Don’t Just Sit There! 8 Useful Things to Do Between Sets in The Gym

Whatever your fitness goal, strength training should be part of your workout routine. Lifting weights provides so many important benefits that it really should be compulsory. From stronger muscles to healthier joints to improved body composition to better athletic performance – strength training does it all (1).

However, there is a downside to strength training, and I’m not talking about looking good in your bathing suit: It’s not a very time-efficient workout.

Think about it like this; imagine that your workout comprises six exercises and you do three sets of each one. That adds up to about 20 minutes of activity. However, because you need to rest between exercises, that session can take an hour or more to complete.

That’s a lot of wasted time.

Unfortunately, unless you are doing a circuit-style workout, resting 1-3 minutes between sets is mandatory as it ensures that you can put maximum energy into each session. Still, there is no denying that the average strength workout involves more sitting than lifting!

Related: What is Circuit Training? The Ultimate Guide to Get Lean

I’m a veteran personal trainer and I spend my days guiding my clients through their workouts and they don’t pay me to watch them sit and rest. Consequently, I make sure they use their rest periods as constructively as possible. This makes their workouts more productive and saves me from having to talk about the weather or the latest movies a dozen times a day!

In this article I share eight useful things you can do between sets to make your gym time even more productive.

Do Some Stretching

Like strength training, stretching can be very time consuming. After all, according to most studies, to improve your flexibility, you will probably need to hold every stretch for 30 seconds or more (2).

With all the other demands on your time, it’s no wonder that stretching is often at the bottom of most exerciser’s to-do lists. Most people are just too busy running, cycling, benching, or crunching their way to fitness and health.

As such, inter-set set rest periods are the perfect time to stretch. Given your workout probably involves 20-30 minutes of resting, this is more than enough time to work on your flexibility.

However, it’s generally best NOT to stretch the muscles you are training, e.g., your pecs on bench press day or your quads on squat day. That’s because prolonged static stretching may reduce muscle strength and contractility.

Instead, focus on stretching non-related muscles, e.g., your lats on leg day, or your calves on arm day. This way, you can make the best use of your time without sabotaging your gains.

Do a Short Cardio Burst

Strength training has the reputation for being ineffective for fat loss. This is not surprising given how much time most people spend resting during their workouts. Sure, lifting burns kilocalories like a furnace, but sitting? Not so much.

That all changes when you add 30 to 60-second bursts of cardio to your strength training workouts. This moment or two of intense activity between sets will significantly increase your energy expenditure while boosting your heart and breathing rate.

Good options include:

• Stationary bike
• Rowing machine
• Air bike
• Jump rope
• Jumping jacks
• Step-ups

Make sure you leave yourself enough time to get from your chosen cardio activity to your strength training exercise. For example, if you’re taking 90 seconds between sets, a 30 to 45-second cardio burst should be perfect. I like to include 50-100 jump rope turns between sets. I find this is a simple yet time-efficient way to incorporate cardio into a lifting workout.

Start Warming Up for Your Next Exercise

If you are doing a body part split, e.g., chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, back on Wednesday, etc., you probably won’t need to warm-up much more after your first exercise. After all, you’ll be using the same muscles and joints.

However, if you’re doing a full-body workout or training multiple muscle groups, you can save a lot of time by warming up for your next movement while resting between sets of the previous exercise.

Example 1: Chest and Back Workout   

1. Bench Press: Warm up properly and complete working sets.
2. During Rest: Do 2-3 light sets of bent-over rows.
3. Bent-over rows: Perform working sets.
4. Repeat: Use rest periods to warm up the next muscle group.

Example 2: Full-Body Workout

1. Squats: Warm up properly and complete working sets.
2. During Rest: Do scapular pull-ups to prep for pull-ups.
3. Pull-Ups: Perform working sets.
4. During Rest: Do hamstring mobility drills for Romanian deadlifts.
5. Repeat: Use rest periods to warm up the next muscle group.

This strategy saves a lot of time and is one of the ones I use most with my clients. Just be careful that no one moves onto the exercise you have vacated as that will disrupt your workout.

Grease the Groove (GTG)

Grease the Groove (GTG) is one of the best ways to improve your performance in any exercise. In simple terms, with GTG you do multiple sub-maximal sets of the exercise you want to get better at. This is a form of “practice makes perfect” and it teaches your muscles to perform the movement more efficiently, resulting in better exercise performance.

For example, if you can do 20 push-ups, you could do multiple sets of around 10-12 reps throughout your day. After a few weeks you’ll be able to crush your old 20-rep record.

You can also apply this method to your strength workout rest periods.

Simple pick a non-related exercise, e.g., pull-up on leg day, and do low rep sets during all your rest periods. By the end of your workout, you will have accumulated a high volume of reps without much fatigue.

