How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?

When asked how long to rest between sets I usually say, "it depends." I don't believe in dogmatic, one answer fits all people, exercises, and situations. If I did believe in such dogma, I'd say what everyone else says this year – "3 minutes."

The truth is, 3 minutes of rest between sets is pretty good most of the time. But some exercises may require more rest between sets, depending on your intensity, while other exercises may require less than 3 minutes of rest depending on intensity, experience, and the individual.

Some people – typically those who are very well conditioned – are able to recover quite quickly between sets, even when those sets are done with high quality, heavy weight, and close to failure.

Others, who don't ever do any metabolic conditioning or similar styles of training or sports that require you to practice bringing your heart rate down quickly between bouts of effort (think of sports like basketball, tennis, rugby, or wrestling), will require more rest.

So, while I'd usually suggest 2-3 minutes of rest between sets MOST of the time, I like to preface that with the following:

"Rest as much as needed but as little as possible."

Basically, this means rest long enough to catch your breath and for your muscular fatigue to reside, but not so long that you let the muscles get "cold." As soon as your breath/heart rate settles down and your muscles stop trembling, you're good to go for another set.

Remember, if you're using the same weight for multiple sets, it's normal to see decreases from 1 set to the next if both sets are completed with the same amount of effort. This isn't a problem.

If you NEED a "do this" numbers approach, rest 2-3 minutes.

For everyone else, don't overthink it. Rest as long as you need to feel ready for the next set.