Today’s topic is rest periods.

According to the great Soviet sports scientist Lev Matveev, there are three types of rest periods between sets of exercise: ordinary, stress, and stimulation.

An ordinary rest period provides a “relative normalization of the function.” You are back to where you were before the previous set, sufficiently recovered to repeat it with a similar effort; no less, no more.

Ordinary rest periods were standard in Soviet weightlifting and strength training.

A stress period is purposefully short to accumulate fatigue. This is the stuff of interval training and bodybuilding.

A stimulation period is so long that some functions and substances, e.g., muscle fuel creatine phosphate, supercompensate. You end up stronger than you were before the last set. US powerlifters in the sport’s golden age of the 1980s and 1990s did just that.

Ladders employ ordinary rest periods.

Tackle your next set when you feel ready and don’t overthink it. You will naturally rest less before the bottom rungs than before the top one. And remember that the last set of the day should be an honest effort but not a maximal one.

To learn state-of-the-art strength programming, sign up for the Plan Strong™ seminar taught by Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, on November 7-8 online.