A new meta-analysis from this year, which pooled the results of 9 studies, found that you may only need 1-2 minutes of rest between sets to maximize muscle growth. This is good news for people who are limited on time. You probably don’t need to rest super long between sets to recover. That said, I find that the optimal recovery time between sets depends on the specific exercise you’re doing.
Heavy Compound Exercises: Rest for 3-5 minutes. Squats, deadlifts, presses, and lunges have a higher recovery demand because they tax more total muscle at once.
Light Compound Exercises: Rest for 2-3 minutes. Exercises like lat pulldowns, rows, leg presses, and dumbbell presses cause some fatigue, but not as much as the heavier compounds. They generally don’t require as much rest between sets.
Isolation Exercises: Rest for 1-2 minutes. Once the target muscle feels recovered and you’re no longer out of breath, you can feel free to jump into your next set. Exercises like biceps curls, lateral raises, triceps pushdowns, leg curls, leg extensions, and calf raises would fall into this category.
Unrelated video plug: I posted a new video breaking down the full effects of anabolic steroids: Good and bad. It’s my first ever video to hit 1 million views in 24 hours! Check it out here.
See you all next Tuesday!
Peace!
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