[go cavs]

What is the best amount of time to wait between sets when lifting weights?

[Vince R]

it all depends on your goals. If you are using a heavy amount of weight (one that you can only do 6-8 reps with) then you should rest for between one and halt to two minutes between sets. If you are using a lighter weight then you can rest about 1 minute. However there are different techniques. For instance if you are circuit training, which means doing one exercise for a body part and then doing one for another body part without any rest, then you would do all of the exercises in the circuit and then take about 1 minute rest. With that type of workout you would typically use a weight that you could do approximatly 10-15 reps with. By doing exercises with little rest in between you get a sort of cardiovascular effect that can replace using the treadmill if you do it for long enough. The key here and with all the different techniques is to make sure that you take enough time to prevent yourself from being injured. If you are just beginning then you shouldn't worry too much about exact timing and other things like that. It will only make things complicated. Enjoy the workouts and you will eventually develop the right system. If you need more advice then send me an email.

[Jeffrey K]

It depends on your goals. People lift weights for various reasons. An Olympic weight lifter will lift to gain power and strength. If that is your goal you would want to take plenty of time between sets (anywhere between 2-4 minutes). This is because to gain power you must use heavy weights and low reps. However without adequate rest you would not be able to recover between sets and thus your goal would be lost.If your goal is to build mass I would aim for 1 1/2-2 minutes between sets. Mass building is gained through the use of low to medium reps, with fairly heavy weight.Lastly if your goal is get toned and burn fat keep the rest to a minimum (in some cases only 30 seconds-1 minute). The quickened pace will help you burn more calories and keep your metabolism boosted high. Better yet you could try supersets, which are essentially working two opposing muscle groups back-to-back without rest. For instance, you could do one set of bench presses and one set of lat pull downs back-to-back to work both your chest and back with minimal rest in between sets. The answer to this question lies in what your goals are.

[nicjays]

Personally I wait approx 2 mins. But this really depends all on your body, no one else can tell you what your body will respond to best. A trainer at the gym will be able to give you some sort of indication, but it will really be a matter of experimentation to find what works best for your. Don't forget to have a rest day in between working each group of muscles. If you like to lift everyday, do split body training.

[trainer53]

Most of the clients that I have are on a time limit, so I train them to work a muscle group from the upper body and while they're waiting to work a muscle group from the lower body. Myself, I don't like a lot of "waiting time" so I have them doing something all the time. Too much sitting around between sets puts you at the gym for way too long. There are many different ways to weight train. Waiting in between sets is fine if your focus is only on upper body for instance, I guess this is why I prefer training the whole body for a full body workout. The next day they have rest for recovery and they come in and do their cardio. But.....there are many ways to do it! I also have advanced lifters that do the "body for life" routine, and there is no rest there either, guess it's a matter of preference, I just don't like much "down" time.......

[The Icon]

Olympic strength and conditioning trainer Charles Poliquin is a proponent of supersets and volume training. He recommends anywhere from 0 seconds (basically walking to the next lift) to 1:30 as a rest period between lifts. Powerlifters will obviously take longer than novice lifters. If losing fat while gaining mass is the way you're wanting to go; figure out the shortest rest period you're body allows you to take without sacrificing strength. You'll not only make strength gains, you'll burn a lot more calories and lose fat. Shorter breaks have been great for me. I can still get 12-15 sets per bodypart (2 parts per day) in a 45 minute to an hour workout. Good luck!