How long you rest between sets doesn’t usually change how long your body keeps burning calories after a workout—unless you do chest flys with long breaks, then it stops sooner.

Scientific Claim

The duration of elevated oxygen consumption after resistance exercise is not significantly affected by rest interval length in healthy, resistance-trained men performing 5 sets of 10 repetitions with 15RM loads, except when chest fly is performed with a 3-minute rest interval, which shortens EPOC to 20 minutes.

Original Statement

“The EPOC lasted approximately 40 minutes after LP1, LP3, and CF1, being longer than after CF3 (20 minutes, p < 0.05).”

From study:The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The study directly measured EPOC duration and reported a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) only for CF3, making the claim precise and appropriately causal within the study’s scope.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2011 Nov

The study found that doing chest fly exercises with a 3-minute break between sets made your body recover faster (less oxygen use after exercise), but only for chest fly—not for leg exercises. That’s exactly what the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Score: 46

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318212e415

Similar Assertions

After lifting heavy with your legs, your body keeps burning extra calories for about 40 minutes—but after doing chest flys with long breaks, it only lasts 20 minutes.

84%

When doing leg presses, taking only 1 minute of rest between sets makes you breathe harder overall than taking 3 minutes, but this doesn’t happen when doing chest flys—your body handles short breaks better when using smaller muscles.

79%

Your body burns more calories after leg presses than after chest flys—even if you rest the same amount—because your legs use way more muscles and need more oxygen to recover.

79%

Right after leg presses with only 1-minute breaks, your body gasps for air more intensely in the first minute than if you took 3-minute breaks—but this doesn’t happen with chest flys.

78%

Whether you rest 1 minute or 3 minutes between sets, you burn about the same total calories—rest time doesn’t change your overall energy burn in these workouts.

75%