If you're a young guy who hasn't lifted weights before and you do pec deck exercises for 12 weeks, you'll probably get about 43–46% stronger, no matter if you do just one set or three sets each time.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

25

Community contributions welcome

25

Pectoralis Clavicular and Sternocostal Thicknesses Increase Similarly in Response to One and Three Sets of Pec Deck Resistance Training in Untrained Young Men

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2025 May 1

The study found that doing either one or three sets of pec deck exercises for 12 weeks made untrained guys about 43–46% stronger, so it doesn’t matter how many sets you do—you still get the same strength boost.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

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According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Pectoralis Clavicular and Sternocostal Thicknesses Increase Similarly in Response to One and Three Sets of Pec Deck Resistance Training in Untrained Young Men

Score: 25

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005045

Similar Assertions

If you're new to lifting, doing just one set of pec deck exercises three times a week can make you just as strong as doing three sets — after 12 weeks, both groups get about 45% stronger.

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95%

If you're a young guy who hasn't trained before and you do pec deck exercises for 12 weeks, your chest muscles will get thicker—about 17–18% thicker in the upper part and 21% thicker in the lower part—no matter if you do just one set or three sets each workout.

25

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83%

If untrained young guys do pec deck workouts three times a week for three months, following a specific plan, their chest muscles get noticeably thicker—by about 17 to 21%—in both the upper and lower parts of the chest.

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78%

If you're new to working out, doing just one set of chest machine exercises three times a week gives about the same muscle growth as doing three sets — both lead to around a 20% bigger chest muscle after 12 weeks.

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74%

If you're a young guy who's never lifted weights before and you do pec deck exercises, your upper and lower chest muscles will grow the same amount—no one part gets bigger than the other.

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71%