When people who’ve never lifted weights before do leg exercises with either 20-second or 2-minute breaks between sets—while doing the same total amount of work—their thigh muscles grow about the same amount.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Comparison between 20-s and 2-min inter-set rest intervals on changes in muscle cross-sectional area and maximum strength under volume-load-equated resistance training

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

In this study, guys did leg exercises with either short (20-second) or long (2-minute) breaks between sets, but they did the same total amount of work either way. After 10 weeks, both groups got about the same muscle growth, so how long you rest between sets doesn’t seem to matter if you’re doing the same total work.

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No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Comparison between 20-s and 2-min inter-set rest intervals on changes in muscle cross-sectional area and maximum strength under volume-load-equated resistance training

Score: 51

DOI: 10.1007/s11332-025-01605-5

Similar Assertions

Whether you take short or long breaks between leg exercises, as long as you do the same total number of reps, your inner and outer thigh muscles grow about the same.

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After 10 weeks of lifting weights, whether you rest 20 seconds or 2 minutes between sets, your thigh muscle gets about 15% bigger and you can lift about 40% more weight.

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If you lift heavy weights with either short or long breaks between sets—while doing the same total work—you’ll get about the same stronger in your leg muscles after 10 weeks.

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If you take only 20 seconds between sets, you can still lift the same total weight as someone taking 2 minutes—you just have to do more sets to make up for the shorter breaks.

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If you lift the same total weight, your quads grow just as much whether you rest 20 seconds or 2 minutes between sets—so you don’t need to feel the burn to build muscle.

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