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Swapped my rest periods from 90 seconds to 3 minutes and my squat numbers dropped | Workout Log Critics - Rigidtalk

Swapped my rest periods from 90 seconds to 3 minutes and my squat numbers dropped

I've been doing StrongLifts for about 6 months and my squat was stuck at 225 for 5x5. Read online that longer rest helps with strength gains so I switched from 90 seconds to a full 3 minutes between sets. First workout I felt fresh and hit 230 easy. Second workout I could barely get 225 for 3 reps. Tried it for two weeks straight and my numbers kept falling. Went back to 90 seconds and within a week I was back at 225. I'm wondering if my body just got used to the shorter rest and the longer breaks messed with my pacing. Has anyone else found that changing one variable completely backfired on them? What's the science behind this as far as you guys know?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.robert2mo ago

Yeah @kellyg14 nailed it. Longer rests killed my deadlift once too.

kellyg142mo ago

Honestly, I think this is one of those things where we get so caught up in the "right way" to do stuff that we forget our bodies are just weird and different. It sounds like your body built a specific rhythm with those 90 second breaks, and switching it up totally threw off your pacing and mental groove. It's like when you get used to a certain route to work and then try a new one that should be faster but just feels off and takes longer. The science is probably that you trained your nervous system to fire up fast in that short window, and the longer break let it get too relaxed. Sometimes the variable that works best is the one you've been consistent with, not the one that's supposed to be optimal on paper. So don't overthink it, just go back to what worked and maybe try messing with other things like your warmup or grip instead.