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.

Scientific Claim

In untrained young men, resistance training with 20-second rest intervals does not impair strength gains compared to 2-minute rest intervals when volume is equated, challenging the notion that longer rest is necessary for maximal strength development.

Original Statement

“No significant differences were observed between conditions for... maximum strength (SHORT = 42.4%; LONG = 41.5%; diff: − 0.59 kg [95% CI − 8.36, 7.18]; P = 0.883)”

From 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

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 grounded in the study’s primary outcome and avoids causal language. The null result is appropriately interpreted as evidence against the necessity of long rests.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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 a study where guys lifted weights with either 20-second or 2-minute breaks between sets—but did the same total amount of lifting—both groups got just as strong, proving you don’t need long breaks to build strength.

Contradicting (0)

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

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.

95%

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.

86%

If you take only 20 seconds between sets, you have to do way more sets to match the same total weight lifted as someone taking 2-minute breaks, making your workout longer and more intense.

85%

Rest-pause training might help you lift a little heavier than regular training, but the difference is small, and we can’t be sure it matters much in real life because the study had few participants.

82%

When you’re just starting out, how much total work you do matters more than how long you rest between sets—your muscles grow and get stronger either way.

82%