Can Brief Breaks Between Weight Training Sets Produce Greater Muscle Gain?

One of the many bodybuilding concepts that weight lifters must consider when compiling an effective workout plan is rest between sets, with some believing that brief rest periods promote a greater amount of muscular overload, leading to larger muscle gains. This ideology is based on the overall fatigue experienced when participating in a weight lifting workout with short rest between workout sets, as the assumption is, if such a workout is more difficult to endure, the muscle gains must therefore be superior compared with longer rest between sets.

The flaw in this theory is that the fatigue experienced when rest periods between weight lifting sets are reduced does not result from superior overload to muscles, but rather surfaces due to increased involvement of the cardiovascular system, where the heart is pumping significantly faster to sustain the continual workload, somewhat like a heavy elliptical workout. As a result, the weight used during workout sets declines dramatically during brief rest periods, and this actually reduces the total overload received, harming muscle growth. The weight lifting workout plan with short rest periods between sets may feel substantially more intense because of significant cardiovascular fatigue, but this should not be confused with an effective muscle building workout plan.

The error made by many bodybuilders is to combine their aerobic and weight lifting workouts, believing that this technique is sufficient in encouraging both muscle building and fat burning. Yet, two points are forgotten when producing this hypothesis, as weight used during each set is an important concept in producing the largest level of muscle gain, and complete mental focus during each set is also useful in fostering the greatest amount of intensity. When rest between workout sets is reduced to extremely low levels, the mind often experiences fatigue due to the lack of a recovery period between each set, and develops a nagging habit of putting forth less effort during the weight lifting set itself. This, in combination with the natural physical fatigue that is a consequence of moving quickly between weight lifting sets, causes the muscle to use less overall weight than would be possible if rest periods were extended to a more suitable level, as the body and mind do not have an opportunity to recuperate sufficiently for the greatest level of output during each set.

Extended rest periods between sets offer an emotional advantage for many, as feeling energetic throughout the weight lifting workout allows a bodybuilder to provide strict mental attention upon each rep, without a feeling of overwhelming fatigue that drains motivation. Yet, there are certain bodybuilders who either due to their work schedules or personal commitments are unable to devote more than a short period of time to weight training sessions, and therefore must sustain the shortest possible rest periods in order to target as many muscle groups as possible during their brief workout time frame. In such a situation, extremely short rest periods between weight lifting sets are acceptable, as doing so is far superior to eliminating exercises, abandoning training for certain muscle groups, or training each body part on a less frequent basis.

Certain bodybuilders simply despise extending rest between sets, as they feel far more capable of completing a weight lifting workout session with maximum focus when they are avoiding idle time, therefore, in such a case, shorter rest periods are preferable, as making a weight lifting session realistic to continually follow is one of the most vital factors leading to considerable muscle gain, and if longer rest periods cause frustration, then reducing rest to the maximum time frame that feels tolerable is a wise practice. But for any bodybuilder who wishes to achieve the greatest amount of muscle gain, and has the time and mental wherewithal to extend rest between sets sufficiently so that a weight lifting workout moves away from a cardiovascular emphasis towards a strictly muscle building focus, then this is the ideal tactic to employ.

Remember that aerobic workouts are aimed at improving heart efficiency and increasing metabolism for added fat burning, but they are not designed to produce significant muscle mass, and thus the best environment for muscle gains is one where the weight lifting workout session does not noticeably stimulate the cardiovascular system, as crossing such a threshold can begin to greatly limit future muscle growth.

Francesco Castano authors MuscleNOW.com, a weight training program for building muscle mass without supplements or drugs. He also owns FatVanish.com, teaching exactly how to lose fat without supplements.