Shorter resting periods between sets but less weight?

[ayoayoayo]

I've begun resting 2-3 minutes between each set rather than my previous ~5 minute rest times. I usually aim for 4 sets of 8 reps but usually it'll be about 8 reps, then maybe 8 again, then 6-8, then maybe 5-7.

My goal is gaining muscle mass and I've heard that shorter rest periods are better for hypertrophy. However, I can move significantly less weight when using shorter rest periods (like 10% less) since I fatigue faster. Should I be worried about the reduction in weight or will be shorter rest periods make up for the fact that I move less weight in terms of muscle gains? Thanks!

[Partyrocking]

Shorter rest periods aren't necessarily better for hypertrophy. With a shorter rest period, you're increasing density (work/time) but decreasing volume, since you can't move as much weight.

[nightanole]

The point of short rest periods is to get more out of lighter weight and higher reps by not letting your muscles recover.

take a 5x5 routine working with 80-85% of your 1rm. It takes 4-5min in order to repeat that exercise over and over. Now if you shorten the rest period to 1min, in order to get in 5 sets you will have to reduce the weight to 60-65% of your 1rm. Now you kind of have 2 problems. 1, you are now working with a light weight compared to your 1rm, and 2 you are not getting in very many reps for the 60% of 1rm.

Now you can go the other way. switching to 10 rep sets of 60-65% of your 1rm, and having a short 1-2min rest. This fixes some of the training problems. First the first 4-5 reps of a 10 rep set are not hitting the upper threshold fibers (you can lift 60-70% of your 1rm without them). However since you are not letting the lower threshold fibers recover, the 2nd set and beyond are going to be using all of the muscle fibers, just like you were doing 80-85% of 1rm sets. And you are reducing rest periods by over half while getting the same amount of stimulation.

So lets break it down:
5x5 with 5min rests = 25 quality reps with 20min of rest so lets say 25min in the gym
3x10 with 90 seconds rests = 25 quality reps with 3min of rest so lets say 10min in the gym

Both styles will get you the same amount of muscle growth/stimulation. 3x10 will get you in and out faster, 5x5 will allow you to test your 3 rep and 1 rep technical maxes safer and with more weight. You cant expect connecting tissue to handle 30% more weight than its used to. with a 5x5 you only have a 15% variant between working weight and technical 1rm.

[Atavis]

Both styles will get you the same amount of muscle growth/stimulation. 3x10 will get you in and out faster, 5x5 will allow you to test your 3 rep and 1 rep technical maxes safer and with more weight. You cant expect connecting tissue to handle 30% more weight than its used to. with a 5x5 you only have a 15% variant between working weight and technical 1rm.

Check this new study out. Brad Shoenfeld's recent research on this subject: https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ce-trained_men

[Alyion]

Check this new study out. Brad Shoenfeld's recent research on this subject: https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ce-trained_men

^^ Cool study, repped for posting. It's interesting to note that the study stated the long rest group had total greater volume than the short rest group, which led to greater gains. It's a shame they didn't scale the reps to match the same total volume between the two groups to see if that made any difference (also mentioned that diet was not particularly monitored either).

[nightanole]

Check this new study out. Brad Shoenfeld's recent research on this subject: https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ce-trained_men

That is interesting.

the TLDR version:

21 men who had been lifting for around 6 months with a 1 rep max squat of around body weight (LOL)
1 min and 3 min rest periods

On average the 1 min rest group grew 7% and the 3min rest group grew 14%. That also means the 1min rest group was in the gym 45min and the 3min rest group was in for 2 hours.
On average the 3min rest group was using 25% more volume than the 1min rest group.

The data also seems very cherry picked. We dont get the raw data, but we do get a scatter graph. If you look at that, you have alot of outliers. 4 of the 21 increased the bench well over 40% (yet the study average was 10%), 4 of the men had reduced performance at the end of the test, and finally 4 could not even improve both strength/endurance.

Im not saying that short rests vs long rests are superior. Its a proven fact that both styles have worked great since the 1960's. Both styles can be a hit or a miss depending on the percent of 1rm used and the progression pattern.

Im pretty sure that if you take 2 groups of equal starting strength, and have 1 group with 1min rests and 1 group with 3 min rests, and have them use the same weight(same working weight every day of the study, zero progression) for a set amount of time, the 3min group will come out on top.

[ayoayoayo]

That is interesting.

the TLDR version:

21 men who had been lifting for around 6 months with a 1 rep max squat of around body weight (LOL)
1 min and 3 min rest periods

On average the 1 min rest group grew 7% and the 3min rest group grew 14%. That also means the 1min rest group was in the gym 45min and the 3min rest group was in for 2 hours.
On average the 3min rest group was using 25% more volume than the 1min rest group.

The data also seems very cherry picked. We dont get the raw data, but we do get a scatter graph. If you look at that, you have alot of outliers. 4 of the 21 increased the bench well over 40% (yet the study average was 10%), 4 of the men had reduced performance at the end of the test, and finally 4 could not even improve both strength/endurance.

Im not saying that short rests vs long rests are superior. Its a proven fact that both styles have worked great since the 1960's. Both styles can be a hit or a miss depending on the percent of 1rm used and the progression pattern.

Im pretty sure that if you take 2 groups of equal starting strength, and have 1 group with 1min rests and 1 group with 3 min rests, and have them use the same weight(same working weight every day of the study, zero progression) for a set amount of time, the 3min group will come out on top.

Lmao thank you for the TLDR version. I just wish they'd do weight lifting studies with bigger sample sizes. 20 people is very small.

Anyways, I don't have much problem spending more time in the gym. I wouldn't mind resting 5 minutes as opposed to 3. But I've just heard from a lot of sources that people like to use shorter resting times for hypertrophy because it keeps stress on the muscle more frequently or whatever it may be.

[magician27]

I I've heard that shorter rest periods are better for hypertrophy

so is heavier weights

[ayoayoayo]

so is heavier weights

lol of course. But whats likely to be more important? Making the weight a little heavier or keeping my rest times shorter?

[magician27]

lol of course. But whats likely to be more important? Making the weight a little heavier or keeping my rest times shorter?

i think heavier weight will be more important in long run if you are lifting it properly

[TheViking1992]

lol of course. But whats likely to be more important? Making the weight a little heavier or keeping my rest times shorter?

How about a bit of both? You start out with the heavy compounds where you keep the rest times fairly long (2-3 minutes), and then secondary compound and isolation exercises, you keep the rest time a bit shorter (60-90 sec). Best of both worlds.

[ayoayoayo]

Thanks everyone, it seems like most people's idea of a long resting period is ~3 minutes anyways so I'll probably stick around 3 or 4 minutes rest time. I just had to start monitoring my rest time in general because if I don't pay attention, I'll spend 2.5 hours in the gym just doing 20 sets.

[Partyrocking]

Another thing to consider is your conditioning. The better your conditioning is, the less time you need between sets. I used to need 3-5 minutes between squat sets because I was out of shape, just doing the squats was enough to make me huff and puff like a smoker with emphysema. Once I brought up my conditioning, I was able to cut the rest time in half without reducing the weight.

Long story short, if you find you need too long to rest, maybe add in some HIIT or something a couple times a week.

[LiftLaughLive]

I know as a Strongman Athlete, the way I get ready for a Medley or any moving event ( keg carry, farmers carry for distance, hussafel stone for distance) is to start with a certain amount of work, and over the course of time decrease the rest interval to increase my cardiovascular demand. I know it works but I do not believe that it is my getting stronger in the sense of being able to lift more, it is more increasing my ability to breath under load.

TLDR Cutting rest intervals works your Cardio and decreases overall workout time.