How many seconds do you rest in between sets while lifting weights?

[AVarma]

I tried doing 30 seconds but I got crazy tired. I'm doing 60 seconds now and I feel less tired. I'm worried though that I may be resting too much. Any opinions?

[autumnnight]

I want to know this too. Of course, my weight amount is puny, but still....

[Priv]

Anything from 2 up to 5 minutes or something depending on what I am doing. Not keeping a timer. But I lift for strenght only...

[SensitiveTJ]

About 8-10 minutes.

[dichotomy]

1.5 mins between same sets, maybe 2-3 mins for dead lifts sets.

[Phoe]

30 seconds.

 

I watch the clock exactly.

 

The only time I take longer than 30 seconds is to drink water.

 

I keep it moving, keep my heartrate up and it turns it into a cardio workout as well. Which is great considering I do NOT do any actual kind of cardio. Hate it.

[AVarma]

30 seconds.

 

I watch the clock exactly.

 

The only time I take longer than 30 seconds is to drink water.

 

I keep it moving, keep my heartrate up and it turns it into a cardio workout as well. Which is great considering I do NOT do any actual kind of cardio. Hate it.

 

Really? Is it weird that I actually love cardio?

[Phoe]

Really? Is it weird that I actually love cardio?

 

Not weird at all! I just can't get into it. My lungs just can't seem to get me enough oxygen haha, I get winded

[NJ123]

Usually for me it varies. Sometimes I could just zone out & could wait 2 or 3 minutes between sets. While other times it could be anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute.

[fitnessfan365]

If you're lifting heavy, you need longer rest periods between sets. If you're doing a heavy compound movement like squats, deadlifts, etc you need even longer rest (3-5 minutes) depending on the weight used. But circuit training is when you want to keep the rest shorter. Since the weight is not as heavy, you can recover faster strength wise between sets.

 

An ideal way to train actually is switching off between upper and lower in full body workouts. Let's say you do a set of walking lunges. Then you rest a minute,and do a set of pull-ups. By the time you rest from the pull-ups, your legs will be ready to go on lunges again. So this is a great way to keep the heart rate up, and let parts of your body recover while the other is working. Another benefit of full body workouts over traditional isolation body building style workouts, is that you only need to strength train 2-3x a week. This leaves time for other sorts of workouts on the other days.

[EasyHeart]

I've never timed myself. I rest until I catch my breath.

[Elias33]

1.5 mins between same sets, maybe 2-3 mins for dead lifts sets.

 

This right here. With big compound movements you can rest up to 2 minutes, but I always try to keep it around the minute mark. No harm in that. So anything from 30 sec to 2 minutes tops I would say. You'll get better over time, then you can aim for 30 seconds.

[fitnessfan365]

This right here. With big compound movements you can rest up to 2 minutes, but I always try to keep it around the minute mark. No harm in that. So anything from 30 sec to 2 minutes tops I would say. You'll get better over time, then you can aim for 30 seconds.

 

If you're ready to go on deadlifts after only 30 secs - 2 mins rest, you're not lifting heavy enough. A true deadlift (weight heavy enough in the 3-5 rep range), will tax your entire body and demand a longer rest period. Power lifters take up to 5 mins rest between sets.

 

But a great way to cut down on rest time and still go heavy, is to switch off between upper/lower. A great combo I love doing is heavy deads and overhead military press. Heavy squats and bench press is another good combo.

[Andy_K]

Depends on the exercise... But generally at least 90 seconds, and longer for bigger compound moves like deadlifts.

 

The stronger I get and the heavier I lift, the more rest I need.