Do long rest periods affect my hypertrophy

[5foot5Manlet]

I'm a uni student and in general have a **** tonne of time, so I often take 1 to 3 minute rest periods for my lifts, is this going to affect my gains? Since some people are telling me to do only 90 seconds for my bicep curls, but I feel like I'll be too tired to progress if I do them that fast.
What's your opinion guys?

[Heisman2]

All the research indicates it doesn't matter much for hypertrophy at all. For strength resting 2+ minutes is likely better, even up to 5+ minutes for really grueling sets.

[bLinkMoore]

It won't affect your gains. The main reason shorter rest periods are recommended for less taxing exercises like bicep curls is just that long rest periods make your workout much longer, and most people will then end up getting less volume in because they can't be spending a ton of time in the gym.

If you've got three hours to kill and want to rest 3 minutes between sets of bicep curls, go for it. Personally, my isolation work is normally ~90 second rests, and my S / B / D generally anywhere from 3-7 minutes.

[jk202]

Take adequate rest to attack the next set with maximal intensity. Rest times irrelevant, that only thing that holds back gains is short rest periods

[GeneralSerpant]

You increase rest time in order to both allow the target muscle to rest in a basic sense and to also allow the support muscles rest in order coordinate with each other stronger.

For biceps curls that second part is not as much as an issue since for the most part they are an isolation exercise. Unlike something more complicated like Bench Press, you're not training your support muscles for strength as much by going to failure with curls and you're missing out on practice volume as is the case when you choose intensity or volume for any exercise, whether curls or bench press.

[Darkius]

Your fast twitch muscles can definitely do more work on the next set if you give them 3 minutes vs 1 minute. Studies confirm. But if you add an extra set, maybe the shorter rest would be ok? Or overtrain. I don't know.


I plan to do situps between decline dumbell press reps so time is not wasted. I just made that idea myself and don't know if it is a good idea. Squats though use so much muscle I doubt in between sets would be good at all. Walking on a treadmill at 2mph would be better if at home. Or walk circles around the power rack to keep blood flow up.

[Darkius]

Sounds like dumbbell curls with a full set of one side then the other might be good. Holding the other dumbbell would work the forearm too.

[Darkius]

Take adequate rest to attack the next set with maximal intensity. Rest times irrelevant, that only thing that holds back gains is short rest periods

How long is long enough though for bench press with 8, 12, or 15 reps to failure? 2 minutes, or when my heart rate falls to 100bpm?

[GeneralSerpant]

Your fast twitch muscles can definitely do more work on the next set if you give them 3 minutes vs 1 minute. Studies confirm. But if you add an extra set, maybe the shorter rest would be ok? Or overtrain. I don't know.

If you're adding another set and decreasing rep time while keeping the same weight and reps per set then you can potentially burn out your routine.

[bLinkMoore]

How long is long enough though for bench press with 8, 12, or 15 reps to failure? 2 minutes, or when my heart rate falls to 100bpm?

Just play it by ear. When you feel ready for the next set, go for it. Don't use HR or an arbitrary number of minutes

[EliKoehn]

Just play it by ear. When you feel ready for the next set, go for it. Don't use HR or an arbitrary number of minutes

Rest intervals are an interesting concept that I've been thinking more about recently...

I train with a guy who time-trials himself diligently with very heavy compounds like squat and deadlift, so he deliberately pushes the envelope on when it would feel normal to proceed with the next set, and seems to be profiting by it. (5 x 5 squat at 315 in 10 minutes, 5 x 10 at 225 in 10, 4 x 10 deadlift at 405 in 10 minutes, etc.)

That said, there is a definite moment when I know it's time for the next set, before which I'm still resting and after which I'm wasting time; somehow that distinction is intuitively obvious, but I could challenge and improve it, I'm sure.

[bLinkMoore]

Rest intervals are an interesting concept that I've been thinking more about recently...

I train with a guy who time-trials himself diligently with very heavy compounds like squat and deadlift, so he deliberately pushes the envelope on when it would feel normal to proceed with the next set, and seems to be profiting by it. (5 x 5 squat at 315 in 10 minutes, 5 x 10 at 225 in 10, 4 x 10 deadlift at 405 in 10 minutes, etc.)

That said, there is a definite moment when I know it's time for the next set, before which I'm still resting and after which I'm wasting time; somehow that distinction is intuitively obvious, but I could challenge and improve it, I'm sure.

That is definitely intriguing. Seems like if you're trying to crank up the intensity, that's a solid way to go lol. Personally, especially on compounds, I feel like I'd end up hurting myself. I weighed in shockingly low on Friday (162 lmao haven't weighed that little in years) and had to increase my rest times quite a bit. Top deadlift set was a triple @ 460 and I think I rested about 10 minutes before going for it cause I knew I'd end up just folding if I tried it earlier.

Maybe for submax work I might have to give that a try though. Especially when I'm crunched on time, that could be fun to mess around with.

[EliKoehn]

That is definitely intriguing. Seems like if you're trying to crank up the intensity, that's a solid way to go lol. Personally, especially on compounds, I feel like I'd end up hurting myself. I weighed in shockingly low on Friday (162 lmao haven't weighed that little in years) and had to increase my rest times quite a bit. Top deadlift set was a triple @ 460 and I think I rested about 10 minutes before going for it cause I knew I'd end up just folding if I tried it earlier.

Maybe for submax work I might have to give that a try though. Especially when I'm crunched on time, that could be fun to mess around with.

Chime in if you try it and find any interesting results. Back-off sets are probably close enough to the same idea, but then it seems like they run the same risks.

Also, awesome lift. 465 was my 3rm (not in competition though), and I weighed nearly 100 pounds more than you!

[paulinkansas]

I reload a box of 25 shotgun shells between compound sets. Now there are about 1500 shells in boxes sitting on a shelf and I don't need any more. My next venture is to built a surface drive boat motor from scratch between sets. It'll take me to inaccessible places where I can shoot those shotgun shells.

[bLinkMoore]

Chime in if you try it and find any interesting results. Back-off sets are probably close enough to the same idea, but then it seems like they run the same risks.

Also, awesome lift. 465 was my 3rm (not in competition though), and I weighed nearly 100 pounds more than you!

I definitely will, I'll have a few months to mess around with my training coming up in a few weeks, so I'll be trying out whatever I can haha.

Thanks man, you too! Shifting 450+ for reps at any weight is solid af. I'm looking forward to getting to put on some more weight soon, but in the meantime I'm definitely enjoying the sweet pound-for-pound gains lol.

[mdonnelly80]

1. No, as has been pointed out, longer rest periods won't affect your ability to grow. Just don't sit on your butt until you get tight..

2. The time between sets of compound exercises is relative and requires some auto-regulation. For example, if I grind out my first set of squats at an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) of 9, I know I will need to rest longer than if it was at an RPE of 7. I typically typically rest for 2 minutes, minimum.

[bLinkMoore]

I reload a box of 25 shotgun shells between compound sets. Now there are about 1500 shells in boxes sitting on a shelf and I don't need any more. My next venture is to built a surface drive boat motor from scratch between sets. It'll take me to inaccessible places where I can shoot those shotgun shells.

I think this pretty much tops any other suggestions here. Working even when you're resting, and at the end of it you get to go drive a boat around blasting shotguns

[paulinkansas]

I think this pretty much tops any other suggestions here. Working even when you're resting, and at the end of it you get to go drive a boat around blasting shotguns

That's one of the benefits of a home gym in the garage. My reloading bench is 4 steps away and my metal fab area is 6 steps away from my weights. It's been 3 years since there was a vehicle in my garage.