How Many Sets Do You Really Need to Build Muscle?
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the optimal number of sets for muscle growth, debunking common misconceptions. It reviews research studies, including a 2017 meta-analysis by Brad Schenfeld, which suggest a dose-response relationship between sets and muscle growth, with diminishing returns beyond a certain volume. The script highlights the importance of individual response, proper exercise execution, rest periods, and indirect muscle work in determining the ideal set volume. It emphasizes that while a range of 10 to 20 sets per muscle per week is generally beneficial, the 'sweet spot' varies and can be less for beginners or those struggling with consistency. The video concludes with advice on how to apply this research to one's workout routine and offers free minimalist and optimal workout plans for different needs.
Takeaways
- 💪 The optimal number of sets for muscle growth is likely less than many people are currently doing.
- 📊 A 2017 study by Brad Schenfeld found a dose-response relationship between muscle growth and sets, with 10+ sets per muscle per week showing the most growth.
- 🔄 More recent research suggests there might be an upper limit to the number of sets after which additional volume does not lead to more growth and could hinder it due to recovery issues.
- 🏋️♂️ The sweet spot for sets per muscle per week seems to be between 10 to 20, but individual response can vary greatly.
- 👤 Individual response to training volume is highly personalized, with some people responding better to low volumes and others to high volumes.
- 🏋️♀️ Exercise execution and maintaining good form while pushing close to failure is crucial, as sloppy sets do not effectively stimulate muscle growth.
- ⏱ The length of rest periods between sets can affect the volume needed for growth, with longer rests potentially allowing for fewer sets.
- 🤔 The way secondary muscles are counted in sets can impact volume recommendations, with some muscles like triceps responding better to higher volumes.
- 🔍 High-intensity training, where one set per exercise is performed to failure, can be effective because it provides a similar stimulus as multiple sets.
- 📉 Even though higher volumes can lead to more growth, the gains from additional sets are marginal, with 5-9 sets giving about 80% of maximum growth.
- 🚀 For beginners and those struggling with consistency, starting with a lower volume and gradually increasing can lead to significant results without overwhelming the body.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video script?
-The main topic discussed in the video script is the optimal number of sets for muscle growth, especially for natural bodybuilders, and the factors that influence this number.
What was the first major analysis on the number of sets affecting muscle growth conducted by Brad Schenfeld in 2017?
-The first major analysis conducted by Brad Schenfeld in 2017 compared 1 to 5 sets, 5 to 9 sets, and 10 plus sets per muscle per week, and discovered a dose-response relationship between muscle growth and the number of sets performed.
What did the meta-analysis show about the relationship between the number of sets and muscle growth?
-The meta-analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between the number of sets and muscle growth, with 10 plus sets per muscle per week resulting in the most growth.
What was the conclusion of the second meta-analysis comparing lower, moderate, and high volumes of sets per muscle per week?
-The second meta-analysis concluded that while moderate and high volumes led to more growth compared to low volumes, there were no significant differences between moderate and high volumes, suggesting an upper limit beyond which more volume does not lead to more growth.
What is the suggested 'sweet spot' for the number of sets per muscle per week based on the analyses?
-The suggested 'sweet spot' for the number of sets per muscle per week is somewhere within the range of 10 to 20 sets, although this is still a wide range and the exact number can vary based on individual factors.
What are some factors that an individual needs to consider when determining the optimal number of sets for their muscle growth?
-Factors to consider include individual response to training volume, exercise execution, rest periods between sets, how secondary muscles are counted in the total volume, and the specific regions within a muscle being trained.
How did Max UC's experience with training volume and muscle growth differ from the initial findings of the meta-analysis?
-Max UC experienced that doing a high volume of sets (30-40 sets per muscle group per week) did not lead to the expected gains, and he saw better growth by reducing the volume to 7 to 12 sets per week per muscle group, training very close to failure while maintaining good form.
What is the significance of maintaining good form and training close to failure in the context of the discussed training volumes?
-Maintaining good form and training close to failure ensures that the muscles are adequately stimulated without the need for excessive sets, which can lead to overtraining and hinder recovery and growth.
How do rest periods between sets affect the required volume for muscle growth?
-Research suggests that taking shorter rest periods (less than 2 minutes) requires more sets to achieve the same growth as taking longer rest periods, which can influence the optimal volume for an individual.
