The amount of rest between sets during resistance training is very important because it has a very large impact on the results of your training. When shorter rest periods are used, the training will result in adaptations directed at improving muscle endurance, whereas longer rest periods allow for higher training loads and therefore effective improvement of muscle strength and 1RM.

Local muscle endurance can be very important for athletes who participate in martial arts, and strength training is necessary to improve performance during power lifting events. The amount of rest is essentially determined by the goal of the training. The most used rest periods are between 30-90 seconds, and are a compromise between training for muscle endurance, strength and hypertrophy.

Longer rest periods, from 1,5 minute to 5 minutes allow higher training loads which increases strength. When very short rest periods are used, sometimes shorter than 10 seconds, muscular endurance improves and more growth hormone is produced.