By training both legs of the same person—one with short breaks, one with long breaks—the study made sure differences weren’t due to people being naturally different, making the results more reliable.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Comparison between 20-s and 2-min inter-set rest intervals on changes in muscle cross-sectional area and maximum strength under volume-load-equated resistance training

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

The study had the same guys do two different types of weight training — one with short breaks and one with long breaks — and found that both made them equally strong and muscular, proving the design worked well to compare them fairly.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Comparison between 20-s and 2-min inter-set rest intervals on changes in muscle cross-sectional area and maximum strength under volume-load-equated resistance training

Score: 51

DOI: 10.1007/s11332-025-01605-5

Similar Assertions

The strength gains from this study are about what you’d expect from regular weight training—whether you rest a little or a lot—so rest time doesn’t seem to change how much stronger you get.

81%

By having each person train one leg with short rests and the other with long rests, researchers can be more sure that any differences (or lack of differences) are really due to rest time, not individual differences.

80%

If you do the same total amount of weightlifting work, it doesn’t matter much if you rest 20 seconds or 2 minutes between sets—your muscles grow and get stronger about the same either way.

79%

You don’t need long breaks between sets to get strong—just do the same total amount of work, even with short rests, and you’ll get just as strong.

79%

If you rest longer between weightlifting sets (2.5 minutes instead of 1 minute), your arms grow bigger over 10 weeks — even if your strength doesn’t change.

77%