Rest Time in Strength Training: It’s NOT What You Think
You religiously time 60 seconds between each set. You’ve read everywhere that it’s THE optimal rest time for hypertrophy. You’ve stuck to this rule for months, perhaps even years. And yet, your gains have plateaued.
What if I told you you’re wasting your potential because of a myth?
For decades, the fitness world has repeated the same mantra: short rests for mass, long rests for strength. This belief is so entrenched that it appears in practically every training program. But recent scientific research tells a very different story.
In this article, I’m going to show you why the “60–90 seconds” dogma is outdated — and what really matters to maximize your muscle growth. Get ready to question everything you thought you knew about rest times.
The current consensus: 60–90 seconds for hypertrophy (really?)
What classic recommendations say
Open any bodybuilding book or consult the guidelines of major sports organizations, and you’ll find the same prescription:
Short rests (30–90 seconds): for muscular hypertrophy
Long rests (2–5 minutes): for maximal strength development
This categorization seems logical and neat. It has been taught to millions of trainees and coaches. But where did it actually come from?
Why this recommendation exists
The logic behind short rests for hypertrophy rests on three main arguments:
Metabolic stress. Short rests create a buildup of metabolites (lactate, hydrogen ions) in the muscle. This intense “burn” has long been considered an essential stimulus for growth.
Hormonal response. Studies have shown that short rests trigger a greater surge of growth hormone and testosterone immediately after the workout. For years, it was believed that these hormonal peaks automatically translated into more muscle.
The “sweet spot” idea. Between maximum muscle fatigue (very short rests) and full recovery (very long rests), 60–90 seconds seemed to offer the perfect compromise to maintain high muscle tension throughout the session.
This theory was appealing. But it neglected a crucial element.
The problem no one mentions: performance drop-off
What actually happens with short rests
Imagine you’re doing bench press. Your program calls for 3 sets of 10 reps at 100 kg with 60 seconds rest. Here’s what really happens:
Set 1: You’re fresh, rested. You complete your 10 reps without major difficulty. ✓
Set 2: After only 60 seconds, your ATP and creatine-phosphate stores have recovered only about 85–90%. You barely manage 7–8 reps before muscle failure.
Set 3: Fatigue accumulates. Your nervous system is exhausted. You only manage 5–6 reps, far from your initial target.
Does this scenario seem familiar? It should. This is exactly what happens to the majority of trainees who blindly apply the 60-second rule.
Effect on total volume load
Here’s where things get really interesting. In strength training, we have a concept called Volume Load (or training volume). It’s calculated as follows:
Volume Load = Sets × Reps × Weight
This number represents the total mechanical work you subject your muscles to — and guess what? It’s directly correlated with muscle hypertrophy.
Let’s revisit our bench-press example under two approaches:
With short rests (60 seconds):
Set 1: 10 reps × 100 kg = 1000 kg
Set 2: 7 reps × 100 kg = 700 kg
Set 3: 5 reps × 100 kg = 500 kg
Total Volume Load = 2200 kg
With long rests (3 minutes):
Set 1: 10 reps × 100 kg = 1000 kg
Set 2: 10 reps × 100 kg = 1000 kg
Set 3: 9 reps × 100 kg = 900 kg
Total Volume Load = 2900 kg
The difference? 32% more volume simply by increasing your rest times. That’s not anecdotal — it’s massive. And it’s exactly what modern science has uncovered.
The 2017 meta-analysis by grgic: confirmation
In 2017, Jozo Grgic and his team — including the well-known Brad Schoenfeld — published a systematic review analyzing 23 randomized controlled trials on the subject. Their conclusions were nuanced but illuminating:
For beginners in strength training, short rests and long rests produce similar results. Why? Because beginners use relatively light loads that allow maintaining volume even with little recovery.
But for trained lifters, it’s a completely different story. Researchers observed a clear advantage for longer rests. The reason? With experience comes heavier loads — and heavier loads require more recovery to maintain performance set after set.
A 2016 study by Schoenfeld even showed that quadriceps responded particularly well to long rests (3 minutes vs 1 minute), with significantly greater hypertrophy in the “long-rest” group.
What this means concretely
Here’s the truth nobody tells you: rest time is not a goal in itself — it’s a tool.
The ultimate aim of hypertrophy training is to maximize the effective work your muscles perform. If short rests allow you to reach that volume, fine. But if your performance collapses from set to set, you’re sabotaging your own progress.
Think of rest time like an investment. Every extra second of rest is an opportunity for your energy systems to recharge. Skip that investment, and you pay the price in lost volume.
The data is clear: short rests = volume drop = less hypertrophy. Long rests = maintained volume = more hypertrophy. It’s that simple.
