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Questions and answers about sports

Less rest time vs more volume in one workout?

5 min read

Asked by: Vesna Augustad

Is shorter rest better for muscle growth?

Short rest periods are better for improving our work capacity, and they stimulate more muscle growth per unit of time. To get those advantages, we can use strict rest times between sets, often around 1–2 minutes of rest for compound lifts, 30–60 seconds for smaller isolation lifts.

Is less rest between sets better?

To increase strength and power, the best rest period is 2-5 minutes between sets. To increase hypertrophy (muscle growth), the best rest period is 30-90 seconds between sets. To increase muscular endurance, the best rest period is 30 seconds or less between sets.

Does reducing rest time between sets matter?

Adequate rest between sets helps to maintain a high level of force production for the next set. Thus, typical rest periods for increasing strength are between 2–5 minutes, which research shows to be optimal for strength development.

Are shorter rest times better for hypertrophy?

When the training goal is muscular hypertrophy, the combination of moderate-intensity sets with short rest intervals of 30-60 seconds might be most effective due to greater acute levels of growth hormone during such workouts.

Are longer rest times better for muscle growth?

Both groups saw significant increases in local upper body muscle endurance with no significant differences noted between groups. This study provides evidence that longer rest periods promote greater increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy in young resistance-trained men.

Is 2 minute rest good for hypertrophy?

To get bigger quicker, the best rest period is 1 to 2 minutes between sets. Typical bodybuilding/hypertrophy training (moderate-heavy weight, 6-12 reps) draws energy from the ATP-PC and glycolytic system (the glycolytic system gets most of its energy from the carbs you eat).

How many days rest for hypertrophy?

Taking two to three days off from intense exercise each week while engaging in some form of active recovery will allow you to get your blood flowing to help facilitate muscle repair.

How much rest do you need to build muscle?

Key Takeaways. 48-72 hours is the recommended time for muscle recovery. In order to speed muscle recovery, you can implement active rest after your workout session and have the right macronutrients in your diet.

What rep range is best for hypertrophy?

For hypertrophy (building muscle), the sweet spot is 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. And if your objective is muscular endurance, shoot for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps. In each case, the key is to use the heaviest resistance that will allow you to complete all of your reps and sets with good form.

Why do bodybuilders do fast reps?

While faster reps are generally linked to more explosive movements that result in power, training with this tempo can also increase muscle size, according to the ​Journal of Human Kinetics​ study.

Are high reps a waste of time?

High-rep training has more cardiovascular impact than lower-rep work, and it also burns more calories (probably not per unit of time, but because high-rep sets keep you working for longer durations).

Why do bodybuilders do high reps?

Here’s why. Lifting heavy weights builds muscle, but constantly upping the weight exhausts the body. The nervous system must also adjust to the new fiber activation in the muscles. Lifting lighter weights with more reps gives the muscle tissue and nervous system a chance to recover while also building endurance.

Is 20 reps too much for hypertrophy?

And sets of 20+ reps are more painful, making it difficult to push ourselves hard enough to stimulate growth. That’s why 6–20 reps is often dubbed the “hypertrophy rep range.” According to experts like Greg Nuckols, MA, sets of 4–40 reps are ideal for gaining muscle mass.

Do biceps respond better to high reps?

Biceps are best suited for intermediate reps. High reps tend to make them look flatter once the pump subsides, but very low reps aren’t effective at stimulating maximum growth.

Do biceps respond to heavy weight?

Use moderate loads, higher reps, and more cumulative metabolic stress. Some lifters get carried away trying to train the arms with pure strength. But the arms really don’t respond that well to heavy loading.

Why do biceps grow slow?

There are two main training errors people make that keep their biceps from growing. These are overtraining the biceps (often unintentionally) and a lack of variation in training techniques. Adding additional biceps focused workouts and trying multiple biceps exercises doesn’t work.

Is 7.5 kg dumbbell enough for biceps?

Therefore, 7.5 kg bicep curls are actually more than challenging enough to build your biceps. This is especially the case if you’re performing high reps (15-30) for multiple sets (3-6). Many a pair of sleeve-busting biceps have been built with much lighter weights than you’d imagine.

Is 5 sets of bicep curls too much?

For building bicep mass, perform two to six sets per biceps exercise for no more than six repetitions. It is also important to give your biceps adequate rest time between sets so that you can continue to lift heavy. Rest two to five minutes between your sets and increase the weight if you can do more than six reps.

Is 20 sets for biceps too much?

BICEPS TRAINING

Recommendations suggesting 12-20 total work sets per week for intermediate lifters. Performing as little as 6-8 sets per week can also suffice for some lifters who are performing a lot of pulling, as the biceps are also responsible for this movement.

Is 20 reps for biceps too much?

The biceps and triceps should be trained using rep ranges between 5-20 reps to best maximize strength, muscle growth, and overall development of the muscles.

Is 18 sets too much for biceps?

The ideal training volume for building muscle is around 9–18 sets per muscle per week. And if you’re choosing good lifts, doing 6–20 reps per set, and bringing those sets within 1–2 reps of failure, the bottom end of that range is often enough to maximize muscle growth.

How do you hit all 3 heads of triceps?

What tricep exercise hits all 3 heads? Diamond pushups are a great way to hit all three heads simultaneously, as are close-grip bench presses, kickbacks, and tricep pushdowns.

Is 4 bicep exercises too much?

The number of exercises that make an effective arm workout can range from 1-3 movements per session, with any more than that resulting in excessive fatigue and inconsistent form and technique.