Even though people can do more work with 5-minute breaks, they don’t feel like they’re working harder or have a higher heart rate than with 2-minute breaks.

33

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

33

Community contributions welcome

33

Increased Neuromuscular Activity, Force Output, and Resistance Exercise Volume When Using 5-Minute Compared with 2-Minute Rest Intervals Between the Sets

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2024 Sep 1

The study found that whether people rested 2 or 5 minutes between tough leg exercises, their heart rate and how hard they felt they were working were about the same — so the better performance with longer rests isn’t because they were trying harder or their heart was working more.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Increased Neuromuscular Activity, Force Output, and Resistance Exercise Volume When Using 5-Minute Compared with 2-Minute Rest Intervals Between the Sets

Score: 33

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004832

Similar Assertions

Even though people do more work and feel less burned out chemically with 5-minute breaks, their heart rate and how hard they feel they’re working is about the same as with 2-minute breaks.

33

0

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When resting 5 minutes between hard leg pushes, your muscles stay more 'turned on' than when you only rest 2 minutes.

33

0

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When doing intense leg exercises with 5-minute breaks between sets, people can do more total work than with only 2-minute breaks, which might help muscles grow stronger over time.

33

0

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When doing intense leg exercises with 5-minute breaks between sets, people can do more total work than with only 2-minute breaks, because their muscles recover better.

33

0

85%

After doing hard leg pushes, people who rest 5 minutes between sets lose much less strength than those who only rest 2 minutes.

33

0

84%