The study didn’t find a difference between short and long rests, and even if there was a tiny difference, it’s too small to matter in real life.
Scientific Claim
In untrained young men, the 95% confidence intervals for changes in muscle cross-sectional area and strength between 20-second and 2-minute rest intervals include zero and are narrow enough to suggest that any true difference is likely small and clinically insignificant.
Original Statement
“diff: 0.30 cm2 [95% CI − 0.77, 1.37]; P = 0.587 (rectus femoris); diff: − 1.34 cm2 [95% CI − 5.56, 2.89]; P = 0.541 (vastii); diff: − 0.59 kg [95% CI − 8.36, 7.18]; P = 0.883 (strength)”
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 claim is based on reported confidence intervals and correctly interprets their implications without overstatement. It is a valid quantitative inference from the data.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
When people lifted weights with either 20-second or 2-minute breaks between sets—while doing the same total amount of work—both groups got just as strong and built similar muscle size, so the break length doesn’t really matter.