The Claim

In individuals who are already achieving sufficient muscle hypertrophy with low training volume, further increases in training volume result in only minimal additional hypertrophic gains relative to the disproportionately greater increases in fatigue and recovery demands, leading to a less favorable cost-benefit ratio for muscle growth.

Source: Did high-volume training just get debunked? [2 New studies]

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
68score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Cause and effect
2 studies reviewed
In plain English

If you're already building muscle well with just a little bit of lifting, doing a lot more workouts won't help much more and will just make you more tired and slower to recover — it's not worth the extra effort.

See the scientific wording

For individuals currently experiencing adequate muscle hypertrophy with low training volume, increasing volume yields only marginal additional gains relative to the increased fatigue and recovery demand, resulting in a suboptimal cost-benefit ratio.

Why this might work

When muscles are already growing well from low training volume, the cells that build new muscle protein reach their maximum rate of production. Doing more workouts doesn't make them work faster — they just get more tired from built-up waste products and damaged tissue, which slows down recovery and makes it harder to grow more muscle.

Verified mechanismbased on 3 studies

What the research says

2 studies

  1. Study: Dose-Response Relationship of Weekly Resistance-Training Volume and Frequency on Muscular Adaptations in Trained Men.

    The study found that doing more sets didn’t lead to much more muscle growth, even though it took more time and effort—so extra work wasn’t worth it.

  2. Study: The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.

    If you're already growing muscles well with just a few workouts, doing even more won't help much more — you'll just get more tired and need longer to recover. This study shows that after a certain point, extra lifting gives you only tiny extra gains.

Related videos

Did high-volume training just get debunked? [2 New studies]

Menno Henselmans

Did high-volume training just get debunked? [2 New studies]

Read analysis

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 2 supporting studies

Fit Body Science verdict — we translate health claims into clear verdicts backed by peer-reviewed research.

Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.