Influence of two different rest interval lengths in resistance training sessions for upper and lower body

Rest intervals between sets appear to be an important variablethat can directly affect training volume and fatigue. the purposeof the present study was to compare the influence of two andfive-minute rest intervals on the number of repetitions per set,per exercise and total repetitions in resistance training sessions.fourteen trained men (23.0 ± 2.2 yrs; 74.9 ± 4.1 kg; 1.75 ± 0.03m) completed three sets per exercise, with 10rm load in fourtraining sessions. two sessions involved lower body exercises(leg press, leg extension and leg curl), with two-minute (seqa)and with five-minute interval (seqb). the other two sessionsinvolved upper body exercises (bench press, pec-deck and tricepspulley), with two (seqc) and five-minute intervals(seqd). for two-minute, five of six exercises presented reductionsin the second set, compared with the first set, and for thethird set compared with the first and second sets. for fiveminute,three of the six exercises presented reductions in thethird set, compared with the first sets, and two of the six for thethird set, compared with the second sets. the total number ofrepetitions in seqa (66.7 ± 4.9) was significantly smaller thanin seqb (80.9 ± 6.9). similarly, the total repetitions was significantlylower in seqc (71.1 ± 4.7) compared with seqd(83.7 ± 6.1). the results indicate that the training session performanceis reduced by shorter intervals, being the initial exercisesless affected during the progression of the sets.