Exercises, weight, repetitions, intensity. Almost always that is what is thought about when talking about training, while rest between sets is seen as the moment to catch one’s breath before sweating again. Patricia Vera, a personal trainer and expert in women’s training at Malagaentrena, points out a factor that is often left out: “Resting is not wasting time. Resting is also part of training.” This becomes even more important after 45, especially for women who want to gain strength or improve their body composition without ending up exhausted.
During a set, the muscle uses energy and the nervous system works to coordinate force, technique and stability. ” In that rest, the muscle’s fast-energy reserves are partially replenished, especially phosphocreatine, which is very important in intense efforts. It also reduces the sensation of breathlessness, breathing stabilizes, the nervous system regains the capacity to produce force, and the musculature can again perform the exercise with better technique,” explains Vera.
From 45 onwards, this process can be affected by several factors at once. “There is usually less recovery capacity, more accumulated stress, poorer nighttime sleep,” hormonal changes, progressive loss of muscle mass if training is not maintained, and greater sensitivity to fatigue,” Vera notes. That doesn’t mean that a 45 or 50-year-old woman cannot train intensely, but that she needs to manage rest better so that the training is effective and sustainable.
There is no single figure valid for all exercises. For demanding strength movements, such as squats, deadlifts, or hip thrusts, Vera recommends between 90 seconds and 2 minutes. For hypertrophy or toning, with moderate loads, the lower reference is 60-90 seconds, while in muscular endurance circuits 30-60 seconds may suffice without compromising technique.
How Rest Changes According to the Goal
If the goal is to gain strength, rest tends to be extended even more. “The nervous system needs to recover better to be able to produce force again. Here, resting 2 minutes, or even a bit longer in demanding exercises, can make a lot of sense,” explains Vera. If the goal is to lose fat, she believes there is a widespread misconception: “This is a half-truth. To lose fat it’s important to move more and burn energy, yes, but also to maintain muscle mass. If we shorten rests so much that we stop training strength with quality, we can lose a very important part of the process.”
The problem arises when goals are confused. “A woman wants to tone, but trains as if she only wants to sweat. She wants to gain muscle, but rests so little that she cannot lift enough load,” summarizes Vera. Resting too little out of fear of ‘losing the rhythm’ is one of the most frequent mistakes she sees in workouts, although resting too much unnecessarily, distracted by the phone, also makes the session lose density.
There are clear signs to know if the rest is appropriate. “You are probably resting too little if every set turns out much worse than the previous one, if the technique breaks down quickly, if you feel more breathlessness than muscular work, if you load the neck, lower back or knees, or if you need to drop the weight significantly to continue,” explains Vera. The practical reference she proposes is simple: rest enough to perform the next set with good technique and an intensity similar to the previous one.
Optimizing rests can make a real difference, even in a daily routine. “In Malagaentrena we see cases of women who did very accelerated routines, rested little and did not progress. When we adjust the rests, they start to move the load better, feel the correct muscle more, and recover better between sessions,” Vera says. Rest influences strength, technique, fatigue, safety and the consistency with which training is followed.
In a real routine for a woman over 45, Vera proposes a guideline structure: 90-120 seconds for major leg or glute exercises, 60-90 seconds for back or push exercises, and 30-60 seconds for core or mobility work. The key is that rest serves the goal, not a fixed rule. Often results do not depend on doing more. They depend on organizing better what you are already doing,” she concludes.
