Rest time between sets: how long should you wait?
30 seconds, 1 minute or 3 minutes? What research says, and how to stop managing it in your head.
Rest time is the most overlooked variable in training. We count it loosely, cut it short when the gym is packed or we are in a hurry, and stretch it without noticing while answering a message. Yet it directly changes what you can lift on your next set.
What research says
In 2016, Brad Schoenfeld's team compared two groups of already trained lifters who followed exactly the same program for 8 weeks. The only difference: 1 minute of rest between sets for one group, 3 minutes for the other. The 3-minute group gained more strength on the squat and bench press, and more muscle thickness at the front of the thigh.
A review of 35 studies published in 2009 points the same way: with heavy loads, between 50 and 90% of your max, 3 to 5 minutes of rest let you complete more repetitions across all your sets, and lead to better strength gains.
The reason is simple: a set only works if you can perform it with enough load and enough reps. Starting again too early often means losing reps on every set that follows.
Practical guidelines
- Heavy compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, weighted pull-ups): 2 to 5 minutes. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 2 to 3 minutes for these exercises.
- Lighter isolation exercises (curls, lateral raises, extensions): 1 to 2 minutes is usually enough.
- Intensity techniques such as rest-pause: the pause is deliberately very short, that is the whole point of the technique.
These ranges are guidelines. If you can no longer match your reps from one set to the next, it usually means you are starting again too early.
The real problem: sticking to it
Knowing the right duration is useless if you do not respect it. Between phones, conversations and busy machines, your actual rest quickly drifts away from your planned rest. That is where a reliable timer makes all the difference.
How Loaden handles rest
- You set the rest time of each exercise in the routine builder.
- The timer starts by itself as soon as you complete a set.
- One button adds 30 seconds, another skips the rest when you are ready.
- A notification tells you when it is over, even with your phone locked.
- If you leave the workout mid-rest, it picks up where it left off when you come back.
Sources
- Schoenfeld B.J. et al., "Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men", Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016.
- de Salles B.F. et al., "Rest interval between sets in strength training", Sports Medicine, 2009.
- American College of Sports Medicine, "Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults", Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009.
A timer that runs for you
Loaden starts your rest after every completed set and tells you when it is over, even with your phone locked.
