Couple of basic weight lifting questions for a (somewhat) newbie

fitmissbliss
fitmissbliss Posts: 126 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Need some lifting advice from the more experienced. My trainer that designed my plan is out of town and I can't seem to get a straight answer from Google...so, here goes.
I've been lifting heavily and focused for a bit now and am loving the results- but based on what I see others doing in be weight room (namely 98% men) I am not taking long enough rests between sets. For instance, tomorrow is chest, triceps and abs day. All upper body work is 3 sets of 20. I've been taking about a 30 second rest between sets but I see guys taking several minutes up to 5. Is this the "correct" way to rest? I also see some break their sets up over the course of their workout- instead of 3 sets of bicep curls, then 3 sets of incline flies, they do one set of each and then repeat. Is their a benefit to training this way and breaking the set up?
Thanks for the advice!

Replies

  • davidsnewsham
    davidsnewsham Posts: 49 Member
    Ill try and keep this short.. lol.. Your rest period will be predetermined by the amount of reps and what energy system/muscle fibres your using. So if your in the 20 rep range your rest periods are short... anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds.... so for yourself 30 is ok... i may be inclined to go 45.

    Now be careful watching other ppl in the gym... Everyone has different experience levels, goals, training plans. The ppl you see having long rest periods will probably be developing power where the rep range is around 5 reps... They will be using a different energy system/muscle fibres which takes a while to replenish before their next set... anywhere from 2-3 minutes... sum it up your ok but youmay want to go to 45 sec rest.

    Your other query about doind 1 set then moving onto another is just what their training plan is at the moment. After a certain amount of time your muscles adapt to what youve been doing so its important to change it up after a while... At the moment stick to what your trainer has given you and worry about that later...

    Hope this helps :-)
  • zcassel
    zcassel Posts: 12 Member
    As far as I'm concerned, the pacing of your sets is all about your comfort level. Personally, when I'm doing dumbbell press I can do a set of 10 and be ready for another set in 20 seconds, yet when I do bench I have to take upwards of a minute if not more to be ready. I'm not sure what a 5 minute rest accomplishes for them, that sounds like wasted time in my book. Unless they're going crazy heavy and they need 5 minutes to recuperate for another 3rep or something I wouldn't focus on their timing.

    With regards to the one set and move circuit, it's not necessarily that odd. I do it when I do legs for SS or abs, kind of keeps you from doing the same workout and falling into fatigue too quickly. I find that when I do abs if I do 3 sets of obliques in rapid succession that I'm probably not going to be doing proper reps by the 3rd set due to fatigue. Switching to a circuit helps a lot in allowing your muscles to relax for a moment while you work a different area or different function, obliques rather than the abdomen, for example. It's just a different way of doing it, it's best to do what feels comfortable for YOU, and if you feel uncomfortable with not knowing what's right be sure to ask your trainer :tongue:
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Rest is going to be determined by intensity (defined as % of 1rm lifted) and goals. If you're able to do 20 reps of a thing then your intensity for that set is obviously much lower than if you could only perform 10 reps. Or 8 reps. Or 5 or 1. The higher the intensity the greater the rest required before being able to complete another set.

    For the other thing, ask your trainer (or Google) about supersets and compound sets to determine if it's something for you and your goals
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    For me, rest depends on the weight. The lower the % of my 1RM (less weight), less rest time I need between sets. As I add more weight, I need more rest. One thing I have read is that in general women require less rest between sets than men. I've found this to be true for my husband and myself even if we are working at the same % of 1RM.
  • dvis334
    dvis334 Posts: 125 Member
    DavPul wrote: »
    Rest is going to be determined by intensity (defined as % of 1rm lifted) and goals. If you're able to do 20 reps of a thing then your intensity for that set is obviously much lower than if you could only perform 10 reps. Or 8 reps. Or 5 or 1. The higher the intensity the greater the rest required before being able to complete another set.

    For the other thing, ask your trainer (or Google) about supersets and compound sets to determine if it's something for you and your goals

    Hit the nail on the head.
  • fitmissbliss
    fitmissbliss Posts: 126 Member
    Thank you all SO much for the help!!
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    60 to 90 seconds.

Categories