Is there a minimum number of sets per workout?

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For muscle growth, you do a maximum of 5 to 12 sets per muscle group per training. After all, after 5 sets, the growth stimulus already starts to decrease considerably, only to stagnate around 10 sets. But would you also be able to suffice with one set per muscle group per training? Or do you need a minimum number of sets to fuel muscle growth? And why would you only do a few sets per muscle group during a training?

Key points:

1.   In principle, no minimum number of sets per muscle group per training is required for muscle growth (well, more than zero of course). You can therefore already achieve muscle growth with one (immediate) working set, provided the set is challenging enough (ie training is carried out close to muscle failure). This is all the more so because the first set, in theory, provides the most growth stimulus.

2.   Doing several sets of one exercise in succession can increase the quality of those sets. That is why 2-3 consecutive sets per exercise is a good starting point.

3.   Low volume, high frequency training (for example training each muscle group 5x a week) allows you to get maximum growth stimulus from your volume. After all, you only do the ‘early’ sets, which trigger the greatest growth stimulus, and delete the later sets, which (in theory) yield less muscle growth, to do them during the next training. For the sake of recovery, this way of training is only suitable for advanced bodybuilders and even then it requires well-considered programming.

4.   Always do a maximum of 5-12 sets per muscle group per training (sets from indirect exercises included).

FROM AN EVOLUTIONARY POINT OF VIEW

From an evolutionary point of view, anaerobic exertion, such as exertion of force, is mainly intended for a very short period of time — short, but intense [ ii ] . For example, real life fights never last long, they have no rounds.

Coach and scientist Eric Helms therefore sees no reason why 1-3 sets per muscle group per session should not provide sufficient growth stimulus [ i ] .

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING

From a scientific point of view, we can say that the first growth stimulus you apply to a muscle during a workout is by far the largest. With the first set you may already realize 60 percent of the total possible muscle growth [ iii ] . The first cut is the deepest.

Although advanced players may need more sets to reach that 60 percent, Helms’ colleague Mike Israetel thinks [ iv ] . The more sets you do, the smaller the growth stimulus becomes, to stagnate at some point – the principle of diminished returns.

Scientist and Stronger by Science author Greg Nuckols also thinks, based on studies on training volume, that one set will already bring about muscle growth, although more sets obviously result in more muscle growth. But because of the reduced return you shouldn’t put too many sets in one session [ vii ] (more on that in the next section).

The first set provides the greatest growth stimulus. After roughly five sets, the return starts to decrease sharply, to stagnate around ten sets.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING

But what is the optimal number of sets per muscle group per session from a practical point of view?

The first set is not always the best quality set. For example, with the second set of the same exercise you often experience a better mind-muscle connection, which has a beneficial effect on muscle growth. The technical implementation is also not always optimal during the first set. Often this improves as you do several sets. Coach Mike Israetel therefore recommends doing at least 2-3 sets in a row for an exercise [ ix ] . However, do not exceed 5-7 [ x ] .

Apart from that, it is of course simply impossible to do only one set per muscle group or per exercise every workout, since you usually need at least 10 sets per muscle group per week for muscle growth. You can leave it at one exercise per muscle group per workout.

LOW SESSION VOLUMES: PROS AND CONS

Low session volumes (≤ 5 sets per muscle group per workout) are a break with the old ‘bro style’ training, where you bombard a muscle group with many exercises in a row.

BENEFITS

Training with low session volumes offers two major benefits: it can increase the effectiveness and quality of your sets.

EFFECTIVENESS

The first advantage is the high effectiveness per set. If you only do 1-3 sets per muscle group, you only do the most effective volume per session (the first part of the red curve in the figure above). The sets that no longer yield as much muscle growth (the reduced yield), you skip, as it were. And because you do so few sets, the muscle will probably recover within 24 hours and you can train it again the next day.

Thus, you could even train a muscle group six or seven times a week, creating much more growth stimulus than if you were to cram the same volume into one or two sessions. Greg Nuckols:

Having higher frequencies to a point is going to allow you to do more high quality volume per muscle group. [ vii ]

Training muscle groups almost daily is something we only recommend to intermediate and advanced bodybuilders; beginners often need more recovery time, even with small session volumes. But even as an advanced person you have to apply such a high training frequency with policy. For example, do not train your sets to complete muscle failure, as that entails much more fatigue and therefore recovery time.

QUALITY

The second advantage is that you can do high-quality sets because there is no ‘pre-fatigue’ of the muscle. Although the central fatigue will have increased after training other muscle groups.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

More return through low session volume is the thinking behind, for example, the 5 days on, 2 days off protocol, which was recently promoted by Eric Helms and YouTube coach Jeff Nippard. You do full body five days in a row – with a limited number of sets per muscle group in each workout – followed by two days of rest.

Another prominent coach, Menno Henselmans, also says he has good experience with protocols where one or two sets are done per session, resulting in almost daily training of a muscle group [ v ] .

CONS

However , there are also potential drawbacks to low session volumes [ vi ] .

HIGH TRAINING FREQUENCY REQUIRED

For example, you must be able to train often to meet your weekly volume needs. Average bodybuilders usually need around 15 sets per muscle group per week to grow. If you only do two sets per session, you have to train the muscle group in question every day to achieve that volume.

FAST RECOVERY REQUIRED

Training a muscle group almost daily requires more of your recovery capacity. Because you have (almost) no rest days, your recovery should be optimal every day (and night). Even then, recovery problems can arise, because muscles can recover within 24 hours, but joints and tendons sometimes need more time.

Therefore, make sure you alternate between compound and isolating exercises, heavy and light weights, and great effort (up to near-muscle failure) and moderate effort (a few reps away from muscle failure). So it’s okay to train your quadriceps every day, but not do heavy barbell squats every day .

CONCLUSIONS AND ADVICE

1.    In principle, no minimum number of sets per muscle group per training is required for muscle growth (well, more than zero of course). You can therefore already achieve muscle growth with one (immediate) working set, provided that the set is challenging enough (i.e. training is carried out close to muscle failure). This is all the more so because the first set, in theory, provides the most growth stimulus.

2.    Doing several sets of one exercise in succession can increase the quality of those sets. That is why 2-3 consecutive sets per exercise is a good starting point.

3.    Low volume, high frequency training (for example training each muscle group 5x a week) allows you to get maximum growth stimulus from your volume. After all, you only do the ‘early’ sets, which trigger the greatest growth stimulus, and delete the later sets, which (in theory) yield less muscle growth, to do them during the next training. For the sake of recovery, this way of training is only suitable for advanced users and even then it requires well-considered programming.

4.    Always do a maximum of 5-12 sets per muscle group per workout (sets from indirect exercises included).

REFERENCES

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