How Much Rest is Too Much, and How Much is Necessary in Strength Training
So you’re in the gym working out, casually chatting for a few minutes here and there with a friend… Are you getting the maximum benefit from your workout if you are using gym time as social hour? In this post I will break down the best timing strategies for your strength workout so you get the most metabolism boosting, muscle building benefits from your labor.
I think it’s important to note how the muscles work when exercise occurs. There are three systems that fuel muscles - the phosphagen system, the glycolytic system (anaerobic), and the oxidative system (aerobic). As you exercise, these systems take turns fueling the muscles by synthesizing ATP to provide energy. For the first 30 seconds, the phosphagen system fuels the muscles, from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, the glycolytic system fuels the muscles, and after 3 minutes, it’s the oxidative system. Based on these fueling systems, rest periods come into play, as the longer you exercise, the less overall output from your muscles occurs.
There are general rules for rest between sets based on your goals. The most common goals and rest periods are as follows:
If your goal is weight loss - The rest period isn’t a huge factor, as resistance training in itself increases caloric expenditure. Coupling strength training with HIIT and cardio is the best recipe for weight loss.
If you’re new to weightlifting - Rest periods should be about 60-120 seconds until you have gotten the hang of things.
If your goal is endurance - A higher volume of work is done with less weight, so the rest period would be very little, 20-60 seconds.
If your goal is muscle hypertrophy (building mass) - The best rest time for building muscle is a moderate 30-90 seconds, while lifting heavier.
If your goal is maximizing strength and power - the rest period between sets should be 2-5 minutes. This allows the muscles enough time to recover before the next round, as weight would be maximum.
So this covers what to do when you’re actually in the gym working out, but what about rest days during the week? Well, it takes about 1-3 days for the muscles to recover after a moderate-intense training session, so each muscle group should be given ample time to rest, and in the meantime, another muscle trained. A full day of rest should be taken every 3-5 days, with heavy cardio days (distance running, etc.) given rest toward the more frequent end of that spectrum.
Days-off do not have to be completely sedentary. In fact, it would do your body well to complete some active recovery exercise - stretching, myofascial rolling, yoga, etc. It is best for the muscles to recover in this way than to be completely still. So while total rest is totally fine on occasion, there is no harm in moving your body every day, albeit not with crazy intensity all the time.