So you want to build as much muscle as you can? And you’ve been wondering how many sets you should do for building muscle the fastest? If you follow bodybuilding today, it may seem like a foregone conclusion that multiple sets per exercise are better for muscle growth than just one. It’s standard advice to do at least three sets per exercise – sometimes four or five sets.
But maybe you’ve also seen pictures of legendary bodybuilders who did low volume, high-intensity training and built incredible physiques. You might have even heard people claim that one set is all you need if you take it to total failure.
The controversy over how many sets goes all the way back to the days of Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus equipment, who promoted the one set to failure hypothesis. Mike Mentzer, who won the Mr. Universe contest, and Dorian Yates, a Mr. Olympia champion were also big advocates of high intensity training which became known under the abbreviation HIT.
Their workouts varied and may not have consisted of only one set one set in total literally. They may have done one set each on multiple exercises and there may have been warm up sets too, that they didn’t count. But the sessions did typically involve only one all-out “working” set per exercise – two at most – so the workouts were always low in volume.
There are still people who promote low volume training today – it has sustained a cult following. It is also still controversial, with debates all over the internet. All the noise can be enough to make you second guess yourself and wonder if you’re doing too many sets or too few sets.
If you’ve ever been confused about how many sets to do, there’s good news. Today there’s strong scientific evidence about how many sets are ideal for gaining muscle. This has been one of the most studied subjects in exercise science for the last decade. That means the guidelines you’ll learn here are clear and well-supported.
Are Multiple Sets Better Than One for Building Muscle? The Scientific Evidence
Many studies have confirmed that multiple sets per exercise are superior to a single set for muscle growth. In one study (Raedelli et al), the test subjects did 1 set, 3 sets, or 5 sets per exercise, and they found a dose-response effect between the number of sets and the amount of muscle growth. (3 sets built more muscle than 1 set, and 5 sets built more muscle than 3 sets).
In another study (Krieger et al), multiple sets were associated with 40% greater hypertrophy than single sets and this was true in both trained and untrained subjects. These results were published back in 2010 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
We’ve known for quite a few years that multiple sets beat a single set per exercise. That’s not saying you can’t get any muscle growth from doing only a single set. Some muscle size can be built with one intense set per exercise, and especially when multiple exercises are done for one body part.
But “Can you build muscle with only one set?” is not the only question we want to answer. What serious bodybuilders and lifters want to know is this: “What is the optimal number of sets for building the most muscle possible?” The evidence says clearly it’s not one set, or even three sets. And how you’re counting those sets matters.
What Does “How Many Sets” Really Mean?
To avoid confusion, we have to clarify what specifically are we talking about when we ask, “How many sets?”
How many sets per exercise?
How many sets per workout?
How many sets per week?
Each of these questions is looking at a different number.
For example, as support in favor of the high intensity one set to failure approach, advocates have used the example of Dorian Yates. A former Mr. Olympia, Dorian was known for doing one all-out set per exercise per body part. But he did more than one exercise, as many as 3 or 4 for large muscles. That would make it 3 or 4 total sets for that muscle. He also did warm-up sets, which weren’t taken to failure, and weren’t officially counted, but they added to his workouts as well, so this wasn’t really only one set to failure.
In the how many sets debate, one of the biggest confounders has been only looking at how many sets per workout rather than how many sets accumulate for the whole week. You must consider the training frequency.
If you do 4 sets per workout and train each muscle once per week, your weekly sets are only 4. If you do 4 sets per muscle per workout and train each muscle twice a week, now your weekly sets are 8. And if you train each muscle three times per week with 4 sets per workout, now your total weekly sets are 12! That’s the same number of sets per workout, but double or triple the volume per week.
Why Tracking Weekly Sets Per Muscle Matters Most For Muscle Growth
In the newest studies, researchers didn’t simply look at how many sets per exercise or how many sets per workout. The most valuable insights we’ve learned about how many sets are ideal have come from looking at total sets per muscle per week.
That allowed researchers to accurately see the impact of weekly training volume and realize how more weekly sets – up to a point – leads to more muscle gained. It’s why smart bodybuilders keep close track of sets per week in their training logs, because it’s a valuable number to know.
