40 Seconds Rest Between Sets

Having only 40 seconds rest between sets is killer and great for a fat burning workout.

If you’ve been following my blog over the past few weeks you know that I started a new program that has me performing 10 sets of 10 reps for certain exercises throughout the week. The first week it started with 60 seconds rest, and it decreases by 10 seconds each week. This is my third week so I was down to just 40 seconds rest time today for my two exercises that I had to perform 10 sets of, and man it was a good workout.

It was back and shoulder day today so my two “10’s” exercises were Lat Pulldowns and Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press. I started the workout with 10 sets of Lat Pulldowns and had a huge arm and lat pump from that and went right into wide grip cable row after just 60 seconds of rest. After three sets of the rows I was right back into the 10 sets with 40 seconds rest with my shoulder press and I noticed a big difference from the 50 seconds rest last week (partially because I was already pretty exhausted from my lat pulldowns). I pushed hard though and got through my 10 sets. By this time in my workout I was sweating quite a bit.

I followed that up with seated lateral raises with 90 seconds rest this time, as my shoulders were gassed after the shoulder presses and I didn’t want to have poor form with these. After that I finished the workout off with plate front raises (60 seconds rest) and bent over dumbbell raises (60 seconds rest).

I can’t remember the exact length of the workout (it is written down in my workout book) but it was about 40 minutes overall. I was strict with the rest time throughout so it went by quickly, but it wasn’t easy at all.

If you are looking to lose fat I highly recommend trying a program similar to what I’m doing now. If you are a beginner start with bodyweight exercises or light weights with 60 seconds rest, and when your body adapts try to get down to 40 seconds rest or less. The next week few weeks I will be dropping the rest by 10 seconds, and it will be crazy tough.

40 seconds rest is a pretty good number for fat loss workouts as it gives you enough time to catch your breathe quickly and gives your muscles a bit of rest, but right when you pick up those weights again you will be struggling and your heart rate will get up there. I highly recommend you give the short rest periods a try. If you are resting anywhere over 60-90 seconds and you are strictly working out to lose fat you are doing it wrong. Cut that down to 30-50 seconds and reap the rewards.

To continue on with my daily journal that I’ve been keeping here at the blog I will just quickly go into my day in the kitchen…

I woke up with my girlfriend at 6:20 this morning (very rare for me) as I felt like getting a lot of work done today. I had eggs, turkey bacon, and a little bit of breakfast potatoes for my breakfast, and then hit the gym. After my workout I had my post workout shakes. Lunch was a can of tuna, and then for dinner we made steaks with mushrooms and asparagus. I just finished a small bowl of fruit (grapes, raspberries, strawberries) and am heading off to a late night hockey game. After the game I will have a snack to make sure my body can recover properly and be ready for another hard workout tomorrow. Because I will be up from 6:30 am to 1:30 am roughly I will have consumed more calories than normal today, but overall I’ve done a good job at keeping everything healthy and I’ve had smaller meals.

Another good day in the books. Hope you’ve started the week off on the right foot with your workouts and eating as well!