The Bronze
New member
Hey all. I could really use some input about how much rest you give yourself between sets. I'm a little confused.
Right now I feel as if the only way I make any size or strength gains is to lift as heavy as possible for 3 sets per excercise, around 5-8 reps per set. I usually pyramid the weight up as I go along. I'm at the point where I feel I need about 4-5 minutes to recover enough to tackle the weight I have been doing again (sepecially on legs days w/ heavy squats). From my reading and experience I feel this is typically a strength program but I use it for both strength and size.
I've been reading about how many lifters only rest between 30 seconds to one minute between sets. I've tried it before and found that I have to really drop the weights down by about 30% just to make a 3x8-10 range, and lifting so little weight just doesn't seem to cut it. I feel like I lose strength and size by dropping the weight and cutting the rest between sets.
Often I hit plateus and could use a major change to switch things up. I would like some imput about how you use rest periods to go between your lifting cycles.
Has anyone ever had to shift from lifting heavy and taking long rests to lifting lighter weights and taking shorter rests with any success? Could you tell me a little about it, what I should expect... maybe jump right into the change or ease into it by gradually decreasing my rest between sets?
Right now I feel as if the only way I make any size or strength gains is to lift as heavy as possible for 3 sets per excercise, around 5-8 reps per set. I usually pyramid the weight up as I go along. I'm at the point where I feel I need about 4-5 minutes to recover enough to tackle the weight I have been doing again (sepecially on legs days w/ heavy squats). From my reading and experience I feel this is typically a strength program but I use it for both strength and size.
I've been reading about how many lifters only rest between 30 seconds to one minute between sets. I've tried it before and found that I have to really drop the weights down by about 30% just to make a 3x8-10 range, and lifting so little weight just doesn't seem to cut it. I feel like I lose strength and size by dropping the weight and cutting the rest between sets.
Often I hit plateus and could use a major change to switch things up. I would like some imput about how you use rest periods to go between your lifting cycles.
Has anyone ever had to shift from lifting heavy and taking long rests to lifting lighter weights and taking shorter rests with any success? Could you tell me a little about it, what I should expect... maybe jump right into the change or ease into it by gradually decreasing my rest between sets?
