Gym regulars know that rest times between sets are a thing of beauty, that short moment of calm and reflection. You start with deep, horrible fatigue, sitting there as your heart hammers. Gradually your breathing slows and you become mindful of your discomfort.
Maybe you’re sweating , maybe your muscles are aching. About halfway through, the endorphins kick in and that ache begins to feel good – you’ve put the work in, managed the unthinkable. Then, finally, you’re feeling on top of the world and are good to go again.
Skip your rest and not only do you forgo all of that, but you’re actually short-changing gains and putting your body at risk of injury. On top of that, with some professional guidance you can manipulate rest times to your advantage. But how? Why do we need to rest between sets? Let’s start with the obvious.
If you don’t rest between sets, there isn’t really anything delineating one set from another, so instead of four sets of ten curls, you’re doing forty more or less in one go. No one’s arms can handle that. And as the science shows, more sets are better than one.
“Rest periods are crucial,” says celebrity PT Patrick Murphy . “We aren’t building muscle in the gym, we are breaking down the fibres on a microscopic level, depleting our adenosine triphosate and phosphocreatine in the process. The rest periods help the muscles recover and replenish these energy stores, making it possible for continued optimal performance for the remainder of the workout.
” Our muscles mostly use anaerobic pathways during the most intense bouts of exercise. As you’ll remember from GCSE science, this lack of oxygen only leads to one thing. “Lactic acid and the impact that this has on your blood pH is actually a big driver in neuromuscular fatigue and a decrease in power output over the course of your workout,” explains Shaun Stafford, founder of Physique Formula and trainer to celebrities including Luke Evans.
As well as sending more fuel to your muscles, resting also gives your aching biceps a chance to flush out burning lactate and hydrogen ions. Plow on before this happens and fatigue will set in, sinking the rest of your reps. In fact, one study suggests that, in the bench press at least, greater rest periods allow us to perform more reps in later sets.
Should my rest times depend on the workout? While rest is important, how long you need to rest for can vary depending on exactly what you’re putting your body through. “From a powerlifting perspective, our muscles don’t fatigue too much but our central nervous system does,” says Mikey Herrera-Castro , a PT at Gymbox Ealing . “In this instance, resting up to four minutes will give your body enough recovery to push again the next set.
In bodybuilding, one minute rests are better in order to keep the target muscle stimulated.” These findings are backed up by a study in the journal Sports Medicine . Stafford delves into the science.
“How long you should rest for is largely down to which ‘system’ you are using,” he says.“You need to make a distinction between your neurological system and your metabolic system.” Broadly speaking, if you’re doing a complex exercise (think clean and jerk) or [lifting] something really heavy your central nervous system will take longer to recover.
For lighter weights – which stimulate your metabolic system – rest periods can be lower. Herrera-Castro summarises a solid rest approach like this: Are there any times I shouldn’t rest? As PTs to actors looking for specific physiques, both Stafford and Murphy are used to playing around with rest periods. Working with Zac Efron for Baywatch , Murphy favoured a high heart-rate zone and tiny rests to stimulate protein synthesis, leading to greater muscle gains over time.
Stafford, meanwhile, has used minimal rest periods not only for aesthetic, but to help put a client into the mindset of the character he was inhabiting. “I worked with a client for a big US TV show in which he was playing a special forces soldier,” explains Stafford. “I really had fun tweaking the rest periods to not only make him look the part, but also so he had actual experiences operating on the edge of his comfort zone, pushing him deeper into the ‘hurt locker.
’” Stafford adds that pushing yourself hard without adequate recovery can be a way of driving metabolic changes and generating a huge post-exercise oxygen deficit, which is great for forcing the body to lean out in a calorie deficit. If you’ve ever tried HIIT , you may have noticed just how quickly it can help you get lean, although it’s probably unsustainable – and possibly unsafe – to work out like this every session. I’m pushed for time.
How can I stop myself rushing between sets? We don’t always have as much time in the gym as we’d like and all of us are guilty of rushing a workout . There are a few problems with this. First, your warm-up is likely to be brief, leading to injury.
Second, your form might suffer, meaning you won’t get the full benefit from your workout. And third, if you aren’t giving yourself the appropriate rest time for your goals, you’re likely to undermine your progress. Herrera-Castro suggests using a timer or rest period app to ensure you aren’t just winging it between sets.
Stafford agrees, opting for an old-school stopwatch. Failing that, you might benefit from switching up your approach. “If you don’t have the time to get in a 60-minute workout, you can superset most exercises to create muscle fatigue and more muscles,” Herrera-Castro adds.
“If you do supersets, remember to allow at least 10-15 seconds of rest before moving to the next exercise.” He also suggests active rests such as light stretching or time under tension – a plank in between burpees or battle rope sets, maybe – to help you stay focused. Instead of thinking you have to cram everything in, Murphy suggests you cut out any exercises you usually rush through.
“Never rush through sets,” he warns. “It isn’t worth the injury! We need to be smart enough to maintain training performance.” “Remember, everything we do in the gym will encourage positive or negative adaptations.
” In other words: Lead with a positive approach to rest, considering it a vital part of your workout instead of something to be skipped, and your workout will benefit..
