The Study
The Influence of Individual Resistance Training Variables on Muscle Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
This study looked at lots of different experiments where people lifted weights and found that lifting weights definitely makes you stronger. But it can't say for sure whether doing more sets, heavier weights, or longer training is the #1 reason you get stronger—it just shows they're all connected to getting stronger.
Analysis score
Maximum 100 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
This study looked at thousands of people doing weight training to find out how much lifting is needed to get stronger — and when more lifting stops helping.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 565 / 100
Quality score
The highest quality evidence. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that pool randomized controlled trials, giving the most reliable summary of experimental evidence.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — if you're new to lifting, you don't need to train endlessly.
- 2Hitting around 800,000 au (e.g., 4 sets of 10 reps, 4x/week for 16 weeks) is enough.
- 3More than that won't help much.
- 4Strength keeps going up until you hit about 770,000–887,000 arbitrary units of training — after that, doing more sets or reps doesn't make you stronger.
- 5For chest muscles, intensity and volume matter most; for legs, how long you train matters more.
- 6Older people get stronger faster in the chest.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Sports medicine
Year
2026
Authors
Philip Lyristakis, Daniel W. T. Wundersitz, Stephen D Cousins, M. Huynh, Emma K Zadow, Brett A Gordon
Related Content
Claims (5)
The amount and intensity of training predict how much stronger the chest muscles become, while the length of training predicts how much stronger the quadriceps become, and these relationships are not the same for both muscle groups.
Older adults tend to show greater relative increases in chest muscle strength after training compared to younger adults, but age does not predict relative strength gains in the quadriceps.
In untrained adults, resistance training leads to measurable increases in muscle strength, with the average improvement falling in the small-to-moderate range.
In untrained adults, increasing resistance training volume leads to greater muscle strength gains up to 773,000 arbitrary units for the quadriceps and 887,000 arbitrary units for the chest, after which additional training volume does not result in further strength improvements.
When people do the same total amount of resistance training, how often they train, their sex, or their age does not strongly affect how much stronger they get; what matters more is the total volume and duration of training.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.