What is the recommendation for individuals who are not seeing gains despite proper form, nutrition, and rest?
-For individuals not seeing gains, the recommendation is to consider increasing the volume slightly, adding about two more weekly sets, especially on lagging muscles, and monitor progress to adjust accordingly.
What resources does the video offer for those seeking customized workout routines based on the discussed research?
-The video offers three different weekly workout plans available at buwissi.com/lfw for free, and also directs viewers to builtwithscience.com for a quiz that helps in discovering the best customized program for their needs.
Outlines
💪 Optimal Set Ranges for Muscle Growth
The script discusses the debate over the ideal number of sets for muscle growth, citing research from Brad Schenfeld in 2017 that compared 1 to 5, 5 to 9, and 10+ sets per muscle per week. It found a dose-response relationship with 10+ sets leading to the most growth. However, subsequent research indicated that there might be an upper limit beyond which additional volume doesn't lead to more growth and could hinder it due to recovery issues. The sweet spot is suggested to be between 10 to 20 sets per muscle per week, but individual response varies significantly. The video also emphasizes the importance of exercise execution, rest periods, and counting sets accurately, including indirect muscle work. It concludes that while higher volumes can be beneficial, they are not always necessary, and consistency with lower volumes can still yield good results.
🏋️♂️ Factors Influencing Volume and Growth
This paragraph delves into factors that influence the volume needed for muscle growth, such as rest periods between sets, with shorter rests requiring more sets for the same growth. It also discusses the importance of accurately counting sets, including indirect muscle work, and how this can affect volume recommendations. The triceps muscle is highlighted as an exception, responding better to higher volumes. The paragraph emphasizes that not everyone should follow the optimal volume; beginners should start with lower volumes, and as experience is gained, adjustments can be made based on progress and individual needs. The video promises to provide minimalist and optimal workout routines at the end, tailored to different volume needs.
📈 Applying Research to Personal Training
The final paragraph provides guidance on how to apply the research findings to personal training routines. It suggests starting with the lower end of the recommended 10 to 20 weekly sets, especially for beginners, and emphasizes the importance of form, intensity, and rest. As trainees progress, they may need to adjust their volume based on their gains and recovery capabilities. The video offers a flowchart from 'Muscle and Strength Pyramids' to help determine if more volume is needed. It concludes by offering free workout plans for different volume needs and encourages viewers to take a quiz for a customized program, ending with a teaser for a future video on a science-based training technique.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Muscle Growth
💡Sets
💡Volume
💡Failure
💡Dose-Response Relationship
💡Meta-Analysis
💡Individual Response
💡Exercise Execution
💡Rest Periods
💡High-Intensity Training
💡Minimalist Workout Routine
Highlights
The optimal number of sets for muscle growth might be less than currently practiced.
A 2017 analysis by Brad Schenfeld found a dose-response relationship between sets and muscle growth.
10+ sets per muscle per week resulted in the most growth, according to the 2017 meta-analysis.
More recent research suggests there might be an upper limit to the number of sets for optimal muscle growth.
A 2019 study showed individual responses to training volume can vary greatly.
Exercise execution and maintaining good form are crucial to effective training.
Longer rest periods between sets can reduce the number of sets needed for growth.
The triceps muscle responded better to higher volumes, unlike other muscles.
Indirectly worked muscles may not need as many direct sets due to their frequent engagement.
High-intensity training with single sets can be effective due to the intensity of effort.
10 sets per muscle per week might be the sweet spot for maximizing growth.
Even just three sets per muscle per week can lead to muscle growth in trained individuals.
Consistency is key, and optimal volume is not necessary for everyone to see results.
A minimalist workout routine with 6 sets per muscle is provided for those seeking a less demanding approach.
A 5-day per week routine with around 14 sets per muscle is suggested for higher volume needs.
A free minimalist and optimal workout routine is offered for those who want a science-based approach.
