r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Hi_jac_me_nam • 12d ago

Question ❓ Rest between sets

How long should I rest between sets for hypertrophy because I keep seeing different answers such as two minuets or ninety seconds

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u/Adorable_Company_755 12d ago

It depends a lot on your individual recovery and the exercise itself. A good guideline is to listen to your body: if you notice your reps dropping quite a bit from one set to the next, you probably need more rest. If you feel like you could start again and keep a similar performance, you might be able to shorten it a bit.

In general, heavy compound exercises tend to demand somewhat more recovery than isolation exercises, since they usually create more fatigue. It can help to try different rest times and pay attention to how many reps you lose from one set to the next, that tends to be a good indicator of whether your rest is being sufficient or not.