Rest Between Sets

How much time should you rest between your sets?  It depends on your goals.

If you are trying to build as much muscle as possible, then you'll want to get plenty of rest in between sets.  Think about it: for maximum strength and muscle building you'll want to lift as much weight as possible, as many times as possible.  You probably can't do that if you are, for example, only resting 30 seconds between sets.  So you'll  need to rest 1-3 minutes between sets if building muscle mass is your #1 goal.  

But other goals may mean less rest.  Let's say I'm training for some type of athletic even--MMA, for example.  In that case I would want to adjust my rest periods to more closely match what would happen in the ring.  Shorter rest periods are also useful if you are trying to work on cardiovascular conditioning. 

You can see this difference in some of the programs I promote on my blog.  Muscle Gaining Secrets, for example, tends to prescribe 90-150 second rest periods--this is primarily a mass building program.  Triple Threat Muscle (3XM), on the other hand was designed with athletes in mind and tends to use 60-90 second rest periods (this is also more ideal for burning fat).  Both of these programs come from the same creator, but were designed with slightly different purposes in mind.

One final note:  I would highly recommend you keep track of your rest time between sets, even if you are training for mass.  Doing this will keep the tempo up and help you stay focused.  Some guys just spend way too much time sitting around.  Life is too short for that--train hard and go home.

Note--you can read my review of the before-mentioned programs here:

Muscle Gaining Secrets Review

Triple Threat Muscle Review