So here’s your new golden rule: favor rest times that allow you to maintain at least 90% of your first-set reps across all subsequent sets.
For most lifters, that means 2–3 minutes on compound lifts, and 1–2 minutes on isolation movements. Yes — that’s longer than what you were taught. But that’s what the science shows.
How long should you really rest?
The real question to ask yourself
Stop asking “how long should I rest?” and start asking “am I ready for my next set?”
Your body gives you three reliable indicators to know when you’re sufficiently recovered:
Your breathing has returned to normal.
If you’re still out of breath, your cardiovascular system will limit your next set — not the target muscle. Wait until your heart rate settles.
Your target muscle feels ready.
You should feel you could deliver a performance similar to the previous set. If you still feel intense local fatigue, wait.
Your synergist muscles aren’t limiting you.
On a squat, if your lower back or abs burn before your quads do, you haven’t rested enough. The limiting factor should always be the muscle you aim to develop.
Science-based recommendations (2025)
Rest durations to optimize volume load depending on exercise type
Heavy compound exercises: 2 to 4 minutes
Such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell rows, overhead press. These movements heavily tax your nervous system and multiple muscle groups — generating systemic fatigue that needs more time to dissipate.
For strength work (1–6 reps): aim for 3–5 minutes
For hypertrophy work (8–12 reps): 2–3 minutes are usually sufficient
Isolation exercises: 1 to 2 minutes
Curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises, leg curls — these single-joint movements produce less systemic fatigue. Your target muscle recovers faster because you’re not exhausting your entire central nervous system.
For light sets, 1 minute may suffice. For heavier or near-failure sets, 90 seconds to 2 minutes is more appropriate. If you have time, there’s nothing wrong with resting 3 to 4 minutes for these exercises too.
Special note on quadriceps: lean toward 3 minutes
Evidence from Schoenfeld (2016) suggests quads especially benefit from longer rests. Why? Because high-intensity leg training is extremely demanding cardiovascularly. Your ability to maintain performance depends as much on your cardio-respiratory system as on your muscles.
If you’re doing heavy squats or leg presses, don’t skimp on rest — aim for 3 minutes or more if needed.
The case for incomplete rests: when and why
Let’s be clear: using intentionally incomplete rests has its place in a smart training program. Some phases of training may benefit from deliberately short rests (45–90 seconds) for two specific reasons:
Improve your recovery capacity. Regular training with incomplete rests gradually increases your fatigue tolerance and recovery speed — a real physiological adaptation.
Create targeted metabolic stress. Metabolic stress (lactate buildup, cell swelling) remains a secondary hypertrophy mechanism. Less important than mechanical tension — but it still contributes to muscle growth.
However: here’s the golden rule — these phases should not represent more than 25% of your annual training volume if your main goal is hypertrophy.
The rest of the time (75%), prioritize rest that lets you maintain your volume load.
Can you still gain mass with short rests?
Absolutely. And I’ll be honest with you: some trainees prefer short, intense sessions. Maybe because of time constraints, personal preference, or simply because they like the “burn.”
It’s possible to build a lot of muscle with short rests. But there’s a non-negotiable trade-off: you will need to compensate with more total volume.
If your short rests force you from 10-10-10 reps at 100 kg to 10-10-10 reps at 80 kg, you’ll need extra sets to reach the same total tonnage or muscle stimulation:
For example:
With long rests: 3 sets × 10 reps at 100 kg to failure = 3000 kg total
With short rests: 3 sets × 10 reps at 80 kg to failure (due to rest limitations) = 2400 kg total
Compensation: 4 sets × 10 reps at 80 kg to failure = 3200 kg total
Is that optimal? No.
You accumulate more fatigue for the same stimulus.
Is it functional? Yes — if you accept this reality and adjust your volume accordingly.
Nuances you should know
Individual factors that influence optimal rest
Not all lifters are equal when it comes to rest needs. Several personal factors modify what rest is best for you:
Training level: Beginners recover faster — simply because they use lighterweights that produce less neuromuscular fatigue. A 60 kg squat demands less recovery than a 180 kg squat. As you progress and loads go up, your rest needs increase proportionally. An advanced lifter squatting 200 kg may need 4–5 minutes rest, whereas a beginner might be ready in 2 minutes.
Sex: Scientific data suggests women may need about 20–30% less rest time than men for the same relative workload. Several factors explain this: typically lower muscle mass, better aerobic system efficiency, and less systemic fatigue. In practice, a woman bench-pressing 70% of her 1RM may be ready in 90 seconds, whereas a man at the same percentage might need 2 minutes.
