Effects of Rest Interval Duration in Resistance Training on Measures of Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of controlled resistance training intervention studies
PubMed 28933024 · doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0788-x
What was done
A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines across five electronic databases to evaluate chronic muscular strength adaptations to resistance training interventions comparing different rest interval durations. Included studies were assessed for methodological quality using a modified Downs and Black checklist.
What was found
Twenty-three studies with a total of 491 participants (413 males and 78 females) met inclusion criteria, all rated as good to moderate quality. The abstract reports no quantitative pooled effect sizes, confidence intervals, or p-values. Qualitatively, robust strength gains were observed even with short rest intervals (< 60 s), but maximizing strength gains appears to require longer rest (> 2 min) in trained individuals and short-to-moderate rest (60-120 s) in untrained individuals.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes chronic training adaptations to show that rest interval requirements for strength maximization differ according to an individual's training status.
Limits
The abstract provides no meta-analytic effect sizes or quantitative outcome statistics. The included sample is disproportionately male (84.1%), limiting generalizability to female populations. The abstract does not detail specific load or volume equivalencies across the included trials.
Cited by
- supports When lifting at or above 85% of 1-rep max for strength training, resting 2 to 5 minutes between sets is required to replenish phosphocreatine stores to produce ATP for subsequent sets.
- supports Dr. Brad Schoenfeld recommends resting 2 to 5 minutes between sets when training for strength.