added up to 7.6 reps with 1 minute of rest and 11.7 with 3 minutes; on the machine fly, 2 minutes already kept reps steady [7]. With 10-rep sets, the same group saw more reps the longer the rest in both types of exercise [8].
| Exercise | Examples | Starting rest |
|---|---|---|
| Big, several muscles | Squat, bench press, leg press, row | 2 to 3 min |
| Smaller, one muscle | Curl, fly, leg extension, calf raise | 1 to 2 min |
- Start with the rest in the table and go back to the set when your breathing lets you talk.
- Log the rest and the reps of each set.
- If reps drop a lot from one set to the next, rest longer next time. If you are short on time, add a set instead.
A filled-in example, to copy into your notebook or workout log:
| Exercise | Rest | Reps per set | What to change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bench press | 2 min | 10, 8, 6 | Go up to 3 min |
| Leg press | 3 min | 12, 12, 11 | Keep |
| Curl | 1 min 30 s | 12, 11, 11 | Keep |
How CatLena uses it
On the Training screen, each strength workout is logged with its exercises, sets and calories. In the example below, Strength workout A had 4 exercises and 15 sets and burned 410 kcal. With the reps of each set recorded, you can compare weeks with different rest times and see whether the total weight lifted went up.
When to see a professional
References
- Singer A, Wolf M, Generoso L, Arias E, Delcastillo K, Echevarria E, et al. Give it a rest: a systematic review with Bayesian meta-analysis on the effect of inter-set rest interval duration on muscle hypertrophy. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2024;6:1429789. See the study
- Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, Hester GM, Sellers J, Nooner JL, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016;30(7):1805–1812. See the study
- Longo AR, Silva-Batista C, Pedroso K, de Salles Painelli V, Lasevicius T, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Volume load rather than resting interval influences muscle hypertrophy during high-intensity resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2022;36(6):1554–1559. See the study
- Gantois P, Lima-Júnior D, Fortes LS, Batista GR, Nakamura FY, Fonseca FS. Mental fatigue from smartphone use reduces volume-load in resistance training: a randomized, single-blinded cross-over study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2021;128(4):1640–1659. See the study
- Fortes LS, Lima Júnior D, Costa YP, Albuquerque MR, Nakamura FY, Fonseca FS. Effects of social media on smartphone use before and during velocity-based resistance exercise on cognitive interference control and physiological measures in trained adults. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 2022;29(5):1188–1197. See the study
- Goldhammer KA, Dooley DP, Ayala E, Zera W, Hill BL. Prospective study of bacterial and viral contamination of exercise equipment. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2006;16(1):34–38. See the study
- Senna GW, Willardson JM, Scudese E, Simão R, Queiroz C, Avelar R, et al. Effect of different interset rest intervals on performance of single and multijoint exercises with near-maximal loads. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016;30(3):710–716. See the study
- Senna G, Willardson JM, de Salles BF, Scudese E, Carneiro F, Palma A, et al. The effect of rest interval length on multi and single-joint exercise performance and perceived exertion. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011;25(11):3157–3162. See the study
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