Rest Periods 101: A Personal Trainer’s Perspective

How to design an exercise program: Rest Intervals for fat loss, strength and muscle building

Author: Michael Hannon, DUO trainer 
Demographic: fitness enthusiasts
Focus:  program design 
Estimated reading time: 1min

Rest Periods 101

Today is a basic primer to rest periods and the very important part they play in your training program.

Rest periods are a crucial variable to any training program yet it is the least considered amongst most gym goers.

Training vs. Working out

For working out, rest periods are not a major consideration, as if you turn up and move a bit you’ve accomplished the main objective of working out; training on the other hand is geared towards an assessable outcome i.e. fat%, physique change, lean body mass, deadlifting more weight, improved technique and so on. Rest periods have to be considered!

Rest periods influence hormonal response, nervous system recovery and the capabilities of the trainee.

The Basics:

Your goal decides the rest period:

*Hypertrophy is a fancy term for building muscle

Hormones and Neurotransmitters

In general if the reps are fixed and you manipulate the rest to longer or shorter, than say the previous few sessions, you could influence the hormonal and neurotransmitter response somewhat.

Shorter rest periods have been noted to increase growth hormone (fatty acid utilisation, muscle repair) and GABA (calmness, neurotransmitter equaliser, anti anxiolytic) though it is not the simple lowering that creates the spurt in GH but the resultant increase in lactic acid as a result of shorter rest periods. 

Longer rest periods could potentially increase Testosterone (confidence, logical thinking, muscle gain, fat loss) and Dopamine (focus, energy output, psychological and physiological arousal), though again it is not entirely down to simply resting longer but what is possible because you have rested longer i.e. lift more weight with more intent (mental energy), acceleration and speed.

For more information related to rest periods read:  Rest periods for rapid fat loss

Considerations

When thinking about rest periods you have to consider:

The size of the trainee: the larger the trainee the more rest they may need. All things being equal Shaun Stafford would likely require less rest than Jay Cutler.

Training history type: those who partake in endurance activities (aerobics, marathons, Ironman, long distance anything) often will require less rest and the opposite is true for trainees that partake in strength and power based activities (powerlifting, olympic lifting, strength training, sprinting events).

DUO trainers Simone Dailey and Simone Ming have had 2 distinct training histories. Dailey a competitor in endurance based Ironam events and Ming a former gymnast which is a power based sport. As a result Dailey with all things being equal would likely require shorter rest periods and Ming longer.

Complexity of the exercise: the exercise being undertaken will influence rest. Think about the energy requirements and coordination of say a squat vs. a plank or a barbel curl vs. a clean and jerk. The more complex an exercise, the more rest between sets that will be needed.

The relative familiarity to the exercise: the newer the exercise is to the trainee the more rest that may be needed during sets

Gender: women in general need less rest, this is possibly due to culture influencing training history, strength continuum and chemical energy utilisation differences between men and women.

Time under tension: a longer set will need a longer rest period when all other variables are equal.

Diet and supplements: we are made up of the molecules we have ingested and cheap fast food will hamper recovery. If on a ketogenic or low carbohydrate, especially if in the process of adapting to this diet may require longer rest periods than usual and find your endurance capabilities lower initially. You may also find increasing protein intake decreases the need for longer rest periods and results in faster recovery between sessions. Supplements may help your body to run more optimally lessening rest period requirements, anything from a good multivitamin, protein shake, acety-l-carnitine, L-Tyrosine

to creatine monyhydrate will aid this.

Stress levels: chronically elevated cortisol levels throughout the day will have a negative down stream effect on glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, nervous system and psychological arousal requiring the trainee to rest more than if their stress was lessened.

Sleep: impaired sleep quality and quantity negatively effects everything and may likely increase your rest period needs.

Goal: the goal of the program will influence the reps and weight lifted which in turn influences the rest periods. For instance if your goal was to increase you 1-3 rep max on the deadlift and your program was 10 sets of 1 reps at 85%1rm than resting 30sec between sets is going to severely impair your program as after 2 sets you’ll have to drop the weight significantly, a more appropriate rest would be in the 2-3min range. Another example is if your goal was fat loss or to build lactic acid tolerance and you rested 3min between each set you are very likely going to struggle to accumulate the desired environment for lactic acid to appear.

Mental arousal: I have found the more psyched a trainee is the less rest they need to perform at appropriate level the training program requires.

                 V.S                        

Summary:

Rest periods are an under utilised variable in your training program, i’m hoping what you’ve read changes that.

These are general terms with general prescriptions, if you are interested in further reading may Irecommend, Christian Thibadeau, Chad Waterbury, Charles Poliquin, Brad Schofield, Essentials of Strength Training and WJ Kraemer.

If you have any questions or would like me to expand on a particular benefit or technique, simply leave a comment.

You might also be interested in: Fat Loss 

1. Rest periods for rapid fat loss

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3. Less is more: Endurance Training

4.  The Fat Files: Waist Reduction

5. Coffee: Revving up Fat Burning

6. Unconventional Fat Loss Tips

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Michael Hannon, 2014 Information in this article is strictly for educational purposes and is simply the opinion of the writer at the time of writing. In no way is the information to treat, diagnose, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. Before starting any diet, exercise regime or nutritional supplement program always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified, licensed healthcare professional.

For information on Personal Training, Massage, Biosignature, Osteopathy and A.R.T (active release techniques) visit DUO’s website (www.duoyouplusus.com) or call 0207 352 5399 to book an appointment.

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