If two groups of young men lift weights with the same total effort but one rests longer with heavier weights and the other rests briefly with lighter weights, they both get just as strong after 8 weeks—even though you’d think the heavy weights would win.

54

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

54

Community contributions welcome

54

Effects of rest intervals and training loads on metabolic stress and muscle hypertrophy

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2018 Mar

The study compared two ways of lifting weights — one with heavy weights and long breaks, the other with light weights and short breaks — and found no clear winner in strength gains, even though people expected the heavy weights to be better. So it supports the idea that both ways can be equally good for getting stronger.

Contradicting (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

Effects of rest intervals and training loads on metabolic stress and muscle hypertrophy

Score: 54

DOI: 10.1111/cpf.12409

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.

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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.

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When trained men take longer breaks between weightlifting sets, they can lift heavier weights and still get just as strong as with shorter breaks, even if they do more total work over 6 weeks.

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Lifting heavier weights makes you stronger faster in the first few months, but both heavy and lighter weights build similar muscle size over time if you do enough total work and push yourself hard.

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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.

51

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