Recently, I've been talking a bit about resting between sets, where I've said that resting
2 to 3 minutes is generally the best for gains.
But some of you wonderful individuals were quick to tell me, “hold up Mr. PictureFat,
that doesn't line up with what I've heard, and that is to maximize muscle hypertrophy,
you need to rest less.”
So, was I wrong about this one?
Well, let's talk about it.
Now, to preface, what I'm going to tackle in this video is the specific claim that resting
less between sets is best for MAXIMIZING muscle hypertrophy, aka muscle growth.
Everything else, like convenience, time spent at the gym, etcetera, are important factors
to consider but aren't the focus in this video.
We are talking about muscle growth and muscle growth only.
And, when it comes to that, people often recommend something like doing 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12
reps and resting only about 30 to 60, maybe 90 seconds between sets.
Now, this concept actually has been on the fitness radar for quite some time, where even
a study published 40 years ago made a very similar statement.
So, the fact that it's still recommended today, there's gotta be some rationale explaining
why less rest is indeed best for gains.
Perhaps the most repeated rationale is that resting less between sets elevates certain
anabolic hormones like growth hormone, and of course, the ever-popular testosterone.
And by elevating these, we should see greater muscle gains.
Now, if we look at all the research dating back 40+ years, these hormones are indeed
acutely spiked when using short rest periods, like 1 minute between sets, especially growth
hormone.
So does that mean that less rest is indeed better for gains?
Well, maybe if…. we ignore the rest of the science.
Yes, less rest does ACUTELY spike the levels of these hormones, but the acute spikes are
just that, short-term elevations around the time of exercise.
And, although growth hormone and testosterone are part of the vast network pertaining to
muscle growth, there's no scientific evidence supporting acutely spiking them to have any
meaningful effect on muscle growth.
And that's really the big kicker here.
What good is the rationale of anabolic hormones or other rationales like acid buffering or
metabolic accumulation, if resting less doesn't result in more ACTUAL realized gains?
And in this most important matter, the science consistently shows that short rest periods
might actually be a DISADVANTAGE for maximizing muscle growth.
In 2016, a study showed that in terms of the biceps and triceps muscles, which ya know,
if you ask any bro, are the only muscles that really matter, resting only 1 minute between
sets resulted in little to no muscle growth over 8 weeks.
But, with resting 3 minutes between sets, there were statistically significant increases
in the bis and tris.
Another study in 2022 also found statistically significantly greater quad muscle gains with
3 minutes of rest compared to 1 minute.
And the cherry on top, a 2017 systematic review looking at all the relevant research at the
time, concluded that, overall, regardless of training experience, resting longer between
sets is best for maximizing hypertrophy.
As for the rationale behind more rest, it comes down to the two quintessential factors
of muscle growth that have been repeatedly supported by the science, I've covered them
plenty of times, and that is training volume and proximity to failure.
In short, whatever amount of rest that allows you to lift more volume while also taking
more volume close to and sometimes all the way to failure, will generally lead to the
greatest muscle growth.
And that's the main crux of resting less.
30 to 60 seconds is just not enough rest resulting in less volume since you'll do fewer and fewer
reps in each subsequent set.
Now, an alternative would be to add even more sets to increase volume further.
This is actually reflected on that same 2022 study, where when volume was equated between
groups by adding more sets for the 1-minute group, similar muscle gains were then observed.
But that's a pretty inefficient way to increase volume compared to just resting more and achieving
the same in fewer sets.
It's pretty straightforward.
More rest means more recovery, more recovery means more lifting, and more lifting means
more gains.
And if you wanna dispute that, you know where the comments are.
Now, frankly, I don't blame any of you if you initially believed that less rest is best
for muscle gains.
It's a very popular recommendation and if you google that question, one of the first
results is this website saying just that.
Interestingly, the website here actually cites two studies to support their claim.
But, I'm assuming they probably didn't expect anyone to actually check them, cause both
of these studies essentially say the exact opposite.
And when I mean opposite, I mean the title of one study literally says that shorter rest
“blunts” muscle protein synthesis.
But who would've known that the internet would lie to us?
Anyway, I hope I provided a sufficiently satisfying argument supporting 2 to 3 minutes of rest
between your sets.
And if you know someone that still believes resting less is best, then show them this
video.
Now, sure, they might stop talking to you afterwards, but at least now you know they
are properly informed, and that's the most important thing.
Oh, and speaking about resting between SETS, if you wanna know what's the best amount of
sets to actually do for your gains, then check out that video next by clicking the box that's
gonna pop up in about 2 to 3 seconds.
If you enjoyed this video, please give it a restful thumbs up and share it with your
set-loving friends.
Subscribe for more and let me know what you think in the comments.
As always, thank you for watching and don't forget to get your PROTEIN!