Exercise rest intervals are one of the most heavily researched topics in all of the fitness industry. Simply put, the amount of rest time you take between your exercises will help determine the way your body develops--ultimately the way it looks. Unbeknownst to most, rest periods are a critical part of defining the body you want. And there's actually a science behind it, too! Below, I will provide you with a brief overview of the three relatively agreed upon standards of exercise rest intervals. Let's dive in...
0 - 60 seconds rest.
Time to sweat!
Programs that use this rest protocol are going to be fast and intense. Their primary focus will be to shed as much body-fat as possible. By keeping your heart-rate high and your down-time short, your body will be burning extra calories at an amazing rate. Couple that with a good, quality fat burner, and you can just watch the body fat liquify!
But remember, that lack of rest is going to come with a price. In order to combust all those extra calories, your body will be working overtime... The result of your intensity will be higher Lactic Acid levels which will cause your blood's PH Level to plummet--making your workout even more difficult to complete.
But fear not! It's all part of getting lean & mean!
Additionally, you will be rewarded by your strenuous effort on the back end. Extra hard work during workout means extra Growth Hormone (GH) production POST-Workout! Extra GH production in the body will help:
Lower Body-Fat & Increase Muscle Tissue
Reduce the symptoms of aging
Improving Metabolic Rate
Reduction in Alzheimer's symptoms
Improving Chron's Disease symptoms
The best utilization of this rest protocol is to choose 2 - 3 exercises that will utilize more than one muscle group. Ideally, you would choose antagonistic muscle groups (Chest / Back) or divisional exercises (Chest Press / Squats). The purpose is to recruit as many muscles into your circuit as possible to increase the lactic acid generation.
Speed work is all kinds of fun!
60 - 90 seconds rest.
Most of us who lift recreationally, though, will find ourselves using this bracket more often than not. Many studies (6) have shown that for pure hypertrophy (muscle size increase), using a 60 - 90 second rest window is ideal. There is no rule to tell you how to match up your body parts when training with this rest interval.
If you are concentrating on purely muscle size increases, picking one to two body parts to work out in the day would be an option; however, if you still want to get your size increase while having that minimal cardio element there, try picking one exercise per muscle group for the whole body!
It will provide the right mix of keeping your heart rate elevated while at the same time allowing you to recover your strength to perform well on the subsequent sets. It's like getting the best of both worlds.
90 - 180 seconds rest.
This rest protocol is for the big dogs. It's for the powerlifter's who are interested in nothing more than moving as much weight as possible. This is where it's less about your 'show' muscles, and more about your 'go' muscles. To do this most efficiently, athletes will be required to put a maximal effort into a lift--usually only 1-3 times. And then take a rest. Repeat.
Working near your maximal strength output will have you pretty much running on empty after just a few repetitions. Using this extended break time allows your nervous system, metabolic system, and cardiovascular system to almost fully recover, thereby allowing you to lift your heaviest. This is essential for the athlete working towards improving a 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM). It is important that if you find yourself training in this bracket to be lifting 90%+ of your 1RM.
Go Heavy or Go Home!
0 - 60 sec | Fat Burn
60 - 90 sec | Muscle Building
90 - 180 sec | Max Strength Work
While the above list is incredibly simple, it will give you a good point to jump from when designing your next weight training routine. So grab your stopwatch and get to tracking that rest time!
My name is Michael Baes. I am a personal trainer & nutrition coach based in Murfreesboro, TN.
With over 10 years of full-time personal training experience, I provide my clients with the best & latest fitness information; additionally, I offer many unique articles, products, and services!
All of these are available at:
http://www.michaelbaes.com/blog
Thanks for reading!
MB
No comments:
Post a Comment