How long of a break between exercise sets?

BigBraveBear

Im looking for some advice on how long of a rest I should take between sets of weights?
For instance, if I Benchpress 8 Reps * 3 sets, how long should I rest between sets?

Also should I move between exercises before I've finished all the sets, like you would in circuit training. like doing a set of benchpress, then straight onto shoulder press, then straight back to benchpress without resting. Or should I stick with the one exercise until I've completly finished, and then move on to the next exercise?

Also how many times a week should I target a muscle group, like lets say the chest or biceps, If Im working them to a high intensity?

MrPain

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Im looking for some advice on how long of a rest I should take between sets of weights?
For instance, if I Benchpress 8 Reps * 3 sets, how long should I rest between sets?

Also should I move between exercises before I've finished all the sets, like you would in circuit training. like doing a set of benchpress, then straight onto shoulder press, then straight back to benchpress without resting. Or should I stick with the one exercise until I've completly finished, and then move on to the next exercise?

Also how many times a week should I target a muscle group, like lets say the chest or biceps, If Im working them to a high intensity?

I find 90seconds breaks are ok, basically I want to maintain a pump without exausting myself, play around with it.

I do each muscle group before I move onto hte next, once again to maintain the pump.

How many times a week? That depends on how hard you are working the muscles. A begginer can work the same goup every second day as thaty are not pushing themselves to their max, they may feel like they are but it's all about the mind muscle connection. This takes time to develop.
hile an advanced bodybuider may only train each group once a week.

Carl Sagan

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Im looking for some advice on how long of a rest I should take between sets of weights?
For instance, if I Benchpress 8 Reps * 3 sets, how long should I rest between sets?

Also should I move between exercises before I've finished all the sets, like you would in circuit training. like doing a set of benchpress, then straight onto shoulder press, then straight back to benchpress without resting. Or should I stick with the one exercise until I've completly finished, and then move on to the next exercise?

Also how many times a week should I target a muscle group, like lets say the chest or biceps, If Im working them to a high intensity?

I usually rest for as long as I need to but normally try work at a high intensity which usually means working fast.. So usually less then 1 minute. The heavier the weights you're working with, the longer it'll take to recover.

Finish all your sets for one exercise before moving on to the next.

Well if you're doing a split routine, then it's probably best to work each group just once a week. However, I think most people here would suggest doing a full body routine for at least a couple of months to build strength before moving on to body part specific routines.

mrkf1984

depends on goals

size- jus long enough to get ur breathing back normal enough for another set, 30 60 90sec no longer than two minutes. imagine each rep u are pumping ur muscle. similar to blowing up a balloon, if the air keeps escaping the balloon will never burst. like blood flow in ur muscle, u dont want it to reduce by resting too much, u want as much blood in there to stretch and tear the fibres, which will result in them healing but coming back bigger. i.e. hypertrophy

strength- could take up to and over 5 mins.

I hope u like my analogy, may be a bit simplistic but seems to help anyone I've told.

Transform

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Im looking for some advice on how long of a rest I should take between sets of weights?
For instance, if I Benchpress 8 Reps * 3 sets, how long should I rest between sets?

Also should I move between exercises before I've finished all the sets, like you would in circuit training. like doing a set of benchpress, then straight onto shoulder press, then straight back to benchpress without resting. Or should I stick with the one exercise until I've completly finished, and then move on to the next exercise?

Also how many times a week should I target a muscle group, like lets say the chest or biceps, If Im working them to a high intensity?

best to post up your current program first and then make some recommendations - your current shape and goals also

rebel girl 15

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Im looking for some advice on how long of a rest I should take between sets of weights?
For instance, if I Benchpress 8 Reps * 3 sets, how long should I rest between sets?

Depends on the weight and what percentage of your 1RM it is.

<65% 1-RM is < 1 min (>13RM)
65-74% 1-RM is 1-2 mins (11-13RM)
75-80% 1-RM is 2-3 mins (8-10 RM)
80-87% 1-RM is 3-5 mins (5-7RM)
>87% is >5 mins (<5 RM)

What is in brackets would be the number of exercises you do per set, the last exercise you do in the set is the last one you do with correct technique, the maximum reps of a weight. Take your example above, 8 reps would mean you should be taking between 2-3 mins break between sets.

They were the guidelines we were given doing an exercise prescription module. As regards your other questions, I'll dig out some more college notes and find answers

corkcomp

not sure where that came from but taking 2 - 3 minutes between sets of 80% of 1RM seems excessive to me ..

rebel girl 15

corkcomp wrote: »

not sure where that came from but taking 2 - 3 minutes between sets of 80% of 1RM seems excessive to me ..

Off the top of my head, I think it was Heywood's book on Exercise Prescription, though I could be mistaken, didn't actually write down the reference he gave us for it but most of his stuff came from that one, its more a broad guideline than anything else.

cardio,shoot me

ive never timed it but it could be as high as 6-7 minutes on max deadlift attempts, and as low as 50 seconds on bicep curls or tricep push downs

Inspector Coptoor

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

ive never timed it but it could be as high as 6-7 minutes on max deadlift attempts, and as low as 50 seconds on bicep curls or tricep push downs

bang on.
3-6 minutes for anything above 90% of 1rm

60 seconds to 120 seconds for hypertrophy