The Study
Influence of different recovery intervals on time under tension, total training volume, and fatigue index in horizontal bench press exercise in young male wrestling athletes.
This study tested whether taking longer breaks between sets helps wrestlers lift more weight and feel less tired. It found that with 3-minute breaks, they could do more reps and feel less worn out than with 1-minute breaks. But it only looked at one workout — it doesn’t prove this will make them stronger over time.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
When lifting weights, taking longer breaks between sets lets you do more reps and feel less tired, especially after the third set.
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 542 / 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 — longer breaks let athletes maintain performance in later sets, which matters for building muscle and strength over a full workout.
- 2With 3-minute breaks, athletes did more reps in sets 3, 4, and 5 (P<0.023), kept tension longer in set 5 (P<0.001), and had 37% lower fatigue (P<0.001) than with 1-minute breaks.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness
Year
2023
Authors
G. C. Silva, J. B. Castro, Y. R. Silva, Henri R Lima, Larissa R Bastos, Dayane M Costa, V. Lima, R. Vale
Related Content
Claims (6)
For trained men doing bench presses to failure with one-minute rests, doing more than four sets reduces the physical load and metabolic demand on the muscles, as shown by slower movement and less total time under tension, but does not eliminate the stimulus entirely.
For young male wrestlers doing bench presses, taking 3 minutes of rest between sets allows them to complete more total repetitions and feel less fatigued starting from the third set, compared to taking only 1 minute of rest.
For young male wrestlers doing bench presses, resting longer between sets becomes necessary to maintain strength output after the third set, because fatigue builds up to a point where shorter rests are no longer sufficient.
When young male wrestlers do bench press exercises with only 1 minute of rest between sets, they perform fewer repetitions in later sets compared to when they rest for 3 minutes between sets.
For young male wrestlers doing bench presses, taking 3 minutes of rest between sets helps maintain the total time the muscles are under load during the fifth set, compared to only 1 minute of rest.
When young male wrestlers do bench presses with only one minute of rest between sets, they experience more fatigue than when they rest for three minutes, suggesting that shorter breaks increase fatigue during resistance training.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.