3 hours and 5 minutes in the gym today. 50 mins of circuit training, 50 minutes of lifting, 50 minutes of Tabata and 35 minutes of general exercises, mostly bands. I am tired but it felt fine. I did it without breakfast and that seems to make little difference. I am trying IF, 8/16, skipping breakfast. Only a couple of days and today is my first gym exercise without eating.
I take a full 3 minutes rest between sets and I take a 4 minute rest before the last set of each exercise when I’m going to be at the heaviest weight and trying for reps to failure or almost failure. but the first few sets of each exercise are fairly light and I do higher end repetitions, sometimes as much as 30 reps with strict controlled form.
Power lifters take 9 to 10 minutes between sets and they’re only doing 1 to 4 reps.
When I work with the trainer, two or three 50 minute sessions per week, I do a 1 1/2 or two minute rest. Try to do all the reps I can, to fatigue, 3 or 4 sets. More conventional weight training. In Tabata we do 20, 30, or 40 seconds of exercise with 10, 15, or 20 seconds of rest. In the circuit training I take no rests. When exercising on my own I take no rests, I usually rotate or superset to rest specific muscles whilst using another. I only push as hard as I am comfortable pushing, in classes sometimes I keep up, but often I don't. Doesn't bother me one way or the other just so I get exercise. Probably most of my resting comes in the transition from one exercise to the next, cleaning of equipment with disinfectant has been required for Covid, that adds a bit of rest time. I ain't no power lifter!
if you just want to be active and move your body less weight and fewer breaks are fine.
Yes, that is my objective general fitness mostly. I am not trying to build muscles for aesthetic reasons, way past that kind of thing. I have noticed some increase in muscle size and definition, feels kind of good, but don't think anyone else has noticed, the changes are not huge.
My style is purely for maximum muscle building and aesthetics. Not optimal for strength or fitness.
You appear to have done a great job, and I am sure your strength and fitness are just fine.