The Study
Effects of Bench Press Volume on Performance, Recovery, and Physiological Response.
This study didn't prove that doing more bench presses always makes you stronger or burns more calories — it just showed that if you take short breaks between reps, even doing a lot of reps feels about the same as doing fewer ones, right after you finish. It's like testing if eating 10 cookies or 3 cookies makes your tummy feel the same — but only if you wait a few seconds between each bite.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested if doing 3, 15, or 24 bench presses feels harder. They let each person rest a little between reps—just enough to keep their speed steady.
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 562 / 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—this means you can do more total reps without getting more tired or stressing your heart, as long as you pause between reps to recover a bit.
- 2All three groups (3, 15, 24 reps) had the same speed, same lactate levels, same blood pressure, and recovered just as fast after 24 and 48 hours.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Sports
Year
2026
Authors
J. Páez-Maldonado, Á. C. Lluch, M. Ortega-Becerra, F. Pareja-Blanco
Related Content
Claims (6)
When moderately trained men perform bench presses at 70% of their maximum strength, using customized rest periods between reps prevents the usual drop in bar speed during sets of 15 or 24 reps, so their average and final rep speeds stay the same as in shorter sets.
In moderately trained men, performing bench presses with 3, 15, or 24 repetitions at 70% of their maximum strength, with rest periods tailored to each individual, results in the same rise in blood lactate after exercise. This suggests that the level of metabolic stress is linked to how fatigued the muscles become, not how many repetitions are completed.
In moderately trained men, lifting weights with 3, 15, or 24 repetitions at 70% of their maximum strength produces the same increase in systolic blood pressure when rest between reps is tailored to the individual, and the level of cardiovascular strain depends on how fatigued the muscles become, not how many repetitions are performed.
When rest periods between bench press repetitions are adjusted based on how much speed drops during each lift, doing 3, 15, or 24 repetitions produces the same acute changes in muscle mechanics, metabolism, and heart rate in moderately trained men, because the level of fatigue reached—not the total number of reps—determines the physiological response.
In moderately trained men, taking personalized rest breaks between reps during a high-volume bench press workout does not reduce the speed of movement 24 or 48 hours later.
Different people experience different levels of fatigue during a single resistance training session and recover at different rates between sessions.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.