Muscle fiber profile: If you have a dominance of fast-twitch (Type II) fibers, you produce force quickly but fatigue fast — you’ll need longer rest to recover. Conversely, if you have more slow-twitch (Type I) fibers, you tolerate fatigue better and may recover faster — you can manage with shorter rests and steady rep schemes (e.g. 4×10).
Time efficiency: finding the balance
There is a trap to avoid: excessively long rests. Yes, 5–6 minutes between sets will help you maintain maximal volume. But your sessions will last 2 hours or more. That excessive duration poses three problems:
Cumulative neural fatigue. After 90+ minutes of intense training, your central nervous system starts to show significant fatigue. Your focus drops, coordination degrades.
Decrease in anabolic hormones. Extremely long sessions can increase cortisol (a catabolic hormone) at the expense of testosterone and growth hormone.
Unsustainability. Let’s be realistic: who has 2h30 to devote to a single session 4–5 times per week? Long-term adherence is crucial to progress.
For most lifters, the sweet spot lies at around 2 to 3 minutes rest for the main lifts. That allows you to maintain roughly 85–95% of your performance while keeping workouts to a reasonable length (60–90 minutes).
Practical strategies to optimize your rest times
The auto-regulated rest method (not recommended in coaching)
Forget the stopwatch. Here’s a smarter, more effective approach.
Instead of arbitrarily setting 90 or 120 seconds, learn to listen to your body’s signals. Ask yourself three questions before starting your next set:
Has my breathing returned to calm and regular?
Do I feel like I can reproduce a performance similar to the previous set?
Is my mental focus back?
When you can answer “yes” to all three, it’s time to start — not before.
This approach adapts automatically to your fatigue level that day, the difficulty of the exercise, and your general condition. Some days you’ll be ready after 90 seconds. Other days, you might need 3 minutes. What matters is delivering quality performance, not obeying an arbitrary timer.
Author’s note on this method:
Auto-regulated rest may suit some trainees — especially those pursuing less precise or ambitious performance goals. However, a real risk exists: believing you’re progressing when you’re actually stagnating or even regressing.
Imagine this concrete example:
Week 1: bench-press 100 kg — 3 × 10 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets.
Week 2: bench-press 110 kg — 3 × 10 reps, but now 4 minutes rest.
Did you really make a strength gain? It’s hard to say. Sure — you lifted 10 kg more. But you also doubled your rest time. Is this increase due to true strength gain, or simply more complete recovery between sets?
To truly maximize results and clearly track your progress, it’s preferable to keep rest times consistent from one session to the next — at least for your main lifts. That way you can objectively evaluate whether you’re actually getting stronger.
Tracking to progress
Here’s how to use rest times as a progression tool.
Log not only your weights and reps, but also your rest durations. Observe emerging patterns.
If you notice a systematic drop in reps between the first and the third set, that’s a clear signal: increase your rest time by 30 seconds.
For example:
Week 1: Bench-press 100 kg, 10-8-6 reps (rest 90s)
Week 2: Bench-press 100 kg, 10-9-8 reps (rest 120s)
Week 3: Bench-press 100 kg, 10-10-9 reps (rest 150s)
See the progression? By simply adjusting your rest times, you increase your total volume without changing weight or number of sets.
The goal: maintain at least 90% of your first-set reps across all subsequent sets.
Periodizing rest times
Your rest time can — and should — vary depending on the phase of your annual program:
During accumulation phases (8–12 weeks): Focus on total volume. Use moderate to long rests (2–3 minutes) to maximize effective reps. This is when you build most of your muscle mass.
During intensification phases (3–4 weeks): Focus on maximal loads. Use long rests (3–5 minutes) to allow full neurological recovery. These phases increase your strength, enabling you to use heavier loads in the next accumulation cycle.
During metabolic phases (2–3 weeks — max 25% of the year): Intentionally use incomplete rests (45–90 seconds) to improve recovery capacity and create targeted metabolic stress. Offset with extra sets to maintain effective volume.
This structured variation avoids monotony, prevents plateaus, and optimizes long-term adaptations.
Conclusion: volume load is king
The 60-second myth for hypertrophy is a thing of the past. Research from the last five years has overturned our certainties and revealed a simpler, more elegant truth.
What really matters for your muscle growth is the total volume load: Sets × Reps × Weight.
Everything else — rest times included — is just a means to achieve that volume. If short rests prevent you from maintaining performance set after set, you’re sabotaging your gains.
Here’s your new golden rule: favor rest times that let you maintain at least 90% of your first-set reps across all sets.
For most lifters, that means 2–3 minutes on compound lifts, and 1–2 minutes on isolation movements.
Yes — it’s longer than what you were taught. But that’s what science shows.