How Long Do I Rest In-Between Sets?

The amount of time you should ideally rest in-between sets during your various bodybuilding routines varies as it is contingent upon many factors. As a rule of thumb never rest more than 2 minutes and less than 30 second unless you are engaging in a superset workout. But the difference between these times is very massive in a bodybuilding sense, so we need to make the guidelines more precise.

As you go up in the weights that you handle and execute your sets in the lower rep ranges, the more you should rest in-between rest. If you are lifting in the 6-8 rep range, feel free to rest for about 90 seconds in-between sets. If you feel like you absolutely have to, you may rest for 2 minutes in this scenario. If you are executing your sets in a moderate rep range such as 8-12, rest 45-60 seconds. And for any rep range higher than 12 reps, it is ideal to rest about 30 seconds in-between sets.

Controlling the amount of  rest time in-between sets is very difficult for many people because it requires a lot of discipline and mental toughness. Often times, beginners whom are not accustomed to engaging in bodybuilding routines physically feel that they need to rest sufficiently longer than what is ideal, and as a result take 5 minutes or more off in-between sets. But regardless of how tired your muscles are or how heavy you are breathing as a result of your last set, force your self to limit your rest times. Extended resting is very counter productive to muscle growth.

During your workouts, you must strive to impose as much stress on your muscle fibers as possible so they can rebuild to a maximum extent when you leave the gym. By resting excessively after a set, you allow your muscles to recover too much before the  next one, which is problematic because your goal in the gym is to tear up your muscle fibers as deep as possible.

So even if you don’t feel like it, rest appropriately in-between sets. If you override your urges to over-rest and just will your self to do the right thing, you will prosper in two ways. Firstly, you will receive a better workout which will translate into higher bodybuilding benefits, and secondly it will be a means of conquering your body by disciplining and learning to control it.