We asked ourselves: what is the ideal rest interval between sets for muscle growth? Moreover, this topic was recently published in a study by the famous fitness scientist Brad Schonefeld. Zozhnik translates the expert's material in the first person.
Strength training manuals suggest that long rest intervals (3 minutes) are needed strength , and that 1 minute between sets is recommended maximize muscle growth .
This idea is based on the fact that the higher metabolic stress associated with limited rest time between sets stimulates muscle growth to a greater extent. Some experts particularly focus on the sharp post-workout surge of anabolic hormones as the main driving factor in the process of muscle growth.
However, until now, there have been no studies in experienced trainees that would support the generally accepted recommendation of resting 3 minutes between sets for strength gains and 1 minute for hypertrophy .
In 2014, co-authored with my colleague Menno Hanselmans, we presented a review that was published in the journal Sport Medicine. After a thorough review of the literature, we found that there is little evidence to suggest that shorter rest intervals between sets have a positive effect on hypertrophy .
As I already said in my blog, based on the data available today, you can choose your own rest intervals without compromising the growth of muscle mass , if in the next approach you are able to reproduce the necessary efforts.
I recently took part in a just-published study that examined the effect of different rest intervals on strength and hypertrophy. Below is a short summary.
