There is a lot of talk about night rest and established sleep hours to allow muscles to recover after training. It is interesting that you also know what kind of rest you should do between series and series. There are those who are entertained with the mobile phone or chatting with the partner, and it can be influenced in the performance.
In strength and lifting training, it is interesting that you do what you can to improve muscle growth. And yes, the rest period has a lot to do with it.
Should we take a short or long break?
The answer is clear: it depends.
Depending on the type of training you do, you should take a specific rest. Broadly speaking, we could differentiate them into two classes: short and long.
Short period (less than one minute)
In order for our muscles to grow, it is necessary to create metabolic stress (which is that feeling of being bloated). Carrying out short periods of rest we favor the increase of metabolic stress and we can continue progressing. Our goal is to recruit the greatest number of muscle fibers, but without causing pain.
For example, in exercises that involve the work of a single joint, such as triceps extension, biceps curl or lateral raise, it is advisable to take a shorter rest.
Long periods (greater than 3 minutes)
When we dedicate more time to rest, we obtain a benefit in the increase in training volume. For example: if you perform 4 series of squats, lifting 100 kilos in 8 repetitions, resting for one minute will cause you to fail in the rest of the series. Dedicating between 3 and 5 minutes to rest will increase the chances of performing all the repetitions correctly.
My advice is that when you rest a bit, lower the weight to complete the rest of the repetitions. This is called a decrease in training volume.
This type of rest is recommended in compound exercises such as bench press, deadlift, squats, pull-ups, etc. Even extended periods of high-intensity interval training are also recommended. In order to get the most out of each set, it is necessary for your body to recover almost completely.
Even so, it is worth mentioning that both breaks are valid in any training session. It will always depend on our objective.