Scientists recently set out to determine whether athletes supplementing with creatine monohydrate could get away with shorter rest periods between sets. The study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, divided 22 creatine-supplementing, weight-trained men into two groups—one would complete a prescribed workout with two-minute rest periods between sets; the other would start at two minutes for the first two weeks and then reduce their rest by 15 seconds each week until eventually resting just 30 seconds between sets in the last week.
By the end of the eight-week study, in which all subjects trained six days a week with a variety of exercises for four sets of 8–10 reps, the constant-rest group was putting up significantly more volume than their fatigued counterparts—23% more on the bench and 15% more in squats. Surprisingly enough, however, while the constant-rest group achieved significant increases in max strength, peak torque, and muscle size, these gains weren’t any different from those seen in subjects in the decreasing rest group that did considerably less work, meaning that supplementing with creatine will allow you to rest less—and even work less—while still seeing the same gains in both performance and size.
References: J.M. Wilson et al., J Int Soc Sports Nutr., 9:18, 2012.
