How many sets

One of the most common areas of confusion among lifters is figuring out exactly how many sets one should do in a workout. On the one hand, you have minimalists who opt for lower volume approaches. With some saying that even just one set taken to failure in a workout is sufficient. Whereas others are in favour of higher volume approaches and working each muscle to the point of exhaustion each workout. Before that: if you're looking for a training program that'll help you set up every single one of your workouts for optimal muscle growth including taking care of your sets and reps , I've got just the thing for you.

And best of all? It's all rooted in science. For more information:. Click the button below to take my analysis quiz to discover the best program for you:. So let's say you were doing the bench press. You lift the weight off the rack and manage to lift it 8 times, and then re-rack it. You then wait for a couple minutes and then repeat it again but this time are able to lift it only 7 times. In this example, you would have performed 2 sets. And in the first set, you performed 8 reps whereas the second set you performed only 7 reps.

And just to be clear, whenever a "set" is discussed in this article it will refer to a set performed within the rep range. And if you're seeking to build muscle, this is the rep range that you'll be most concerned with. If you do less reps than this, you will need more sets whereas if you do more reps you will need less sets. Think of it this way: The harder you train, the less time you'll be able to sustain that level of effort. For example, many men can run for an hour if they jog slowly, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who could do high-intensity sprints—without a major decrease in performance—for that period of time.

And once performance starts to decline, you've achieved all the muscle-building benefits you can for that muscle group. The new standard: Instead of focusing on the number of different exercises you do, shoot for a total number of repetitions between 25 and That could mean five sets of five repetitions of one exercise 25 repetitions or one set of 15 repetitions of two or three exercises 30 to 45 repetitions.

The claim: Allowing your knees to move too far forward during exercises such as the squat and lunge places dangerous shearing forces on your knee ligaments. The origin: A study at Duke University found that keeping the lower leg as vertical as possible during the squat reduced shearing forces on the knee. The truth: Leaning forward too much is more likely to cause injury. In , University of Memphis researchers confirmed that knee stress was 28 percent higher when the knees were allowed to move past the toes during the squat.

But the researchers also found a countereffect: Hip stress increased nearly 1, percent when forward movement of the knee was restricted. The reason: The squatters had to lean their torsos farther forward. And that's a problem, because forces that act on the hip are transferred to the lower back, a more frequent site of injury than the knees.

The new standard: Focus more on your upper body and less on knee position. By trying to keep your torso as upright as possible as you perform squats and lunges , you'll reduce the stress on your hips and back. Two tips for staying upright: Before squatting, squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold them that way; and as you squat, try to keep your forearms perpendicular to the floor.

The claim: You'll increase the support to your spine, reducing the risk of back injuries. The origin: In , researchers in Australia found that some men with back pain had a slight delay in activating their transverse abdominis, a deep abdominal muscle that's part of the musculature that maintains spine stability. As a result, many fitness professionals began instructing their clients to try to pull their belly buttons to their spines—which engages the transverse abdominis—as they performed exercises.

The truth: "The research was accurate, but the interpretation by many researchers and therapists wasn't," says Stuart McGill, Ph. That's because muscles work in teams to stabilize your spine, and the most valuable players change depending on the exercise, says McGill.

Read: The transverse abdominis isn't always the quarterback. In fact, for any given exercise, your body automatically activates the muscles that are most needed for spine support. Training volume is best to approach as a weekly target, as it accounts for how many workouts per week you plan to train a specific muscle group. This likely means a lower weight load. Another important consideration: whether you want to knock out your weekly training volume in one workout or spread it out across several.

The frequency of your muscle group training — or the number of sessions per week — can make a difference in your results. Utilizing three to four sessions per week to hit your training volume will likely provide better results than doing it all at once because of one key factor: recovery. For instance, a very basic split routine would be upper body-lower body. The point of a workout split is to give specific muscle groups time to rest before challenging them again while still hitting the full body every week.

Recovery is an important part of seeing results — especially as your training volume increases — so these breaks are key. This approach is especially good for beginners or those who are strapped for time, as the training volume will be more manageable. Allowing your body at least 1 day to recover between each full-body workout is key, so three sessions per week is a good baseline to start with.

While this method will surely increase muscle size and strength, it will have you training at least 5 days a week, which is a big commitment. Choose five exercises per workout and utilize rep ranges of less than To start, choose two exercises per muscle group, aiming for 3 sets and 10 to 12 reps as a beginner.

Four days per week also works well for a push-pull split, allowing for two push and two pull workouts. To start, choose one to two exercises per muscle group, aiming for 3 sets and 10 to 12 reps as a beginner. In lower rep ranges, aim for at least 2 minutes between sets. In higher rep ranges, aim for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Components like nutrition and sleep are important, too. Although there are many ways to build muscle size, an upper-lower body split is a foolproof way to start.

Aim for a schedule of 4 days per week. Stick in the moderate rep range of 6 to 12 reps for 3 sets. Remember: Recovery is an important part of seeing results — especially as your training volume increases — so breaks like this are key. To build strength, stick in the range of 1 to 5 reps and 4 to 5 sets.