Minimum and the best number of sets for muscle mass - Based on science

[basia]

@latestnews

Close to failure means sth about RIR 1-5.

I think most people probably think about "close to failure" being more like RPE8/9 rather than RPE5. Most studies talk about RPE7 as being the minimum for strength training, so being 5 reps away from failure is a huge amount.

Regardless, if that's what you mean then I think you need more nuance. There's a huge difference between RIR 1 and RIR 5, especially when you talk about a rep range of 5-10.

RIR1 is going to be way more exhausting than RIR 5. Even the difference between RIR 2 and 3 is big.

I didn't suggest you that you should go to failure each set, did I?

Check again

Minimum number of sets for muscle growth: 2-3 for beginners, 3-6 for advanced, per week per muscle group, to failure.

Optimum number of sets for muscle growth per workout: 5-10 per muscle group, to or close to failure

Optimum number of sets for muscle growth per week: 10-20 per muscle group, to or close to failure

 

[latestnews]

@basia

Most studies talk about RPE7 as being the minimum for strength training, so being 5 reps away from failure is a huge amount.

But this post is about hypertrophy and most studies show that these 5 last reps result in full activation of high treshold motor units. 5 is not a strict number, it's more like 4-6.

There's a huge difference between RIR 1 and RIR 5, especially when you talk about a rep range of 5-10.

Of course there is, no one denies it, but you can achieve hypertrophy with that range 0-5 RIR. If you choose 6RM intensity and you do only 1 rep (5 RIR), you will achieve muscle hypertrophy if you do enough sets. You'll have to do a lot of sets, but you can achieve hypertrophy this way. But if you chose e.g. 8RM and you do only 1 rep (7 RIR), you can do thousands of sets and you still won't notice muscle hypertrophy. At least according to current science knowledge, look below:

Chris Beardsley - Infographic

Check again

Man, you should check again too. This is about minimum. Do you know why we should avoid failure in general? To not accumulate fatigue too quickly. Do you really think that doing 2-3 sets per week to failure we should worry about accumulating fatigue? We can do everything to accumulate as much fatigue as we can, but if we do 2-3 sets, man, believe me, you will recover from it xD

For optimum I've answered you before, look in the previous comment.

 

[basia]

@latestnews

most studies show that these 5 last reps result in full activation of high treshold motor units.

I don't think I'd call RIR 5 "close to failure". Sure, closer than 6...

Of course there is

I take it you also agree that the guidelines are too vague then?

Do you really think that doing 2-3 sets per week to failure we should worry about accumulating fatigue? We can do everything to accumulate as much fatigue as we can, but if we do 2-3 sets, man, believe me, you will recover from it xD

You're being silly. You are telling me you can do 20 sets to failure PER MUSCLE GROUP per week and not have your training impacted by fatigue?

I don't buy it, sorry!

 

[latestnews]

@basia

I don't think I'd call RIR 5 "close to failure". Sure, closer than 6...

Ok, you're right, saying that RIR 5 is close to failure is a bit misleading, but that's how most researcher call it beacuse you can reach hypertrophy here. But yeah, doing sets with RIR 4-5 is pretty easy.

(something is wrong with this reddit posting, weird things happen in editor)... Why? I said in the post that 10-20 sets is the best range for week. That's pretty wide range. I've said too that RIR affects number of sets. If you do RIR 2-3 all the time you can do more reps than someone who does 0-1 RIR. What's not clear here? What did you expect, the exact number of sets for a given RIR?

You are telling me you can do 20 sets to failure PER MUSCLE GROUP per week and not have your training impacted by fatigue?

omg, where did I say that? Minimum is 2-3 sets. About optimum I've replied you earlier, here's a quote:

I've only said that if you go to failure or close to, you should stick to 5-10 sets per workout and 10-20 per week and it will be the best for hypertrophy. You can go to failure if you want. Look, the set ranges are really wide. 5 and 10, 10 and 20, it's huge difference, double as much. It's in the post (2nd slide on insta) that RIR/RPE affects number of sets. If you go to failure, stick to the lower range, if not - go for higher.

