Short or Long Breaks? Same Muscle Gains!
Acute and Long-term Responses to Different Rest Intervals in Low-load Resistance Training
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Rest intervals of 30 seconds vs. 2.5 minutes produced nearly identical muscle growth and strength gains.
Conventional wisdom says longer rests allow better recovery and more volume, leading to better gains — this study proves that’s not true when training to failure with light loads.
Practical Takeaways
Use light weights (40-50% 1RM) and train to failure with 30-60 second rests to save time and still build muscle — ideal for home workouts or circuit training.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Rest intervals of 30 seconds vs. 2.5 minutes produced nearly identical muscle growth and strength gains.
Conventional wisdom says longer rests allow better recovery and more volume, leading to better gains — this study proves that’s not true when training to failure with light loads.
Practical Takeaways
Use light weights (40-50% 1RM) and train to failure with 30-60 second rests to save time and still build muscle — ideal for home workouts or circuit training.
Publication
Journal
International Journal of Sports Medicine
Year
2016
Authors
J. Fink, B. Schoenfeld, N. Kikuchi, K. Nakazato
Related Content
Claims (10)
For people who already lift weights, it doesn’t matter much if you rest 30 seconds or 2.5 minutes between sets of light weights — you get the same muscle growth and strength gains either way.
You can get stronger and bigger muscles by lifting light weights until you're exhausted — even if you never lift heavy, which challenges the old idea that heavy weights are required.
Lifting light weights until you're exhausted can make you stronger at lifting heavier weights, even if you never lift heavy.
Even light weightlifting until exhaustion makes your body release hormones that are linked to muscle growth, no matter how long you rest between sets.
Even though your body releases similar growth hormones after light workouts whether you rest a little or a lot, you still get stronger and bigger muscles either way.