Subject: interval between sets and exercises

Submitted by:  Shahn Nadeau, Montreal, Canada

First off, I'd like to express my thanks for all of your hard work and both books. NHE has proved to be invaluable to me, and I find myself anxious to begin using the information in HIE. I'm currently rereading it to be certain that I fully understand it all before applying any of it.
 
I did have one question, however. Having read through HIE once, I am wondering about the interval timing between sets. I understand that it  should apply to the interval between sets of the same exercise, but does the one minute time span also apply to the interval between two distinct exercises? (ie- The time between finishing up one exercise and beginning the next)
 
You see, I work out with a partner. We train together for motivation, but also so that we can spot one another. Unfortunately, if the one minute interval applies also to inter-exercise timing, then I won't have  any time to help my friend with his lifts. I suppose we could try it so that we do my workout, then his.. or vice versa, but that would take a lot longer and I'm not sure he'd appreciate that. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks!
 


The one-minute interval applies to the interval between sets of the same exercise not necessarily to the interval between different exercises. Even if you weren't training with a partner, you don't control the availability of exercise equipment, except that which you are using at a given time. There's no guarantee that the t-bar row apparatus or pullup bar will be waiting for you after you finish bench-pressing or will become accessible within one minute. Furthermore, especially when going from one major-bodypart exercise to another, as with chest/back, extra interset recovery time is appropriate (except when supersetting) so that the systemic demands of the former does not substantially curtail performance of the latter.

There are, however, circumstances where the one-minute interval would apply between different exercises. For example, just today I was devising a workout program for a celebrated dentist in South Florida seeking to recapture or surpass a prior level of physical fitness for health and longevity purposes. As someone who qualifies as a "beginner" under the definition set forth in HIE and who owns his own home gym, he is advised to apply the one-minute interval throughout the workout. Where effort intensity is low, as during the acclimatization phase of training, the need for interset recovery is less. Moreover, I believe more rapid progression through the workout helps keep the focus and enhances compliance as opposed to more idle time and a more protracted routine.