More workouts don't always mean more muscle
Evidence of a Ceiling Effect for Training Volume in Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength in Trained Men - Less is More?
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Higher training volumes (15–20 sets) led to smaller strength gains than moderate volumes (5–10 sets).
Common fitness advice says more sets = more adaptation. This shows excess volume may impair strength progress in trained individuals.
Practical Takeaways
If you're a trained lifter, try capping your weekly volume at 5–10 sets per muscle group to maximize strength without overtraining.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Higher training volumes (15–20 sets) led to smaller strength gains than moderate volumes (5–10 sets).
Common fitness advice says more sets = more adaptation. This shows excess volume may impair strength progress in trained individuals.
Practical Takeaways
If you're a trained lifter, try capping your weekly volume at 5–10 sets per muscle group to maximize strength without overtraining.
Publication
Journal
International journal of sports physiology and performance
Year
2020
Authors
Matheus Barbalho, V. Coswig, J. Steele, J. Fisher, Jürgen Giessing, P. Gentil
Related Content
Claims (10)
If you're already used to lifting weights, doing more sets and reps over time will help you build bigger muscles and get stronger — but only if you keep training consistently.
The more you work each muscle group per week—with the right exercises that really engage the muscle—the more your muscles will grow, and this is the #1 thing that matters for building muscle.
If you're already fit and lift weights, doing 5 to 20 sets of exercises for each muscle group every week won't make you grow bigger muscles any more or less than any other number in that range.
Doing more sets at the gym than you're used to—like going from 18 to 33 sets a week per muscle group—doesn’t make your muscles grow significantly more, even though you might see a little more growth overall.
If you're already fit and lift weights, doing way more sets (15–20 per muscle group per week) doesn't make you stronger faster—in fact, you might even gain less strength than if you stick to just 5–10 sets.