How long do you guys rest between sets? (if not on program that specifies)

[Daz206]

I have always been told that I take a long time between sets. I guess I've noticed that I do take a little longer than most people, but I like to be at optimal efficiency for my next set. I was thinking about it today and I actually set my stop watch in between sets to see exactly how long I normally take, on average. I noticed that I never took shorter than 3 minutes (working sets, not warm ups) and most sets I began my next set around the 4 minute mark. Next time you guys are in the gym, check and see how long you guys take on average. I'm genuinely curious to see if I am out of the norm here. Thanks.

[BlueLifter81]

I take 4 minutes in between my heaviest sets (usually consisting of 2 - 3 sets per workout) and 2 1/2 - 3 minutes on the rest.

[Garage Rat]

If your strength training you take what you need to fully recover from set to set.
Usually the heavier the set the longer the rest.
Ive seen guys take 5 minutes and longer for their heaviest sets.
Some powerlifting meets you may be waiting 15 minutes between heavy lifts depending how many guys are in your flight.
Bodybuilders would want to move faster to get a pump and a cardio aspect to their training.

[scotpak1979]

3 to 5 mins on main lifts. (Bench 3, squat/DL 4-5).
Then usually 1 min for assistance exercises which I tend to do for higher reps (sets of 8 to 10).

[ecchastang]

Somewhere between 3-10 minutes, depending on what I am doing and how many sets or how close to failure I am getting.

[arian11]

As long as is needed to be able to complete the next set. It depends day to day and exercise to exercise. Anywhere between 3 and 10 mins though.

[Rileh]

I take as long as I need to be able to hit the next set.

Usually anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

*also note I still train on progressive overload so I add 5 pounds every week so the weights I hit are not easy*

most programs have the percentages lighter so you shouldn't need that much rest time.

[aperry580]

I don't really pay attention just long enough to recover change the song an get jacked up for my next set

[JimRat6969]

Warm up sets i rest less than 1 minute or I start as soon as the weight is changed. The working sets i rest at least 3 minutes.

Heavy singles i rest 4 minutes or more

[HamburgerTrain]

Anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes depending on what I am doing.

[All-Star11]

45 - 60 seconds crew on everything.
2 minutes between exercises

[Sportacus88]

There are so many factors to how long I rest between a set, it's hard to give a simple answer.

It normally takes me a good 20-30 minutes to actually feel properly warmed up.

Then on the main lifts, (bench, squat, dead, etc) my warm up sets can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, and working sets/singles I can rest anywhere from 2 minutes to 15+ minutes.

I'll take however much time I feel is needed to make sure I am ready and can get the lift.

Weather seems to play a big part in it too, the gym I train at only has a few fans, so it's hot as hell in the summer, and it seems like the hotter it is in the gym, the longer I take between sets, and the more time I spend standing in the door way cooling off.

But on accessory movements, the rest is a lot less, probably anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

[rtm0004]

I take as long as I need to be able to hit the next set.

this; I want to avoid missing reps just because I didn't rest enough

[kmc06005]

45 - 60 seconds crew on everything.
2 minutes between exercises

If you're goal is strength then this is a bad choice.

My rule is no less than 3 on heavy work and no more than 5 on volume work.

[All-Star11]

If you're goal is strength then this is a bad choice.

My rule is no less than 3 on heavy work and no more than 5 on volume work.

Will try 3 mins tonight arms and report back

[McCabesLifts]

Normally I rest 4 minutes in-between my working sets, but for warmups/accessories it's 3 minutes.

[Turtora]

Will try 3 mins tonight arms and report back

lol

[GoodGeneticsPls]

If I just go by feel I sometimes end up resting 10 minutes lol. Just started a volume block and am restricting rest to 3-4 minutes between sets in an effort to increase my work capacity. 3-4 minutes is a lot of rest for most people I'm sure but for me it's pretty brutal.

[Lpenny]

5 minutes minimum unless it's something that's purely for a pump like curls.

[UFpwrLifter]

A minute ish for warm up and accessory.

Wait for the next song for heavier weights. Commercials delay the next set. If I see people waiting for a bench, I'll speed things up. Never actually timed it, that would make me anxious.

[cjowns76]

Warm up sets I usually go about a minute (depending on who I'm lifting with), and for my working sets it depends. I'm on the intense phase of smolov, and I think yesterday I was taking about 5-10 minutes.

[Rags85]

A minute ish for warm up and accessory.

Wait for the next song for heavier weights. Commercials delay the next set. If I see people waiting for a bench, I'll speed things up. Never actually timed it, that would make me anxious.

I time all my sets, unless I forget to look a clock or something. Usually in the 3-10 minute range. But to avoid getting anxious, I'll look at the clock and say "ok, in 5 minutes I start to get ready". Then I don't look at it again until my set is over. So when the clock says go, its my time to start to prepare, not to lift. Kind of like the start command on a squat. Its the "OK to go when ready" command, not the "Squat right this second" command.

I never speed up when people are waiting. I will also never refuse to let people work in with me.

[DTreats]

To those saying 5+ minutes between sets, enjoy those 2+ hour workouts lawl.

1 minute between hypertrophy sets,

Unless heavy compounds 2 mins

[Rags85]

To those saying 5+ minutes between sets, enjoy those 2+ hour workouts lawl.

1 minute between hypertrophy sets,

Unless heavy compounds 2 mins

How can one even do heavy lifts every 2 mins? But yeah, the main lifts usually take an 1-1.5 hours with warmups, which is just fine because most people here do enjoy lifting.

[Ownster8932]

I use the stopwatch app on my phone to time between sets. I don't understand the people that don't. For example, 5x5 @ 225 with 1/3/2/4/2 mins between sets and then next time you were to hit 5x5 @ 250 because you rested 4/5/4/6/7 mins between sets might make you think you improved, but really, you just rested longer. How can you have a reliable measure for comparison? Seems dumb to me not to, at least for the compound movements. For **** like curls and leg extensions, sure, whatever, it's just pump work anyways. I still time that stuff too though.

Heavy Compounds- no less than 3 mins (unless doing speed singles), no more than 5 usually (6 sometimes).
Else- anywhere from 0 mins to 2 mins usually (sometimes 3 for certain ones).

[Rileh]

How can one even do heavy lifts every 2 mins? But yeah, the main lifts usually take an 1-1.5 hours with warmups, which is just fine because most people here do enjoy lifting.

this. on mondays i have heavy squats and deadlifts and i am at the gym for like 2.5-3 hours and i love it.

*if i do accessory work i am there for even longer.

[EMarkowski92]

If your goal is to improve strength than rest as long as you need to in order to get the best possible performance out of your next set. I sometimes rest as much as 10 minutes between sets up heavy deadlifts for instance.

[PlGinge]

Around 5-6 minutes on working sets. Specifically deadlifts, I can get a way with low rest time on bench/squat but if I don;t rest long enough with deads then I'll fail a sub maximal weight pretty easy. Not sure why.

But yeah, 5 minutes most of the time. Lold at whoever said about 2+ hour workouts, only workout that I get done in under an hour and a half is both my bench sessions.