If you do the same total amount of weightlifting work, lifting heavy weights with longer breaks and lifting lighter weights with shorter breaks both build muscle about the same, but lifting heavy gives you more strength.

Lifting heavy weights with longer breaks between sets makes young men stronger faster than lifting lighter weights with shorter breaks, based on an 8-week study.

Two different weightlifting styles—one focused on heavy weights with long breaks, the other on lighter weights with short breaks—both grew arm muscles about the same amount when people lifted the same total amount over 8 weeks.

When you do two different styles of weightlifting—one with heavy weights and fewer reps, and one with lighter weights and more reps—but match the total amount of work done, both can make your arm muscles grow just as much after 8 weeks.

If you're a young guy who already lifts weights, doing heavy lifts with longer breaks might help you get stronger at bench press faster than doing lighter lifts with shorter breaks, even if you do the same total amount of work. But the difference might be small, and we need more research to be sure.

If you're a guy who already works out and wants to build muscle fast with less time, doing bodybuilding workouts (lighter weights, shorter breaks) gets similar results much quicker than powerlifting workouts (heavier weights, longer breaks).