And sometimes you're sitting there thinking, "How long am I suppose to wait for until I

start my next set?" Now some of you might have heard that you need to rest about 1 minute

if you want to build muscle and 3 minutes for getting stronger. But now there's a new

study that challenges this belief. Fitness expert Brad Schoenfeld, also known

as the "Hypertrophy Specialist" for his extensive work in muscle growth research, tackled this

exact question with his colleagues with a new study from the Journal of Strength and

Conditioning Research. They took 23 well-trained male participants,

paired them based on similar strength levels, and split them into two random groups. Each

participant performed 7 common resistance training exercises for 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps

for eight weeks, three times a week. The only difference is: one group rests one minute

in between sets and the other group rest three. After the eight weeks, they found that the

1 minute group had some good results but not too many significant changes. The three-minute

group, on the other hand, had higher improvements in all seven tests measured, four of those

which tested for muscle growth, two in strength gains, and one in muscle endurance. The better

strength gains with 3 minutes rest isn't all too surprising, in fact, that's what they

hypothesized, but what was surprising to the researchers was the higher increase in muscle

growth. So why is this the case? Why is resting more

better than resting less, especially when the long-held belief was that less rest was

better for muscle growth? The researchers believe that with more rest, you'll be able

to complete more reps which is going to increase your total work volume. A higher total work

volume will allow a higher dose-response effect for muscular and training adaptations. They

do caution that more research might be needed to further support this theory. But, for the

most part, given that you're training with the proper weight, the extra rest should let

you lift more and gain more results. So maybe lounging around and looking at your

phone between sets isn't a bad thing. But... still, don't do that, especially in the squat

rack. Have more fitness and health questions? Please

leave a comment below!