One of the recent studies that accounted for volume per week was a meta-analysis conducted by Brad Shoenfeld and his colleagues. It was published in the Journal of Sports Sciences. They did a search of all the scientific studies that compared the effect of lower weekly volume (fewer sets) and higher weekly volume (more sets) on muscle growth. 15 different studies were analyzed.
There were several important conclusions drawn from this research. First was that low volume training could in fact build a decent amount of muscle. Even groups that did only 5 sets per body part per week still made muscle gains. That’s good news for busy people who don’t have a lot of time to train.
The research also shows it doesn’t take many sets per week to maintain the muscle you already have. But here’s the catch: There’s a big difference between minimum effective dose that gets you some results and the optimal dose that gets you maximum results.
Full-time bodybuilders always want the maximum results possible, and they’ll usually be willing to train as long as they must to get 100% of the possible gains. But many recreational lifters are okay with settling for more modest gains if it means doing shorter workouts with fewer sets.
In the Journal of Sports Sciences study, muscle gains were much better in the subjects that did 10 sets per body part per week. The trainees who did at least 10 sets gained almost twice as much muscle as those who did only 5 weekly sets per muscle.
The main conclusion by the researchers was that there’s a clear dose response relationship between volume and muscle growth, up to a certain point. If you want maximum muscle gains, then multiple sets per exercise are necessary and you’ll want to aim for certain benchmarks for total sets per week.
The Optimal Number Of Sets And Adding Sets For Overload
The consensus today is between 10 and 20 sets per muscle per week is ideal to optimize muscle gains. There’s also a strong agreement among scientists and athletes that 10 sets or slightly more per week is for a sensible minimum threshold that’s achievable by the average trainee.
The number could be slightly fewer for smaller muscles because they already get some work as a synergists. For example, your biceps are already getting some work when you do pulling exercises. Some people count that as “fractional sets.” I don’t bother, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Based on some of the same lines of recent research, it looks like doing more than 10 sets a week can produce even greater gains. It’s common to see advanced bodybuilders aiming for 12 to 15 sets per week. Also consider that volume tolerance might be adaptive – as they gain experience, lifters may need more sets to get the same results.
In addition, adding sets is an effective method of progressive overload. Remember that overload, which is the true driver of continued muscle growth, isn’t just adding weight or reps, it also includes adding volume.
Thinking of volume as a type of progressive overload means it’s a great option to start a training cycle with a moderate amount of volume and build it up over a period of weeks. This gives you time to see how you respond, and possibly discover your personal maximum volume where you make the most gains but can still recover.
The problem with a more is always better mentality is that there’s a diminishing rate of returns as the sets keep going higher. Eventually you reach a point where you’re overtraining and the extra sets are just “junk volume.” Also, 15 to 20 sets per week per muscle is probably pushing the limit of what’s practical and tolerable outside of elite athletes with great genetics and lots of time.
Which Sets Actually Count Toward Weekly Training Volume?
To be clear when we’re talking about these numbers, we must be sure to define what kind of set counts in your weekly number. For example, everyone agrees that non-fatiguing warm up sets shouldn’t count. In addition, if you stop 4 or 5 reps short of failure, we could say those sets are so easy, they don’t make much impact on triggering growth.
For the work sets to count in the weekly volume number, they should be intense sets that meet three criteria of muscle-building training best practices:
1. Load: 60 – 85% of 1 RM (the weight has to be heavy enough).
2. Intensity of effort: 1-2 reps in reserve* (you have to work hard enough).
3. Reps: 6 to 20 (you’re not going so light that endless high reps are possible).
*Experts often say that pushing to within 3 to 4 reps of failure is working hard enough to trigger growth and that might be true. Personally, I feel that stopping 4 reps short of failure is not a very intense effort at all. I aim to come within 1 or 2 reps of failure to call that a high intensity effort.
How Genetics and Periodization Affect the Number of Sets You Can Handle
How many sets a person can handle depends a lot on their genetics and ability to recover, so the ideal number of sets is an individual matter. To some degree, the only way to find your ideal number is to raise your volume gradually until you start seeing signs of over-reaching. One athlete might recover from 20 sets no problem, while another feels burnt at only 12 sets.
This is usually a natural progression as a bodybuilder goes from the beginner to intermediate to advanced level. But if an advanced bodybuilder has never tried raising volume higher than a certain ceiling, it’s worth experimenting, especially if he’s been stuck and not gaining muscle.