Where did I say that if you do 20 sets to failure, you won't be impacted by fatigue?

 

[basia]

@latestnews

Where did I say that if you do 20 sets to failure, you won't be impacted by fatigue?

Optimum number of sets for muscle growth per week: 10-20 per muscle group, to or close to failure

 

[latestnews]

@basia Man, I don't wanna be rude but reading comprehension is a pretty useful skill. If I wanted to continue this conversation I'd have to repeat the same thing 3rd or 4th time. I feel like we're talking the same things since the beginning.

Now I can say that the next post will be about going to failure.

 

[carashow]

@latestnews Great write up! I remember reading an article in muscle and fitness, many years ago, about aging body builders and how one set to failure was enough to maintain mass and a lot easier on old guys joints than doing 8-10 sets of every exercise like young body builders

 

[web209]

@latestnews Hmm.. then, if I only do dips and pull-ups (varying grip every set) should I do 5 sets of both exercises 3 times a week? And stay in the 8-12 range? (I want full hypertrophy)

 

[latestnews]

@web209 You have to chose exercises for muscle groups you want to develop. You shold also know that even if dips develop mostly tricep, chest and delts, they don't develop them equally. Bench press also hits these 3 muscle groups but it doesn't develop them same as dips, right? If you want bigger chest, doing only dips probably won't give you this. If you want the biggest lats in the world, doing only pull ups may not be enough..

Doing only pull ups and dips, 5 sets 3 times a week close to failure anywhere between 5-20 rep range will result in muscle growth, yes. But keep in mind things I've mentioned above. 8-12 is not a strict, magic rep range. You can build muscles doing 3-4 rep range and 15-20 too, but 6-12 is better for some reasons. But yes, doing 15 reps will result in the same muscle growth as doing 5 reps if you do them to failure in both cases. If you keep the same RIR, let's say 1, results will be the same but practically it's very hard to do (I'd say impossible), because guessing RIR on high rep ranges is really hard (again, I'd say impossible).

1.About 5 last reps are those which provide the best hypertrophy, so if you do 2-3 reps per set to failure, you have to do more sets

2.Low rep ranges are simply more risky, dangerous, harder for your joints

3.High rep ranges are more toxic, harder to recover from. By doing 15 reps you're doing more work than if you were doing 10 reps, but same hypertrophy results (beacuse general work is not a driver for hypertrophy). So more work =/= more muscle gains, but more work = more time needed to recover.

Those are some of the reasons why the 6-12 rep range is so good for hypertrophy. There are more, but it's for another post. It's a golden mean, happy medium

 

[web209]

@latestnews Thanks man. I had always do "bro science" routine, like doing pull ups and dips everyday, some days 12 sets, etc. just for volume, and I have noticed little progress. Like I have got better at the exercises, but not so much muscular growth. And I was frustrated.

Thanks to your post I am motivated again because this is science, it is guaranteed that a human in those ranges (10-20 sets per week) close to failure and with good technique will notice growth and strength gain.

I already started yesterday my new routine based in science. Weighted pull ups/chin-ups (changing grip every set), weighted dips, leg raises, 5x10 each, as I want mainly hypertrophy.

I started with 5x8 bodyweight pull-ups but will add reps every week until 5x10, then adding weight using dip velt, and same to dips, which I did 5x12 so I think I can add 5-10 KGS to them now. About leg raises I did knee raises 5x10 with some bad form so I will work to 5x10 LEG raises with good form, then adding weight by holding a dumbbell with the feet. I hope I finally progress and get muscled!

 

[latestnews]

@web209 Thanks I hope that you'll see nice results. Unfortunately it's not that simple and only knowing right number of sets may not be enough. Much more variables. But keep going and try. You will not know until you try

 

[web209]

@latestnews Yes yes of course, but I mean. 15 sets per week, with progressive overload with weights, nice technique and time under tension (like explosive concentric and 2 secs eccentric), caloric surplus. I think I bought all the muscle growth lottery tickets?

