Unanswered How Do Rest Periods Effect Weight Training Effectiveness?

ucimigrate

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Hi Everyone,

Different people have different opinions about rest periods.

Some people say supersets are what increase metabolic efficiency. Others will say as little as fifteen seconds rest, as in a circuit train is best. Others say 1, 2, or 3 minutes is best. Others advocate up to 8 minutes of rest between sets, to get maximal ATP replenishment, to create more stimulus, to eventually get more muscle and strength growth.

1. Is there any research to say what is more effective?

2. My current goal is fat loss. At this stage, I am so overweight that I do not care about strength or muscle gain. I want the quickest way down to 8% bodyfat, then I will worry about strength training.

In the short term, I think shorter rest periods such as in circuit training are better, since they task the cardio-vascular system more. Longer-term, I think longer rest periods can build more muscle.
 

Resolve10

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For question 1:

Research seems relatively clear that longer rest (2+ minutes) is better than short rest for muscular hypertrophy.

Actual studies comparing:


Longer rest also being better for muscle protein synthesis:

So in general I think it’s safe to say for working the same muscle group/movement that longer rest is better than short, especially for compound movements (probably somewhat due to not degrading the amount of load that can be used). For isolation movements and smaller muscle groups shorter rest may not be “as” much of an issue and I wouldn’t say not to do it (again all of this is goal dependent and depending on training plan, etc).

For your second point:

That IMHO is short sited and missing the point. Diet is going to have the biggest impact on fat loss rate. You are better off training optimally for hypertrophy and strength even in a fat loss phase, there aren’t really “special” fat loss training modalities in that sense.
 

ucimigrate

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I see.

1. I do agree with your training philosophy.

For fat loss, I can still do either heavy weights for strength or higher loads for hypertrophy.

2. I did have a chiropractor, years back, who questioned why I should even do weight training when trying to lose weight. His ideal was to do lots of cardio; when you do weight train, do circuit train.

To me, that answer seems short-sighted, as it does not build up muscle.

3. I agree total calories matter. When I want to lose weight, I need to eat about 10 calories per pound of bodyweight. When I want to gain weight, it's closer to 18 calories per pound of bodyweight.
 
EMPIREMIND

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I see.

1. I do agree with your training philosophy.

For fat loss, I can still do either heavy weights for strength or higher loads for hypertrophy.

2. I did have a chiropractor, years back, who questioned why I should even do weight training when trying to lose weight. His ideal was to do lots of cardio; when you do weight train, do circuit train.

To me, that answer seems short-sighted, as it does not build up muscle.

3. I agree total calories matter. When I want to lose weight, I need to eat about 10 calories per pound of bodyweight. When I want to gain weight, it's closer to 18 calories per pound of bodyweight.
In regards to your chiropractor, losing weight he is probably right, however losing fat I strongly disagree. Really depends on your goals, but if you want to be muscular and lean, lift weights and diet appropriately.
 
ChocolateClen

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ATP takes hours to replenish fully so that’s pointless to wait for

PCr systems replenish in ~5 min so for max power this is what you want to wait for.

Less rest = greater metabolite build up which means you need more things to shuttle away the metabolites. Might see an increase in mitochondrial density as well to better convert energy.
 

kisaj

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Hi Everyone,

Different people have different opinions about rest periods.

Some people say supersets are what increase metabolic efficiency. Others will say as little as fifteen seconds rest, as in a circuit train is best. Others say 1, 2, or 3 minutes is best. Others advocate up to 8 minutes of rest between sets, to get maximal ATP replenishment, to create more stimulus, to eventually get more muscle and strength growth.

1. Is there any research to say what is more effective?

2. My current goal is fat loss. At this stage, I am so overweight that I do not care about strength or muscle gain. I want the quickest way down to 8% bodyfat, then I will worry about strength training.

In the short term, I think shorter rest periods such as in circuit training are better, since they task the cardio-vascular system more. Longer-term, I think longer rest periods can build more muscle.
Your goal is fat loss- your focus needs to be on diet first. You state you are so overweight that you don't care about other very important things - strength and muscle mass. Sounds like you need a lifestyle overhaul to begin with.

Regarding what is better- there is no straight forward answer. For hypertrophy it's been found that the rest periods don't matter. It comes down to volume and progressive overload, so regardless of the rest period, if the volume is the same and you are providing stimulus to the muscle groups, the results are near identical. The benefit found from longer rests is that it is easier to reach the same volume.

For pure strength, lower volume and longer rests are generally the most effective approach. You are looking to push muscle (and develop supporting ligaments, tendons, etc) to their max output. This will require lower volume and in most cases a longer recovery period between.

If cardio is your main goal, then shorter rest periods are advantageous.

For me personally, I prefer shorter 30-60 rests because I am seeking overall fitness improvement which comes with building/maintaining muscle mass and strength, but making sure everything is working in sync. I feel terrible when I see guys getting beet red in the face and needing 5 minutes between sets because they only care about strength.
 

BBiceps

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I would recommend:
1, diet
2, cardio
3, heavy weights

Long distance running for fat/weight loss, heavy weights to keep as much muscle as possible and diet diet diet!
 
BarryScott

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Longer rest periods are better all round, but shorter rest periods are more practical for not spending 4 hours in the gym.
 

BlockBuilder

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From experience and my own personal results id have to say less rest. I like to try and keep my workout to an hour or so. By less rest I’m talking 30-60 seconds
 
Dutch guy in asia

Dutch guy in asia

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From experience and my own personal results id have to say less rest. I like to try and keep my workout to an hour or so. By less rest I’m talking 30-60 seconds
Love to see you do that with heavy deadlifts or squats goes easy with biceps concentration curls or something like that but is a bit harder with compounds if you really want to go heavy.
 

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