Another conclusion we can make from the most recent science is that periodization of volume could be extremely effective. This means that at some times of the year you do more sets, and at other times, you do fewer sets, and you’ll be using volume overload as you progress through a training cycle. Some coaches suggest starting around 10 sets which is the low end of the recommended range and working up toward the higher end which is 20 sets.
During the peaks of the higher volume phases, you might be teetering on the edge of overtraining. As long as you’re staying injury-free, that’s ok, because you’ll never know what your true capacity is if you don’t push yourself at times. Plus, you can simply back off for recovery whenever you need to.
To make it manageable, a lot of coaches and athletes recommend using high volume phases for only one or two muscle groups at a time instead of raising sets for your whole body. This way, you’ll be less likely to experience systemic overtraining. It’s also a great technique for bringing up a lagging muscle group and keeping your physique well-balanced.
You can experiment to find what works for you. Using a system like this will let you discover how your body responds at various volume levels and even how individual muscles respond. Then you can decide if you want to continue using this kind of periodization for the long-term or stick with one level if you find a sweet spot just right for you.
Is More Always Better? Finding the Practical Amount for Training Volume
Even though scientific evidence says that some people would do better if they added more sets, (or more exercises), let me re-emphasize that you shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking more is always better. More is better if it increases muscle growth. More is never better if you can’t recover from it or you get overuse injuries.
Also, even if new research helps us find the ideal number of sets with more certainty and tells us it’s a high number, it might not be practical to do that. The pros might be happy to stay in the gym an extra 40 minutes to maximize their gains, but the average busy person with a job and kids can only train for so long.
That brings us to two final points to remember. These are especially important for people wanting time-efficiency who aren’t able or willing to spend long hours in the gym.
One is to remember that a modest number of sets (around 10 per week per muscle) probably gives you the majority of your gains. If you add volume beyond that point, you may get even more gains, but there will be diminishing returns that may or may not make it worthwhile.
For example, suppose 10 sets per week gets you 90% of possible gains and if you added 5 – 10 more sets, you’d get 100%. The competitive bodybuilder would probably do it. The average person probably wouldn’t because it’s not worth the extra time required for only an extra 10% improvement.
Two is that the same research groups that identified the 10 set guideline as an ideal minimum dose also confirmed that gains can still be achieved in the range of 5 to 8 sets. It’s also possible you might maintain the muscle you have with only a few sets. Some training is always better than no training.
But very low volume lifting, including what some people in the HIT community are promoting, is simply not supported by modern science as optimal. Those appearing to enjoy success on such brief routines might just be maintaining and or they are outliers or exceptions for various reasons.
The science of how many sets is still unfolding in some ways. There are lots of nuances and there’s no single number of sets that works for everyone.
However, we do already have a solid set of best practice guidelines, which you’ve just learned, so start there: Track your weekly sets, experiment with different volumes, tweak it based on your results, and keep doing more of what’s working for you.
Your coach,
Tom Venuto
PS. The training volume guidelines you just learned are only one piece of the puzzle. At Burn the Fat Inner Circle – our members only community – you get access to a total science-based system for transforming your body – including the nutrition, mindset, and training principles that natural bodybuilders and fitness models have used for decades. You also get access to 20 training programs and an exercise library with hundreds of exercise tutorials
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Related Articles:
What The Latest Study Says About How Many Sets You Should DO
A New Look At High Intensity Training And Training To Failure
6 Sets Vs 9 Sets Vs Vs 12 Sets: Which Builds More Muscle?
Is Training Each Muscle Only Once A Week A Bad Idea?
Is Counting Weekly Sets The Best New Way To Gain Muscle?
Scientific References
1. Krieger J et al, Single vs. multiple sets of resistance exercise for muscle hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(4), 1150-1159, 2010.
2. Schoenfeld B et al, Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Science, 35(11), 1073-1082, 2017.
3. Radaelli R, et al, Dose-response of 1, 3, and 5 sets of resistance exercise on strength, local muscular endurance, and hypertrophy. Strength Conditioning Research, 29(5), 1349-1358, 2015.
4. Pelland J, et al, The resistance training dose-response: Meta-regressions exploring the effects of weekly volume and frequency on muscle hypertrophy and strength gain, Sport Rxiv, 2024.
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