Less Time Spent In Gym: Let’s say your main goal is to cut down on the time you spend in the gym.My advice: create a hierarchy of training needs and goals that you have on a block-to-block basis, then build a program with rest times baked in to accommodate for them.Ī few benefits that come with deliberately planned rest times include, Once you’ve decided your why, then use and structure for rest times can become more much clear and pronounced. It’s important to always ask yourself, “why am I using rest times?” before physically plugging them in to your workouts. Sure, you can change rest times around, but if you have no goal attached to them, then you might be leaving gains on the table. Changing rest times without a plan is like spinning wheels in the mud. Rest times come with multiple benefits, but these benefits are only relevant based on the context in which the rest times are being used. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author. The views expressed herein and in the video are the author’s and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Additionally, we’ll briefly go over some rest time thoughts and rules when using them in your programs.Įditor’s note: This article is an op-ed.

In this article, we’re going to focus on three key benefits that rest times have for both coaches and athletes. They also help athletes maintain honesty and objectivity within one’s program and daily workouts - the program no longer just tells you how many sets and reps to complete and at what weight, it specifies a timeframe in which they must be completed. Rest time is a workout variable that often gets overlooked from the macro scope of programming - resting the right way can be incredibly useful when employed correctly, and in my opinion, rest time deserves as much or equal attention that we give to volume and intensity.įrom a coaching perspective, giving yourself designated rest times is great because they can serve as predictors for outcomes at certain intensities, help facilitate certain adaptations, and can help structure a workout’s total amount of time to be completed. This article will help you choose the right amount of time to rest based on your goal, be it strength, mass, endurance, and more. We all rest between sets, but few people do so strategically, with their individual goal in mind.

Rest time for endurance training