The Study
SHORT VS.LONG REST PERIOD BETWEEN THE SETS IN HYPERTROPHIC RESISTANCE TRAINING: INFLUENCE ON MUSCLE STRENGTH,SIZE, AND HORMONAL ADAPTATIONS IN TRAINED MEN
This study looked at two ways of resting between weightlifting sets and saw that both ways led to similar muscle gains in 13 guys. But it didn’t randomly assign who did what, so we can’t say one way definitely causes better results — just that they looked about the same in this small group.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two groups of guys lifted weights with either 2 or 5 minutes of rest between sets for six months — but they switched halfway through.
Where does this study sit?
Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control
Max 58Cross-Sectional
Max 44Case Reports & Series
Max 30Expert Opinion
Max 537 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you're a trained lifter, you don't need to rest longer than 2 minutes to get the same muscle and strength gains as resting 5 minutes.
- 2Both rest times led to the same results: 7% stronger in leg strength, 16% stronger in one-rep max, and 4% bigger quads.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2005
Authors
J. Ahtiainen, A. Pakarinen, M. Alen, W. Kraemer, K. Häkkinen
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.