There is a lack of studies using rest intervals in the same lower muscle groups on multiple exercises volume completed. The purpose of this study was to compare the workout volume (sets × repetitions per set) completed during two lower body resistance exercise sessions that incorporated 1-minute vs. 3-minute rest intervals between the sets and exercises. For this reason, thirteen trained men completed two experimental sessions that consisted of 4 lower body exercises – leg press (LP), leg extension (LE), leg curl (LC) and parallel squat (PS), performed for three sets with 80% 1RM load. The two experimental sessions differed only in the length of the rest interval between the sets and exercises; one session with a 1-minute and the other session with a 3-minute rest interval. The results demonstrated that for each exercise a significantly greater workout volume was completed when resting interval lasted 3 minutes between the sets and exercises (LP: 48.42±3.38 vs. 58.17±3.01; LE: 47.04±2.52 vs. 57.81±2.04; LC: 38.01±2.79 vs. 53.61±2.64 and PS: 33.03±2.25 vs. 51.87±2.01 for 1-minute vs. 3-minute rest interval, respectively). These results indicate that during a resistance exercise session, if sufficient time is available, resting 3 minutes between the sets and exercises allows a greater workout volume for the lower body exercises examined.
