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Even when you figure in the .
Now, previously, we said a muscle's Fatigue/Tension level must surpass a particular threshold for muscle growth to occur. The graph below illustrates why long rests impair progress. Simply-you never cross the threshold.
TIME
Fig. 3-3 The Fatigue/tension ThresholdAs you shorten the rest time between sets, though, the muscle's fatigue level doesn't have time to drop as far, and you get a stairstep Fatigue/Tension curve that looks like this:
TIME
S = Set
R = Rest
Fig.3-4 Fatigue/Tension during 3 sets; Short rests
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Now the muscle does get more tired during the second set than during the first. And during the third set you finally surpass the Fatigue/Tension Threshold. Presto!growth. This is why shorter rests between sets facilitate increases in size and strength.
The same principle applies to rests between exercises for the same body part. After doing three or four sets of an exercise, the muscle(s) affected will show some cumulative fatigue level, assuming you are working fast and hard enough. If you rest too long before beginning the next exercise for that same muscle group, the group's fatigue level will drop enough to prevent a cumulative fatigue effect across the different exercises:
TIME
S = Set
R = Rest
Fig. 3-5 Fatigue/tension level during 3 exercises; Short rest between sets; Longf rest between exercises."So what?" you may say. "If I've crossed the F/T Threshold during the first exercise for a muscle group, does it really matter that my fatigue level drops before the next?"
Yes! Crossing the F/T Threshold is just the beginning of the growth process. Crossing the Threshold, and staying above it, is what promotes greater development in less time.
And that's why overall workout speed is important, not just the length of rests between sets or the rep rate. (Also, it's possible you may not cross the F /T Threshold until the second or third exercise for a body part, and may do so then only if you are working fast enough.)
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