These are questions I get all the time, and especially lately. That’s because some recent studies have shown that basically, the more you do in the gym, the more you grow.
Some studies suggest that doing as many as 40 sets per muscle group per week results in more growth than doing 20 sets.
Is that really true though? And if so, how many sets should you be doing every week for optimal growth? Should we just do as many sets as possible?
And on the opposite side of the coin, is there a minimum amount of volume we can get away with?
To help answer these questions, I invited James Krieger back onto the podcast. Not only is he a published scientist and researcher, but he’s an accomplished writer who’s published a humongous treatise on training volume on his blog Weightology. His work is a legitimate “bible” on training volume that’s examined just about every study you’d be able to find on this hot topic.
In this episode, James enlightens us on …
The different methods of counting volume and which one’s best
How many sets beginners should do and how that changes as you get more advanced
Whether you can “resensitize” your muscles to volume increases
If you should “cycle” your volume
How to specialize certain muscle groups
And a lot more!
So, if you want practical guidelines on how much volume you should do for optimal training, and how to keep making gains, and breach plateaus, listen to this episode.
Timestamps:
7:02 – What is volume?
8:56 – Why do you prefer number of hard sets over total reps?
10:13 – How much volume should I be shooting for, for each of the major muscle groups?
14:23 – Why do you have to up the stimulus from intermediate to advance weightlifting?
20:02 – At what point should you consider doing more, how far can you take it, and why?
26:37 – How would you approach focusing on one major muscle group?
36:16 – With the studies that showed growth with lower volumes, were those with experienced weight lifters?
37:22 – Is there a point where volume doesn’t become a stimulus anymore?
45:11 – What are your thoughts on direct versus indirect volume?
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
Legion Featured Author
Mike Matthews
Mike Matthews is the founder and CEO of Legion as well as the author of several award-winning fitness books, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Muscle for Life, and The Shredded Chef.
His simple and science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has sold over a million books and helped thousands of people build their best bodies ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.
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