Research

Mixed

Older adults require shorter rest intervals (e.g., 1 minute) than young adults to achieve equivalent recovery and strength gains in resistance training.

If you are over 65, try resting only 60 seconds between sets instead of the standard 2-3 minutes. This is likely sufficient for your recovery needs and will make your workouts shorter and more efficient, which helps with long-term adherence. You may still get strong, but you won't waste time waiting.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Acute studies indicate that older adults, as compared to young adults, require a shorter duration rest interval to achieve recovery between sets.
Jozo Grgić et al. · Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) · 2019

Why this rating

The paper is a commentary synthesizing acute studies and a few longitudinal trials; evidence is suggestive but not definitive for long-term adaptations.

Source

A case for considering age and sex when prescribing rest intervals in resistance training

Jozo Grgić et al. · Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) · 2019

narrative_reviewCited 3×
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