Transcripts
how many sets do you really need to
build muscle some say just one set taken
to all o failure is best whereas others
preach high volume doing four to five
sets per exercise and taking over 3
hours to complete a single workout who's
right and more importantly how many sets
should you do especially as a natural
well the answer might surprise you and
is probably a lot less than you're
currently doing the first major analysis
on how the number of sets you do affects
muscle growth was done in 2017 led by
researcher Brad shenfeld they compared 1
to 5 5 to9 and 10 plus sets per muscle
per week so for example six weekly sets
for the chest could be three sets of
bench and three sets of flies now what
they discovered is a dose response
relationship between muscle growth and
the number of sets per form with 10 plus
sets per muscle per week resulting in
the most growth after this met analysis
was published pretty much all of us
Fitness nerds were under the impression
that more volume was better almost
instantly I bumped pumped out the number
of sets on all my exercises
unfortunately it didn't end up
skyrocketing my gains the way I hoped it
would it wasn't until more research came
out that I realized the mistake I made
you see while this analysis did suggest
that more was better it didn't let us
know just how far we could push it while
still continuing to see better gains
fortunately 6 years later a new group of
researchers decided to perform a similar
analysis this time they compared lower
volumes of less than 12 sets moderate
volumes of 12 to 20 sets
and high volumes of more than 20 sets
per muscle per week they also
standardize the data by only looking at
sets performed within 6 to 20 reps the
result well although moderate and high
volumes led to more growth compared to
low volumes in almost all the muscles
measured there were no significant
differences between the two the one
exception was the triceps which
responded better to higher volumes but
we'll talk more about what this means
later on but overall this analysis
suggests there may be some kind of upper
limit we to much much volume doesn't
lead to more growth and in some cases
might even hinder growth because of
recovery issues The Sweet Spot seems to
be somewhere within the range of 10 to
20 sets per muscle per week but this is
still a very wide range 20 sets is
double the time and work compared to 10
sets to find where exactly within this
range is best for you there's five other
factors you need to consider the first
of which is your individual response so
the studies we covered earlier while
they do provide us with great insight
they look at averages to see what the
best General recommendation is but in
the case of volume it seems to be highly
individual illustrating this is a 2019
study from the Journal of sports science
where they had 19 participants train one
leg with 6 to9 sets per week and their
other leg with 15 sets per week after 8
weeks roughly a third of the
participants had a leg that responded
better from low volume a third had a leg
which responded better from high volumes
and a third had a similar response in
both legs suggesting that what one
person can recover well and grow from
may end up being too much for someone
else now later in this video I'll show
you guys how to determine if what you're
currently doing is too much or too
little for you but one thing that will
play a big role in that is exercise
execution Max UC a 22-year-old natural
bodybuilder experienced this firsthand
it was probably 30 30 to 40 sets per
muscle group per week for example you
know a chest day I was doing every chest
movement I could think of you know upper
chest flies incline bench press flat
bench press all these sets were sloppy
and you know my I wasn't actually taking
the muscles to failure know I tell
myself all right 30 reps of bicep curls
and I'll stop once I hit 30 and then my
last 15 I was I was just swinging up and
down it was a mess I mean eventually I
got to a point where months down the
line I just wasn't seeing any progress
in terms of you know my lips weren't
going up I wasn't putting on any muscle
so now I'm doing anywhere from 7 to 12
sets per week per muscle group as as
opposed to you know 30 plus I've
definitely seen the most growth I've
ever seen in terms of you know raining
quote unquote a lower volume than normal
and you know the the thing that really
helped me do that is you know training
very close to failure because when
you're training very close to failure uh
your muscles just won't need that many
sets but you know when that set gets
hard you need to maintain good form if
your form is breaking down to where you
know you're using momentum and your reps
are getting super sloppy then you know
you're not taking your muscles to
failure so the last thing I did when it
comes to you know lowering my volume
that really helped was taking longer
rest periods because obviously you know
when you're training very hard and very
intensely your muscles just need to
require more rest I think when you
maintain proper technique and you take
your muscles to failure then hair that
with a lower volume approach you're
you're doing everything that you need to
do without going overboard and creating
all of this fatigue and creating all
this muscle damage that needs to be
recovered from this allign with my own
experience as well actually push
yourself close to failure on all your
sets while maintaining good form and
you'll get way more out of less but Max
also mentioned he ended up taking longer
rest periods between a sets which is
another factor that will affect how much
volume you need to grow if you take
shorter rest between sets such as less
than 2 minutes research suggests you'll
need to do more sets to get the same
amount of growth as you would from
taking longer rest and unfortunately the
research I covered earlier that helped
us come up with that 10 to 20 set range
use studies where the rest periods
different some studies use shorter rests
