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Rest between sets is the most consequential training variable almost nobody measures. Five steps, in order, from the physiology to a program you can run tomorrow.

  1. 1Learn what rest actually doesYour muscles run on ATP, and it comes back on a curve: about half in 30 seconds, near-full after 3 to 5 minutes. Everything else on this site follows from that one graph.
  2. 2Find your numberAnswer four questions about your goal, your lift, and how hard the set was, and get a rest range with the reasoning shown.
  3. 3Look up your specific liftA squat and a lateral raise need completely different rest. Search 43 movements for the range each one needs.
  4. 4Pick a programA complete three-day full body routine with the rest written into every single line, so there is nothing left to guess.
  5. 5Run the timerFree, no account, works offline in the gym, and shows your ATP, lactate and neural recovery as the countdown runs.

Or jump to where you are

I am completely newStart with the simple version: 60 to 90 seconds on most things, 2 to 3 minutes on the big lifts.I train at homeWhat you can train with a barbell and plates, and the plate-jump problem nobody warns you about.I only have dumbbellsA complete program without a barbell, and how to keep progressing when the dumbbells get light.I train bodyweight onlyWhy skill work needs the longest rest of anything, and how to progress without adding load.I want to build muscleExercise selection and rest by muscle group, built on real per-exercise data.I want to get strongerThe evidence by goal, and why strength work needs 3 to 5 minutes rather than 90 seconds.

Everything here is free

No account, no email, no app to install. The timer works offline, the calculators run in your browser, and every physiology claim is sourced to published research.

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