The Study
Volume Load Rather Than Resting Interval Influences Muscle Hypertrophy During High-Intensity Resistance Training
This study is like a fair race where two teams lift weights with different rest times, but they all lift the same total weight. It shows that lifting more total weight makes your muscles bigger, no matter if you rest a lot or a little between sets. But it doesn’t prove rest time itself makes muscles bigger or smaller.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested if resting 1 minute or 3 minutes between leg presses made muscles grow more — but found it didn't matter. What mattered was how much total weight you lifted.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you want bigger muscles, focus on lifting more total weight, not how long you rest.
- 2You can rest 1 minute or 3 minutes — both work if you lift enough.
- 3People who lifted more total weight (over 130,000 kg over 10 weeks) grew 13% bigger quads.
- 4Those who lifted less (under 100,000 kg) grew only 7%.
- 5Strength went up 26–31% no matter the rest time.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2020
Authors
A. R. Longo, C. Silva-Batista, Kelly Pedroso, Vitor de Salles Painelli, T. Lasevicius, B. Schoenfeld, A. Aihara, Bergson de Almeida Peres, V. Tricoli, E. Teixeira
Related Content
Claims (7)
Using 3-minute breaks between sets allows lifters to maintain heavier weights across more sets compared to 1-minute breaks, resulting in a greater total volume of weight lifted when performing the same number of sets and repetitions at 80% of their one-repetition maximum.
Young adults who are new to training experience greater muscle growth when their total training volume exceeds 130,000 kilograms per session compared to when it is below 100,000 kilograms, no matter how long they rest between sets.
In young adults new to weight training, lifting more total weight per session leads to larger increases in quadriceps muscle size than lifting less total weight, even when rest times between sets differ between one and three minutes.
In young, untrained adults performing leg press exercises at 80% of their maximum strength for 10 weeks, rest periods of 1 minute and 3 minutes between sets result in the same increase in strength, with both groups gaining 26–31% in one-repetition maximum.
When the total amount of weight lifted is the same, resting briefly between sets does not lead to more muscle growth than resting longer, even though short rests cause a bigger spike in growth hormone.
The amount of time between sets during weight training does not definitively change the point at which increasing workout volume no longer leads to more muscle growth.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.