It may be beneficial to add more sets to leg training to increase muscle growth and strength. Both the 24 and 32 set groups increased their pre-training volume compared to the 16 sets per week group who decreased their weekly sets performed.
HOW MANY EXERCISES PER WORKOUT? HIGH VOLUME WORKOUT FOR BETTER GAINS IN MUSCLE SUMMARY
- The study found that a high volume workout resulted in better muscle gains than a lower volume workout.
- It may be beneficial to add more sets to leg training to increase muscle growth and strength. Both the 24 and 32-set groups increased their pre-training volume compared to the 16 sets per week group and decreased their weekly sets performed.
- An 8-week high volume/set training session followed by a deload may be beneficial for increasing muscle growth
HOW MANY SETS TO GAIN MUSCLE
A previous article on Evidence-Based Muscle discussed the relationship between the number of sets and muscle growth. Several factors determine muscle growth. a.) The level of effort must be sufficiently high to stimulate muscle growth. (1)
b.) The sets must be of sufficient effort to stimulate muscle growth (2),
c.) The sets must be taken close to or a few reps shy of failure (3).
Several potential relationships between volume (i.e., sets x reps) and muscle growth have been suggested:
(a) a dose-response relationship, where gradual increases in weekly sets lead to a greater increase in muscle growth and strength,(4)
(b) an inverted-U relationship, whereby increasing weekly sets beyond a certain threshold negatively impacts muscle growth(5), and
(c) no relationship between weekly sets and muscle growth or strength (6, 7).
HIGH VOLUME THRESHOLD
The current evidence suggests that there is a threshold in which further sets do not increase muscle growth or can even result in a decrease in muscle growth. The evidence suggests that 10-20 sets were the optimal number of sets to be performed each week. What about more than 20 sets? Are there any studies suggesting that performing more than 20 sets per week can further increase muscle growth? A new study set out to determine the relationship between muscle growth and going beyond 20 sets per week.
THEY DID HOW MANY SETS PER WEEK?
This study had trained men perform various amounts of weekly volume (16 sets, 24 sets, or 32 sets per muscle group) for 8 weeks, then assessed strength and muscle growth after 8-weeks. The 32-set group performed 16 sets of multi-joint exercises and 16 sets of single-joint exercises. The 24-set group performed 12 sets of both multi- and single-joint movements, and the 16-set group performed 8 sets of each. See the charts below.
Brigatto, F. A., Lima, L., Germano, M. D., Aoki, M. S., Braz, T. V., & Lopes, C. R. (2022). High Resistance-Training Volume Enhances Muscle Thickness in Resistance-Trained Men. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 36(1), 22–30.THE STUDY
HIGH VOLUME WORKOUT RESULTED IN BETTER MUSCLE GAINS
In terms of muscle growth, there was a strong correlation between training volume (sets) and muscle growth of the biceps, triceps, and quadriceps. All groups increased strength and size, but the 32-set group had significantly greater increases in squat 1RM, quadriceps muscle thickness, and triceps muscle thickness than the 16-set group. (8)
Brigatto, F. A., Lima, L., Germano, M. D., Aoki, M. S., Braz, T. V., & Lopes, C. R. (2022). High Resistance-Training Volume Enhances Muscle Thickness in Resistance-Trained Men. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 36(1), 22–30.
SUBJECTS PREVIOUS TRAINING SETS BEFORE ENTERING THE STUDY DETERMINED MUSCLE GAINS
One important note was that the researchers recorded the subject’s previous training volume of all the subjects before entering the study. The subjects in the 16-set-per-week group had a 50% reduction in sets so they could have been detraining with a decrease in sets. The number of weekly sets for this muscle was reduced in the 16 sets per week group during the study from 21 to 16 sets. In the 24 and 32 sets groups, the number of weekly sets for the quadriceps was increased (from 16 to 24 and 19 to 32, respectively). Interestingly, this muscle group saw the biggest increases in muscle size.
So, it is worth considering that this study was a short-term overreaching protocol for the lower body for some individuals in the higher set groups. This research agrees with other studies showing that the legs respond better to high-set volume training than the upper body limbs. (9, 10)
STUDIES ON HIGH VOLUME WORKOUTS
Previous studies have found that most resistance-trained men perform more sets for the upper body than the lower body; the legs may adapt better to high-volume training. (11) The author suspected that the 32 sets per week group had a novel increase in tension overload thru increased sets that spurred greater muscle growth. The triceps and quads had the greatest increases in muscle growth with the additional sets, whereas the biceps had an insignificant effect.
This was an 8-week protocol; using a high-volume protocol like this for longer than 8 weeks could very well lead to overtraining. These were men with previous resistance training experience, so this type of program is not advocated for beginners. The study showed that leg training might benefit from doing more sets for muscle growth and strength.
There was a dose-dependent response to muscle growth for the triceps and quads but not for the biceps. Lifters may want to experiment with a high-volume protocol like this for 8 weeks and see for yourself if you get increases in muscle growth. Again, keep in mind all the groups that made increases in muscle growth increased their weekly sets, so it may be best to add a few sets to your current training program for more muscle growth.
HIGH VOLUME WORKOUT KEY POINTS
- It may be beneficial to add more sets to leg training to increase muscle growth and strength. Both the 24 and 32-set groups increased their pre-training volume compared to the 16 sets per week group and decreased their weekly sets performed.
- An 8-week high volume/set training session followed by a deload may be beneficial for increasing muscle growth
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