Rest Longer, Grow More
Why 2-3 minutes beats 30 seconds for building muscle
What the study found
- Trained lifters rested either 1 minute or 3 minutes between sets
- Same exercises, same effort, over 8 weeks
- The 3-minute group built more muscle thickness
- Longer rest let them lift more total weight across sets
How long should you actually rest
- Big compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, row): 2-3 minutes
- Isolation moves (curls, lateral raises): 60-90 seconds
- Next set's reps or weight dropping a lot? You rested too little
- It's fine to rest longer than you think you need
Make the rest useful
- Walk around or shake out your legs
- Sip water
- Set a timer instead of guessing
- Avoid scrolling that turns 3 minutes into 10
Good to know
- Rest length matters most on your heaviest, hardest sets, not your warm-up sets.
Sources
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