I used this method to improve my pull-up record from 12 to 20 reps in four weeks, so I can personally attest to its effectiveness.

Update Your Training Journal

While I recognize that not all exercisers keep a training journal, it’s something I do for all my clients. That’s because I believe it’s one of the most powerful tools available for maintaining progress over the coming weeks and months.

After doing a set, I make sure that I record the weight used and number of reps performed. I also include notes about the set, e.g., the form for the last couple of reps, if a training system (drop sets, rest/pause, etc.,) was used.

This information plays an important part in the planning of the next workout.

For example, if the last couple of reps were a struggle, I make sure that the weight remains unchanged for the next workout as the lifter is not ready to increase the load. But, if the last couple of reps were easy and ended with drop sets, I’ll make a note to increase the weight by 5-10 pounds next time.

While all this writing might seem time-consuming, remember that you’ll be doing it between sets when you might otherwise not be doing anything constructive. Alternatively, can use a note-taking app instead of pen and paper to record your workouts if you prefer.

Hydrate

Your body is approximately 60 percent water. You lose water during exercise through sweat and increased respiration rate. You sweat to stay cool and exhaled air contains a lot of water vapor.

According to studies, even mild dehydration can have a significant impact on your exercise performance (3).

Needless to say, if you want your workout to be as effective as possible, you need to minimize dehydration. Remember that thirst is a very late indicator of dehydration, and you should avoid becoming thirsty if possible.

The easiest way to make sure you replace fluids as you lose them is to sip water between sets. Do this every time you take a break, and your fluid balance should remain unchanged. However, avoid drinking so much that you need to make too many trips to the bathroom, which will disrupt the flow of your workout.

Related: 7 Ways to Tell If You’re Hydrated Enough or at Risk of Dehydration

Tidy Up

Do you want to make your gym a safer, more pleasant place to be? Would you like to endear yourself with the gym owner and staff? Achieve both these goals by tidying up during your rest periods.

Gyms are notoriously untidy places, and a lot of exercisers stubbornly refuse to unload their barbells once they’ve finished using them or return the dumbbells and other equipment to their correct place.

Take it from one who knows – this is a pet peeve of almost everyone who works in gyms.

So, lend a hand and spend a few minutes making your gym a safer, tidier place. Of course, make sure you don’t put away something that’s still in use. That gym etiquette faux pas won’t win you any friends!

Prepare Your Mind for Your Next Set

While there are plenty of physical things you can do during your inter-set rest periods, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Instead, you might be better served by sitting, resting, and getting your mind right for what you’re going to do next. That’s especially true if you are lifting heavy or pushing yourself to the limit.

So, even if you aren’t doing anything, you can visualize a great set, get fired up, or set goals for how many reps you’re going to perform. The key is to avoid distractions that take your mind away from your upcoming set. This includes making phone calls or texts, taking gym selfies, or updating your social media.

None of these things will do anything for your workout performance and, studies suggest may lead to less effective training (4).

So, even if you rest passively between sets, you can still use this time to optimize your workout performance.

Closing Thoughts

Making the most of your gym time is essential for achieving your fitness goals. Strength training offers numerous benefits, including stronger muscles, denser bones, improved body composition, and better athletic performance.

However, the downside is that most workouts involve wasting a lot of time resting between sets. Making better use of these rest periods can help enhance your workouts, making them more efficient and productive.

Incorporating activities like stretching, short cardio bursts, greasing the groove, updating your training journal, tidying up, and preparing your mind for the next can make a huge difference to your progress.

These strategies not only optimize your gym time but can also contribute to better fitness and well-being.

So, next time you hit the gym, remember to put these tips into action. Don’t let those rest periods go to waste. Make every minute count and take your workouts to the next level. Your future self will thank you for it!

Do you have a favorite time-saving strategy? Share it in the comments section blow – I’d love to hear from you.

References:

1. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA, French DN. Resistance training for health and performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2002 Jun;1(3):165-71. doi: 10.1249/00149619-200206000-00007. PMID: 12831709.
2. Bandy WD, Irion JM. The effect of time on static stretch on the flexibility of the hamstring muscles. Phys Ther. 1994 Sep;74(9):845-50; discussion 850-2. doi: 10.1093/ptj/74.9.845. PMID: 8066111.
3. Armstrong LE. Rehydration during Endurance Exercise: Challenges, Research, Options, Methods. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 9;13(3):887. doi: 10.3390/nu13030887. PMID: 33803421; PMCID: PMC8001428.
4. Gillman AS, Bryan AD. Mindfulness Versus Distraction to Improve Affective Response and Promote Cardiovascular Exercise Behavior. Ann Behav Med. 2020 May 25;54(6):423-435. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaz059. PMID: 31859347; PMCID: PMC7246259.

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