More workouts don't always mean more muscle
Ribosome biogenesis and resistance training volume in human skeletal muscle
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study looked at how different amounts of weight training affect muscle growth and strength. It found that doing three sets of exercises is better than one set for getting stronger, especially after nine weeks. But surprisingly, the body’s internal muscle-building signals didn’t get stronger with more sets.
Surprising Findings
Molecular muscle-building signals (mTORC1, ribosome biogenesis) didn’t increase with higher training volume.
Common belief is that more volume = more biological activation. But the study found these pathways responded the same whether people did 1 or 3 sets, even though strength gains were higher with 3 sets.
Practical Takeaways
If you're new to lifting, stick to 3 sets per exercise—this appears to be the optimal volume for strength gains over 12 weeks.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study looked at how different amounts of weight training affect muscle growth and strength. It found that doing three sets of exercises is better than one set for getting stronger, especially after nine weeks. But surprisingly, the body’s internal muscle-building signals didn’t get stronger with more sets.
Surprising Findings
Molecular muscle-building signals (mTORC1, ribosome biogenesis) didn’t increase with higher training volume.
Common belief is that more volume = more biological activation. But the study found these pathways responded the same whether people did 1 or 3 sets, even though strength gains were higher with 3 sets.
Practical Takeaways
If you're new to lifting, stick to 3 sets per exercise—this appears to be the optimal volume for strength gains over 12 weeks.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of Physiology
Year
2020
Authors
Robert Solsona, A. Sanchez
Related Content
Claims (10)
Doing more workout volume doesn’t necessarily make your muscles grow more—your body’s internal muscle-building signals stay about the same no matter how much you train.
If you're new to lifting weights, doing a moderate amount of workouts each week will make you stronger faster than doing very few workouts — and you'll keep getting stronger week after week for the first 9 weeks.
Lifting weights makes your muscles bigger and stronger, and this happens because your muscle cells start making more of the tiny machines that build proteins.
When you lift weights, a specific system in your muscle cells gets activated and tells your body to build more muscle protein, making your muscles bigger and stronger.
After a tough workout, older people’s muscles might not build new protein-making machines as well as younger people’s, which could be why they don’t get as strong or muscular over time.