Don146;t Just Rest Between Sets

So: Three minutes is good. But doesn8217;t that seem like an awfully long time to be mopping your brow or fiddling with your MP3 player?

Not if you use the time wisely. Study co-author Scott Richmond, a doctoral fellow in exercise science at Kansas University, said you could use those three minutes to work or stretch other muscles.

8216;8216;You definitely don8217;t want to work the same muscle group8217;8217; during rest periods between sets, Richmond said. 8216;8216;One way to do it is alternate upper and lower body.8217;8217; So you could do a leg exercise like squats in between sets of a bench press, or alternate an abs exercise with triceps kickbacks.

For recreational lifters to maximise strength gains, they need to do two things: Lift 8216;8216;to failure,8217;8217; ie, so the last repetition in each set is a struggle and you8217;d be unlikely to complete another rep in proper form. And they need to do the same number of reps in each of the two sets. A third set doesn8217;t yield as much benefit as a second one does. Time-pressed folks in pursuit of general health and fitness don8217;t need a third set.

In this well-controlled study, 28 men aged 18 to 24 each completed one set of eight to 12 bench presses to failure. Those who then rested one minute did not even reach eight repetitions in their next set, while the groups that rested three and five minutes each managed eight to 12 reps in set two.

If you8217;re not pressed for time at the gym, kick back during your rest period. But if you8217;d rather be elsewhere sometime soon, you can do just about anything with that down time except two things: Work the muscles that are being stressed by the set at hand, or stretch them.

Data suggest that stretching may 8216;8216;disturb the elastic component8217;8217; of muscle and thus limit its ability to hoist heavy weight, said William Kraemer, a kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut and an expert on strength training.

Richmond said any other alternating activities are fair game.

Circuit training routines are designed to work alternate muscle groups and thus do not require rest between stations. 8216;8216;These also help keep your heart rate elevated, and you actually get a minor cardio benefit,8217;8217; Richmond said.

You can perform your own circuit by choosing six to nine exercises, alternating body parts worked and performing them in sequence without rest. Then repeat the entire circuit.

Finally, some science we can twist to get you out of the gym quicker.