Even though one method uses lighter weights with pauses and more reps, and the other uses heavier weights with fewer reps, both make the muscles equally tired in terms of lactic acid buildup.

Taking less rest between sets of weightlifting makes your body work harder, raises your heart rate, makes your muscles burn more lactic acid, and feels much more exhausting.

Even though you do more reps and keep your muscles under tension longer with the pause method, your body doesn’t produce more lactic acid or muscle damage markers — meaning intensity matters more than total reps.

If you wear tight bands around your arms or legs only when you're resting between weightlifting sets, your muscles will produce more lactic acid afterward than if you wear them while lifting or not at all—but that extra burn doesn’t make your muscles grow bigger or stronger.

When young men do intense leg workouts, their body releases more lactate and cortisol—stress and energy chemicals—but that doesn’t mean they’ll grow bigger muscles or get stronger faster than if those chemicals stayed low.

When you work out really hard and your muscles burn, the buildup of lactic acid might help your muscles refill energy faster—but after lifting weights, less lactic acid means slower recovery.