How long to rest depends on the goal
The ACSM position stand on resistance training gives different rests for different goals. Heavy sets of 1 to 6 reps, done for strength, get 3 to 5 minutes. Sets of 6 to 12 reps, done for muscle size, get 1 to 2 minutes.
Light sets of more than 15 reps train muscular endurance, and for those it advises short rests of under 90 seconds. The paper adds that all of this should fit your own goals, fitness and training history.
- Strength 3 to 5 minHeavy sets of 1 to 6 reps
- Muscle size 1 to 2 minSets of 6 to 12 reps
- Endurance Under 90 sLight sets of more than 15 reps
One minute or three: a test in trained men
A 2016 study by Schoenfeld and colleagues changed only the rest. Twenty-one men who already lifted trained three times a week for eight weeks: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps in 7 exercises. One group rested 1 minute between sets, the other 3 minutes.
The 3-minute group gained more maximal strength in both the squat and the bench press. Their front thigh muscle also grew thicker than in the 1-minute group. Upper-body endurance, tested as bench press reps to failure at half the max weight, went up in both groups, with no significant difference between them.
- Max strength, squat and bench press · ✓
- Front thigh muscle thickness · ✓
- Upper-body endurance ✓ ✓
Short or long rest for muscle size
A single study can’t settle it. A 2017 systematic review by Grgic and colleagues collected every trial that compared short rest, 60 seconds or less, with long rest, over 60 seconds, and measured muscle size. Six studies qualified.
Their conclusion is cautious: both short and long rest can be useful for building muscle. In trained people, measured with sensitive methods, long rest may have an edge. With so few similar studies, the authors say more research is needed.
All of this research used weights. None of it tested push-ups. If your push-up sets run past 15 reps, the high-rep endurance pattern from the ACSM is the closer match.
- Both short and long rest can build muscle.
- In trained people, long rest may have an edge.
- Six studies are too few for a clear answer.
What your rest costs in a Pushgard fight
In Pushgard each rep the camera counts is a hit on the monster in front of you, so rest has a price. After your last rep you get a 25-second breather, and the monster swings slowly. Once the breather runs out, it hits every 7 seconds until your next rep.
Pauses matter elsewhere in the fight too. Five reps in a row with pauses of 6 seconds or less make every fifth rep a fury hit. A tower chief hits 1.4 times harder than a regular monster, and 1.5 times harder again once it’s down to half its health.
Try it: drag the rest and watch the blows add up. This is a fresh level 1 hero against a first-wave monster that has just swung. A 90-second rest, the endurance limit from the ACSM, costs 11 blows. Two minutes leaves 2 health out of 62, and the 3 minutes of a strength rest knocks the hero out.
Breather: the monster swings slowlyA blow
Breather over: a blow every 7 s
Level 1 hero with 62 health against a first-wave monster that hits for 4.
Your rest comes out of the fight clock
A fight also has a time limit, and your rests count toward it. You get 45 seconds plus 6 seconds for every rep the monster would take a hero without gear. A monster worth 10 reps gives you 105 seconds, and one worth 20 gives you 165. Some gear and potions add extra time.
In a fight, short sets with short rests fit the clock. If you want long rests for strength, do those workouts outside the tower. The 100 push-ups a day plan splits a daily target into sets, exercise snacks spread them over the day, and the push-up counter shows how each counted rep becomes a hit.
- 5 reps75 s
- 10 reps105 s
- 20 reps165 s
45 s to start 6 s for each rep