 

[latestnews]

@web209 Tbh? No.

What we know for now, one of the best way to progress with muscle growth is increasing in time/blocks/periods number of those high effective reps (HER), e.g. this january you've done 100 HER for chest, next January you've done 120 HER. HER is what matters in hypertrophy. That's the real volume, the thing you should increase. But it's not like you have to icnrease it from workout to workout. If you divide your workout, your mesosycle into 3 blocks: A, B, C, it means that in the 2nd meso in block A you should do more HER than in 1st A block. Comparing A to B or to C is a nonsense. Increasing weight isn't the best way to measure this progress, because bigger weight is a sign of more strength, not exactly more muscles (but they're correlated, that's why it isn't black and white and you still should increase weight in some blocks, from time to time).

TUT doesn't matter at all in muscle growth, but explosive concentric and 2 secs eccentric are pretty good standard reps.

Caloric surplus - yes. Too high level of fat - no.

All of these are pretty big topics so please, don't blame me but I probably won't answer you if you ask about them.

 

[ufuk]

@latestnews Sorry if I say bullshit but I'm not English , from what I've understood, we have to work until failure for the 30-50% of the sets to get bigger and we should do high reps. But what is the best rest time between each rep? Usually I rest 30-45 seconds between series of 20 reps

 

[latestnews]

@ufuk You should go close to failure unless you aim for a min number of sets. Then go to failure. But if you're in the optimal range, you shouldn't go to failure in most of your sets. Based on current knowledge, about 5 last reps are those which drive hypertrophy. So as long as you're 0-5 RIR you probably build muscles. In studies they go to failure because going to failure is objective. Failure is failure.

and we should do high reps

6-12 rep range was used in the studies. You definitely can build muscles in a wider range, around 1-20 (maybe 25). But 6-12 is like a sweet spot because of a few reasons, e.g.:

1.About 5 last reps are those which provide the most hypertrophy, so if you do 2-3 reps per set to failure (very low rep range), you have to do more sets.

2.Low rep ranges are simply more risky, dangerous, harder for your joints

3.High rep ranges are more toxic, harder to recover from. By doing 15 reps you're doing more work than if you were doing 10 reps, but same hypertrophy results (beacuse general work is not a driver for hypertrophy). So more work =/= more muscle gains, but more work = more time needed to recover.

 

[grateful12]

@latestnews When saying "X sets per muscle group," how does that apply to exercises hitting different heads of those muscles? For example, if I did 5-10 sets of decline pushups and 5-10 sets of dips, would that count as 10-20 sets of chest (optimum range), or 5-10 sets of upper chest and 5-10 sets of lower chest (below optimum range)?

 

[dawn16]

@latestnews Reviving this but can someone tell me if I’m intermediate training back for hypertrophy
Bent over rows - 6 sets of 10
lat pulls downs 5 sets of 10. — this is enough and more than adequate for hypertrophy per week that’s 11 working sets ?
Not including warmup

 

[joe2000]

@latestnews I’ve heard the 10-20 sets/week/body part a lot but have always wondered what body part means, especially for deltoids and different muscles in the back, does anyone know?

 

[ellenu3689]

@joe2000 Thats what Ive been wondering. Does mucle group mean back for example. Or would it be 10 Sets for lats, 10 Sets for upper back, etc or just 10 back sets. Did you find an awnser yet?

 

[nicolac]

@latestnews hi all and @latestnews thanks a lot for posting this, is hugely helpful.

One question which is haunting me: when we speak about e.g. 10-20 sets per week per muscle group, are we taking about e.g. 10 sets of pulling exercises, 10 sets of pushing exercises, 10 sets of hamstrings and 10 sets of quad dominants, or 10 sets of upper body (push and pull) and 10 sets of lower body exercises (quads and hamstrings)?