I am new to exercise and have a question about rest times between sets.
Should I strictly adhere to 30/60-second timers, or can I take longer rests (around 2 minutes) if I feel it improves my performance?
I find that longer rests allow me to perform better during each set.
Can I adjust the rest timers within the app?
What’s the rationale behind some exercises having 30-second timers and others having 60-second timers?
Will the results be better with lesser rest times?
I’m looking for guidance on finding the optimal rest times for my workouts. I am following the Dumbbell journey.
Hey there. I’m going to answer in terms of training in general, not so much about the app, as I haven’t done this particular journey.
It is expected that if you rest longer, you would perform better in the following set, as you’ve had more time for recovery. However, this shouldn’t be the only consideration. You should consider optimal rest times for your goals (endurance, fat burn, muscle growth, or strength).
I saw in another topic that your goal is to build muscle mass. In general, the optimal rest times for hypertrophy (muscle growth) is within 30-90 sec range, so if your goal is still the same, I wouldn’t go higher than that. And 90 sec should be reserved for low rep, heavy weight. So if you are doing high rep and not so heavy weight, 30-60 sec actually sounds right.