rest period between sets

So just trying to further educate myself. If your goal is building the maximum amount of muscle, how long should you wait in between sets? This is one thing I've never really known a lot about, and I can't help but feel that a lot of the time I'm doing it horribly wrong. I'm not sure how much it matters.

Also, again if your goal is building muscle, how many sets of how many reps should you be doing ideally?
 
well all you're gonna get are rules of thumb. There is no one way.

For hyp, you want rest periods that are not "complete" which means you won't restore all your ATP again. Complete rest is usually regarded as 2-3 min. There usually won't be much difference between waiting 3 min and 4 min, but there is a big difference between 1 min and 2 min. So rule of thumb, less than 2 min rest.

As for reps, the general rule of thumb you hear everywhere is 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets.
There is another way to do it though, you could think purely total reps. Get 30-40-50 total reps each workout per muscle group (I'm talking in the context of an FBW here)
I realize that is a big gap, 30-50, but it will depend a lot on you. IMO, if you can handle the higher volume then go for it, but don't start out there, work your way up. If you notice you can handle a higher volume, taking a week every now and then at half that volme might be a good idea. one week with half volume like every 5-7 weeks should do, just because high volume puts a lot of strain on your body.
I think the key to hypertrophy (size) is this volume. You will get good strength gains, but usually not so good muscle gains from doing for example 3x3. but if you do 10x3 (10 sets of 3 reps) you'll get better size gains, and also good strength gains. Even though your doing low reps in the "strength range" you've got the high volume.
 
well all you're gonna get are rules of thumb. There is no one way.

For hyp, you want rest periods that are not "complete" which means you won't restore all your ATP again. Complete rest is usually regarded as 2-3 min. There usually won't be much difference between waiting 3 min and 4 min, but there is a big difference between 1 min and 2 min. So rule of thumb, less than 2 min rest.

As for reps, the general rule of thumb you hear everywhere is 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets.
There is another way to do it though, you could think purely total reps. Get 30-40-50 total reps each workout per muscle group (I'm talking in the context of an FBW here)
I realize that is a big gap, 30-50, but it will depend a lot on you. IMO, if you can handle the higher volume then go for it, but don't start out there, work your way up. If you notice you can handle a higher volume, taking a week every now and then at half that volme might be a good idea. one week with half volume like every 5-7 weeks should do, just because high volume puts a lot of strain on your body.
I think the key to hypertrophy (size) is this volume. You will get good strength gains, but usually not so good muscle gains from doing for example 3x3. but if you do 10x3 (10 sets of 3 reps) you'll get better size gains, and also good strength gains. Even though your doing low reps in the "strength range" you've got the high volume.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, you get used to dealing with a lot of generalities though. Which is all I really need now anyways

I've never really timed my rest period too strictly. I've been giving myself around 2:30-3 minutes before now. I'll start at 2 then work my way down starting now

And I'll start to increase the overall volume. Probably for now though the only exercise I can really manage anything more than 40 total reps is squats... and lunges. Still, I'm glad to have an idea of what I'm supposed to be shooting for
 
Back
Top