How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?

You finish a set of squats, rack the bar and then what? Some people are back under the bar in 30 seconds. Others scroll their phone for five minutes. Rest between sets is one of the most overlooked parts of a workout, yet it shapes how much work you can do, how heavy you can lift and how long your session takes. Here is what the research suggests, in plain English.

Why does rest between sets matter?

When you lift something heavy, your muscles lean on a fast fuel source called phosphocreatine, which runs low quickly during hard efforts. Rest lets it top back up, and gives your breathing, heart rate and focus time to settle. If you start the next set too soon, you usually manage fewer reps or have to drop the weight.

That matters because the total amount of good-quality work you do, often called volume, is one of the main drivers of getting stronger and building muscle. Rest too little and your volume falls. Rest far too long and the main cost is time, plus feeling cold and flat if you wander off for ten minutes.

So the right rest is the shortest break that still lets you do your next set with good form and close to the same reps and weight. How long that is depends mostly on your goal and how heavy you are lifting.

How long should you rest when training for strength?

If your goal is to lift heavier weights, for example sets of 3 to 6 reps on squats, deadlifts or bench press, longer rests tend to work best. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) position stand on resistance training recommends at least 2 to 3 minutes between sets of big, heavy lifts, and suggests 3 to 5 minutes for more experienced lifters focusing on very heavy loads. For smaller supporting exercises, it says 1 to 2 minutes may be enough.

Research broadly backs this up. A 2018 systematic review on rest and strength concluded that people with lifting experience seem to need more than 2 minutes to get the most from their training, while beginners made similar strength gains with 60 to 120 seconds. In one small but often-quoted 2016 study of 21 trained men, the group resting 3 minutes between sets gained more strength and muscle over 8 weeks than the group resting 1 minute.

The honest takeaway: many of these studies are small and mostly in young men, so treat the numbers as a guide, not a rule. But if you are lifting heavy and your reps are dropping off fast from set to set, a longer rest is the first thing to try.

How long should you rest when training to build muscle?

For years, gym advice said to keep rests short, around 30 to 90 seconds, to build muscle. The thinking was that the burn and fatigue from short rests helped growth. Newer research has softened that view.

A 2024 review that pooled randomised studies comparing rest times found a small benefit to resting more than 60 seconds between sets, likely because people could keep doing more reps. Beyond about 90 seconds, the researchers did not find a clear extra benefit for muscle growth.

In practice, that points to roughly 1.5 to 2 minutes for bigger moves like rows, presses and Romanian deadlifts, and 60 to 90 seconds for smaller moves like biceps curls or lateral raises. If you want to rest longer after a really hard set, that is fine. You are unlikely to lose out.

How long should you rest for muscular endurance and circuits?

Muscular endurance means being able to keep going for lots of reps with a lighter weight, which is handy for running, HIIT classes and everyday life. Here, shorter rests are part of the point. The ACSM guidance suggests light to moderate weights for high reps with rests under 90 seconds, and under a minute for sets of around 10 to 15 reps.

Circuits and HIIT work slightly differently. Instead of resting until you feel ready, the rest is built into the timer, for example 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest. That is a deliberate choice to keep your heart rate up, so the weights should be lighter than in a strength session.

What does rest between sets look like by goal?

Use this as a starting point, then adjust based on how your next set feels.

Ranges are drawn from published guidance and research, and are a starting point rather than a rule. Accurate at the time of writing.

How long should beginners rest between sets?

If you are new to lifting, start with 1 to 2 minutes between sets, and lean towards 2 minutes or a little more for big leg moves like squats and deadlifts, which tend to leave you more out of breath. The 2018 review mentioned above found beginners got stronger on 60 to 120 seconds, so you do not need very long rests while the weights are still light.

A few simple checks tell you if you are ready to go again:

• Your breathing has settled enough that you could hold a conversation.
• You feel you could repeat the last set with the same weight and good form.
• Your grip and legs no longer feel shaky.
• If you got far fewer reps on your second set than your first, rest a little longer next time.

Use a timer. Rest feels shorter than it is when you are chatting or on your phone, and 90 seconds can quietly become 4 minutes.

Can supersets save you time?

Yes, and they are the best trick for short sessions. A superset means doing two exercises back to back, then resting. If you pair moves that use different muscles, such as a push-up and a dumbbell row, or a goblet squat and an overhead press, one muscle group rests while the other works.

A 2021 review on time-efficient strength training found that supersets and similar techniques can roughly halve session time compared with traditional sets, while keeping the amount of work the same. The authors noted they may suit building muscle better than chasing maximal strength, so keep your heaviest lifts as normal sets with full rests.

A simple approach: do one set of exercise A, go straight into one set of exercise B, then rest 60 to 90 seconds and repeat. Avoid pairing two moves that work the same muscles, like squats with lunges, as both will suffer. Our supersets for beginners guide covers the different types in more detail.

How do you use rest well in a busy gym?

Rest periods are where gym etiquette lives. A few habits make training easier for you and everyone else:

• Set a timer on your phone or watch, then put the phone down. Log your set while you wait, so your rest is useful rather than lost to scrolling.
• Offer to let someone work in on your bench or rack during your rest. It is common, friendly and costs you nothing.
• Keep supersets compact. Pick two moves you can do in one spot with one pair of dumbbells, rather than holding a rack and a cable machine at peak times.
• Have a back-up exercise ready if your next station is taken, for example a dumbbell press if the bench press is busy.
• Wipe down kit and rerack weights during your rest rather than leaving it all to the end.

How does rest between sets fit into a week with running?

If you run and lift, rest between sets is one more way to manage your energy. If you lift after a run, or the day after a long run, your legs will be tired, so give leg exercises a little more rest and keep the quality high rather than chasing short breaks.

It also helps to keep each session's job clear. Strength sessions with proper rests build the strength that supports your running. Short-rest circuits feel hard and get your heart rate up, but they do not replace easy runs. Many beginners do well with two strength sessions a week, with the heavier lower-body day kept away from their hardest run.

Edge treats running, strength and HIIT as one plan, so your lifting days are planned around your runs rather than fighting them. And if you are not sure how long to rest on a certain exercise, you can message a real coach anytime.

What are the most common rest mistakes?

• Resting too little on heavy lifts. If your reps crash from 8 to 4 by the third set, the rest was probably too short, not your effort.
• Resting far too long. Ten minutes between sets leaves you cold and can stretch a 45-minute session well past an hour.
• Treating every exercise the same. Big lifts need more rest than curls or calf raises.
• Never timing it. Guessing usually means resting longer, or shorter, than you think.
• Copying someone else's rest. An experienced lifter squatting very heavy needs longer breaks than a beginner learning the move.

Rest is not wasted time. It is part of the session. Get it roughly right, time it, and your sets will be better quality, your progress steadier and your workouts a predictable length.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, pregnant, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.