Two blank sheets to fill in at the rack and four reference charts to read. Print them, fold them into your gym bag, or tape them inside your locker. No sign-up, no email.
Rest periods by goal
Goal
Reps
Rest
Why
Maximal strength
1 to 5
3 to 5 min
Full ATP-PC and neural recovery so you can repeat the load
Power and explosive
1 to 5
2 to 5 min
Every rep must be maximal velocity
Strength-hypertrophy
6 to 8
2 to 3 min
Protects load while accumulating volume
Hypertrophy
8 to 12
60 to 120s
Balances recovery against metabolic stress
Isolation / accessory
10 to 15
45 to 90s
Small muscles, low neural cost, fast recovery
Muscular endurance
15+
30 to 60s
Incomplete recovery is the stimulus
resttimerscience.com · rest ranges follow Schoenfeld 2016 for the strength and hypertrophy split.
ATP-PC recovery curve
How much of your fast energy system is back after a given rest.
10s
~28%
30s
~50%
60s
~85%
90s
~90-93%
2 min
~95%
3-5 min
~97-100%
Recovery is exponential, not linear: the first 30 seconds buy half of it, the last few percent take minutes. Phosphocreatine data from Bogdanis et al. 1995.
resttimerscience.com
RPE to percentage of 1RM
Reps down the side, RPE across the top. RPE = 10 − reps in reserve.
Reps
RPE 10
RPE 9
RPE 8
RPE 7
RPE 6
1
100%
96%
92%
89%
86%
2
96%
92%
89%
86%
84%
3
92%
89%
86%
84%
81%
5
86%
84%
81%
79%
76%
8
79%
76%
74%
72%
69%
10
74%
72%
69%
67%
65%
resttimerscience.com
Timer presets
30 secondsMetabolic Stress & Endurance
Short rest periods keep metabolic stress high, promoting muscle endurance and the 'pump'. Ideal for hypertrophy through metabolic accumulation.
60 secondsHypertrophy (Muscle Growth)
The sweet spot for muscle growth. Balances metabolic stress with enough recovery for consistent performance across sets.
90 secondsStrength-Hypertrophy Balance
Allows near-complete ATP recovery while maintaining some metabolic stress. Bridges the gap between pure strength and hypertrophy training.
3 minutesMaximum Strength & Power
Full recovery between sets ensures maximum force production. Essential for training the nervous system and lifting maximal loads.
2 minutesStrength with Volume
Good compromise for strength training with higher volume. Allows quality reps while maintaining training density.
resttimerscience.com · free rest timer, no account needed
Blank session log
A write-in sheet with a rest column, which almost no printable log has. Fill the rest target before the session and the actual after it, and you will find out within two weeks whether you really rest as long as you think you do.
Date Session Bodyweight
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Weight
Rest target
Rest actual
RPE
Notes
resttimerscience.com · rest targets: 3 to 5 min heavy compounds, 2 to 3 min secondary, 60 to 90s isolation
Twelve-week progression tracker
One line per week for your three main lifts. Progress is easy to feel and hard to remember, and a stalled column tells you which lift needs the longer rest or the deload.
Week
Lift 1
Lift 2
Lift 3
Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
resttimerscience.com · three weeks with no movement on a lift is a stall, not a bad day