whereas other studies use longer rests
so if you usually take longer rest
periods I personally recommend at least
2 minutes between most of your sets it's
likely that the lower end of this 10 to
20 range will be best whereas the higher
end of this range would likely be
necessary if you mostly use shorter rest
periods but this also depends on the
next Factor how you cter sets so
remember how in the meta analysis we
covered earlier none of the muscles
responded better to really high volume
voles except for the triceps well it's
important to consider how they counted
their SCS generally researchers still
count muscles that are indirectly worked
with an exercise as one full set for
that muscle so for example during the
bench press they'll count that as one
set for the chest and also one set for
the triceps now whether or not this
should truly count as one set for the
secondary muscle is Up For Debate but it
does affect the volume recommendations
for example even though the study showed
that triceps responded really well to 20
plus sets per week if you look at the
average person's workout routine this
would only be about six direct sets for
triceps if you also counted all the
pressing movements they're already doing
now the front side and rear delts as
well as the biceps probably fall under
this category as well unless you want to
prioritize them they don't need quite as
many direct sets because of how often
they're indirectly worked this also
applies for Regions within a muscle the
chest for example doesn't need 10 sets
each for the upper middle and lower
portions
rather the chest in general would
require around 10 weekly sets and you'd
ideally split those sets up by using
exercises that emphasize the different
regions and I also think this
discrepancy in how people count their
sets is why high-intensity training
where you usually do just one step per
exercise can work and has worked for
many people you see in the research we
covered subjects would stop each set
once they reach failure or close enough
to it but Dorian Yates six time Mr
Olympia who is popularized
high-intensity training describes his
set as one all out set extended Beyond
failure with Force reps rest pause reps
or dropsite reps a set is properly
finished only when additional movement
is utterly impossible so as you can
imagine one set performed in this
fashion can very likely be the same time
under tension and stimulus that two to
three normal sets would provide lastly
and probably most importantly not
everyone should be doing what's optimal
although somewhere within the 10 to 20
weekly set range is probably what will
maximize growth you'd be surprised with
just how little volume you need to still
get really great results 10 sets doesn't
give you double the growth as five sets
each additional set you do only gets you
marginally better gains and if we look
back at the 2017 man analysis we covered
earlier even though 10 or more weekly
sets led to the most growth 5 to 9
weekly sets still gave about 80% of the
max growth so for example for chest this
could be as little as three sets of
bench and three sets of flies every week
which could pretty much cut your workout
times in half in fact in some cases even
in trained individuals just three sets
per muscle per week has been shown to
build some muscle so if you're having
trouble just being consistent in the
first place don't chase optimal do what
you can and realize you can still get
great results with far less than you
think and at the end of the video I am
going to provide you guys with a free
minimalist and optimal workout routine
you can use with all the science and the
sets they can care of for you but first
we need to discuss how exactly to start
applying all the research we've covered
first off I'd recommend starting off at
the low end of the 10 to 20 weekly set
range especially if you're a beginner
you don't want to do higher volumes than
your body can currently handle 10 weekly
sets for chest for example could look
like this if you trained all your
muscles twice a week which is generally
how I would recommend splitting your
volume up now even if you're past the
beginner stage dial in your form make
sure you're pushing hard enough take
longer rest periods and it's very likely
you'll start seeing better results
despite doing far less than you were
before but eventually as you get more
experience you may reach a point where
your gains have completely stalled and
your body is actually ready for more
volume but before you make any changes
I'd recommend going through this
flowchart from the muscle and strength
pyramids book written by researcher Eric
CS for example if you're sleeping well
pushing hard with good form and eating
it enough yet you're still not seeing
gains then you might actually need more
volume in this case add about two more
weekly sets especially on muscles that
are lagging behind and see how you
progress otherwise you might actually be
doing more than you can recover from and
might need to take a break or decrease
your weekly volume now since you stuck
around for this long I thought I'd leave
you with a gift I've created three
different weekly workout plans a quick
3-day per week minimalist routine with
around six sets per muscle a 4day per
week routine with 10 sets per muscle to
potentially maximize gains and a 5-day
per week routine with around 14 sets per
muscle for those who might need a little
higher volume they're completely free
and you can grab these routines over at
buwis si.com slf freework workouts but
for those who want some more help and
are looking for a fully customized done
for you plan just take our quiz over at
builtwith science.com to discover the
best program for you and your body also
give this video watch next for a new
science-based training technique you can
apply to all your sets to potentially
get almost double the muscle growth
thank you so much for watching I'll see
you next time
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