The last point is important for max gains It used to be thought that longer rest periods were better for strength and shorter were better for muscle building. Mainly because shorter rest periods pumped your muscles up to feel fuller than a tick on a tampon and soreness post workout. Due to the high volumes. But with the main stimulus for building muscle being reaching close to muscular failure (0-3 RIR). Rushing into the next set before you’re ready will only reduce this stimulus. And this is shown in the research, where training with short rests stimulates smaller post-workout increases in myofibrillar protein synthesis rates and causes less hypertrophy after long-term strength training [PMID: 26605807] [PMID: 35622106] [PMID: 27126459] But rather than putting an exact number on it. Just take as long as you need to execute the next set to your maximum muscular potential. This’ll vary between exercises, where you are in the workout and how many f-ks you have that day. But a general rule of thumb is 2-5 mins for compounds and 1-3 mins for isolation. But like I said, just go when you’re ready. Just don’t take longer than 3-5 years. Snuggles, Out of f-ks