How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?

Описание: What is the ideal rest time between sets for bodybuilding?

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Most guys in the gym don't pay much attention to their rest times between sets, this is especially true when you see them stopping mid way through their workout for several minutes at time to chat with their buddies about the game last night or what ever gym gossip is floating around at the time.

Now I'm not saying that you have to be anti-social, but save the mindless chit chat for after your workout is finished. Not while you are in the middle of a training session.

The reason for this is because the amount of time you let your body rest between sets can have just as big of an impact on your workout as the number of reps you are doing or the number of sets.

Your rest time between sets largely impacts the type of muscle fibers you'll engage and what bodily energy system you'll use during your training.

When you take shorter rest periods, 1 minute or less you'll work more slow twitch type 1 muscle fibers. This uses the lactic acid energy system. Fast paced workouts with short rest periods will get your heart rate pumping, will work up a good sweat, and will increase blood flow. This will leave you feeling pumped and your muscles will be burning from the lactic acid build up.

These types of workouts tend to increase growth hormone levels and are ideal for improving muscular endurance, building up your work capacity, and burning bodyfat. A lot of athletes like boxers, MMA fighers, wrestlers, down hill skiers, hockey players, etc. will train with shorter rest periods to work the lactic acid energy system and prepare for how their body will work in competition.

When you take longer rest periods, 3 minutes or more you'll work more fast twitch muscle type 2 muscle fibers. This will enable you to lift much heavier weights and feel much stronger during your workouts. Longer rest periods allow the body to use the ATP-PC energy system - adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PC). This is the body's high intensity energy system that's used for brief high intensity bursts, such as sprinting, powerlifting, and shot put.

With the ATP-PC energy system you are putting the peddle to the metal in terms of energy output, but it can only be sustained for a very short period of time, it's literally depleted within the matter of seconds and then needs to be re-stored through a long rest period. Training in this fashion increases natural levels of testosterone.

When it comes to structuring your workout programs, your rest periods between sets is an important variable that you can control to help stimulate growth.

Generally speaking, bigger heavier exercises like bench presses, squats, deadlifts, over head presses, rows, etc. respond well to longer rest periods. And smaller isolation exercises like bicep curls, lateral raises, crunches, and calve raises respond better to shorter rest periods.

However, you can manipulate the rest periods in your workouts to provide different training effects. For example, if you did the exact same workout routine in terms of exercises, sets, and reps. But for one session use long rest periods (i.e. 3 minutes between sets) and the next time use short rest periods (i.e, 1 minute between sets) you will experience a totally different form of training stimulus.

During the long rest period workout you will be much stronger and be able to lift heavier weights. And during the short rest period workout you will get a better muscle pump, feel your muscles burning, and get your heart rate elevated more.

If you would like help in structuring your workouts and adjusting all the different training variables for optimal results, than you should check out the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Workout Of The Month Program at: http://www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com