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Summary
A study on calf muscle growth found that performing 12 weekly sets resulted in 73.9% greater growth than performing 6 weekly sets, and 17.6% greater growth than performing 9 weekly sets. Another study on hamstring exercises found that training muscles at longer lengths builds more muscle, with the seated leg curl resulting in 63.6% greater hamstring hypertrophy than the Nordic curl. A third study on antagonist supersets found that they do not hurt training performance and can result in similar muscle growth to normal sets, allowing for shorter training sessions. The conclusion is that performing at least 9-12 weekly sets per muscle group, training muscles at longer lengths, and using antagonist supersets can be effective strategies for building muscle.
Paper Conclusion summarised
Performing at least 9-12 weekly sets per muscle group, training muscles at longer lengths, and using antagonist supersets can be effective strategies for building muscle.
TL;DR.
- Muscles need to be exercised many times to grow
- Some exercises are better than others for building muscle because they stretch the muscle more
- You can exercise two muscles at the same time to save time and still build muscle
- Doing more sets of an exercise can help your muscles grow more
- Resting for a short time between exercises is okay and won't hurt your muscle growth