Timing Rest Periods

Training Bodybuilding
1

How do you time your rest periods?

Whenever I manage to time my rest periods and stick to a strict protocol, it really helps to kick things along, and give me a good training session. But I suck at managing to do it.

When I’ve just finished a set, resetting and starting the stop-watch is generally the last thing on my mind. When I’m “busy” recovering, I forget to watch the stop-watch…

If I’m in a busy gym, subconsciously I think I must watch other people’s rest periods - if theirs begin after mine, and end before mine, then it might be time to do another set… But now I’m training at home, so I have no one else to watch, subconsciously or otherwise.

Does anyone have a good strategy for this?

2

I workout in the middle of the night (2am) so what I do may not be possible for you…

After finishing a set I walk all the way around the weightroom and back to wherever I’m working at…keeps my rest intervals the same and I don’t have to stare at a clock.

3

I’ve been wearing a stopwatch for years to time my rest between sets. It’s become a habit even when I’m not really focusing on rest between sets.

I’d say to try to develop betting habits about using your stopwatch. You’ll find after a while that you’ll start to get a feel for the amount of time without even having to look at the stopwatch.

4

I am not bad at counting seconds in my head.

Also my gym has a lot of clocks, and so it’s a habit to glance at the second hand on completing a set.

If resting multiple minutes, I make a point of noticing when the 1 minute mark has passed, the 2 minute mark, etc so as to not lose track.

6

This week I have been working with a trainer(for the first time ever) He let me rest long enough to take a swig of water…

Before that, I just used my watch…apparently I’ve been resting too long, cause my endurance sucks ass…

7

yep…digital timer. it beeps when your rest interval is over.

8

My gym has digital clocks on the walls with second timers and I use them.

9


You could count in your head…

10

Works great for resistance training or HIIT sessions.

11

I just do the next set when I feel right… don’t even look at the clock.

12

[quote]Tumbles wrote:
I just do the next set when I feel right… don’t even look at the clock.[/quote]

How old-fashioned of you.
Don’t you know that timing your rest periods will finally make you huge/shredded/insert-goal-here ?

Believe me, it’s the secret…

:wink:

13

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Tumbles wrote:
I just do the next set when I feel right… don’t even look at the clock.

How old-fashioned of you.
Don’t you know that timing your rest periods will finally make you huge/shredded/insert-goal-here ?

Believe me, it’s the secret…

:wink:
[/quote]

So that’s the missing link all these months… :slight_smile:

14

[quote]Tumbles wrote:
I just do the next set when I feel right… don’t even look at the clock.[/quote]

x2. I’ll sometimes look at the clock to make sure I’m not resting too long

15

check the iPod to see where I’m at in the song, and where I need to be to start the next set

16

[quote]doc_man_101 wrote:
How do you time your rest periods?

Whenever I manage to time my rest periods and stick to a strict protocol, it really helps to kick things along, and give me a good training session. But I suck at managing to do it.

When I’ve just finished a set, resetting and starting the stop-watch is generally the last thing on my mind. When I’m “busy” recovering, I forget to watch the stop-watch…

If I’m in a busy gym, subconsciously I think I must watch other people’s rest periods - if theirs begin after mine, and end before mine, then it might be time to do another set… But now I’m training at home, so I have no one else to watch, subconsciously or otherwise.

Does anyone have a good strategy for this?[/quote]

I just try to superset everything.I tend to want to rest LESS when I do this.

17

when i feel ready, i lift

18

An alternate approach if you don’t want to hit a button: just start every set on a two-minute boundary. Start set one at 4:02. When the clock reads 4:04, start set two, etc. Most sets take about thirty seconds to complete, so that will give you ninety seconds of rest between sets.

Unfortunately, if you need to go at a faster pace, this method doesn’t work so well.