Higher training volume leads to more muscle growth with diminishing returns over time.
Original: 3 Sets is NOT Better than 1 Set?! (New Study)
TL;DR
While single sets can build muscle, especially in beginners, more sets generally lead to greater gains, though each additional set provides less benefit.
Quick Answer
The new study found that 3 sets per session did not produce greater muscle growth than 1 set when both were taken to failure in untrained individuals. However, this single study does not overturn the broader evidence: meta-analyses show that, on average, more sets lead to more hypertrophy, though with diminishing returns. The apparent contradiction is likely due to small sample size and statistical variability, not a true lack of benefit from higher volume.
Claims (10)
1. People might respond differently to how much weight training they do, but we can't say for sure because the studies done so far aren't clear enough.
2. If you spread your workouts over more days each week but keep the total work the same, you'll get stronger—but your muscles won't necessarily grow bigger.
3. The more you lift each week for a specific muscle, the more it grows—but after a point, doing even more doesn't help much.
4. If you're new to lifting, doing three sets of an exercise might not build more muscle than just doing one set—as long as you push each set to the point where you can't lift anymore.
5. Putting together lots of small studies gives a better guess about what's really going on in the whole population than looking at just one small study.
6. If you lift weights until your muscles can't do another rep, it helps scientists measure muscle growth in a consistent way over time.
7. The big chest muscle has two parts: one on top with smooth, even fibers, and a lower part made of 6 or 7 separate bundles, where the bottom one folds forward.
8. If you're new to working out, both parts of your chest muscle might grow about the same when you lift weights.
9. Doing just one set of each exercise can still help build muscle, even if you're already fit — and it saves time.
10. When a study doesn't include enough people, the results might just be due to chance and not reflect what's really going on for most people.
Key Takeaways
- •Problem: People want to know if doing more sets at the gym leads to more muscle growth, or if one hard set is enough.
- •Core methods: 1 set per exercise to failure, 3 sets per exercise to failure, measuring muscle size before and after, using computer simulations to model study results, and combining many studies in a meta-analysis.
- •How methods work: Each set is done until you can’t lift anymore; muscle size is measured with ultrasound; simulations show how small studies can get misleading results by chance; meta-analysis combines many studies to see the bigger picture.
- •Expected outcomes: One study found no difference between 1 and 3 sets, but overall science shows more sets usually lead to more muscle, just with smaller gains each additional set.
- •Implementation timeframe: Results from the study were measured after 12 weeks of training twice per week.
Overview
The central problem in resistance training research is determining the optimal volume for muscle hypertrophy. While practical experience and meta-analyses suggest higher set volumes are superior, individual studies sometimes contradict this. This video examines a recent study that found no difference in hypertrophy between 1 set and 3 sets per session in untrained individuals, despite a 3-fold volume difference. The solution lies in understanding statistical variability, sample size limitations, and the importance of meta-analytic evidence. The core methods analyzed include single-set vs multiple-set training to failure, longitudinal muscle thickness measurement, simulation modeling of population effects, and meta-regression of existing literature.
Key Terms
How to Apply
- 1.Step 1: Select a unilateral exercise like the pec deck and train one arm with 1 set per session, and the other arm with 3 sets per session, ensuring all sets are taken to volitional concentric failure.
- 2.Step 2: Perform this training twice per week for 12 weeks, maintaining consistent form and rest periods between sets.
- 3.Step 3: Measure muscle thickness of both the clavicular and sternocostal heads of the pectoralis major before and after the intervention using ultrasound imaging to assess hypertrophy.
- 4.Step 4: To interpret results in context, review meta-analyses on set volume and hypertrophy, and consider using simulation models to understand how sample size affects outcome reliability.
- 5.Step 5: Adjust training volume based on individual recovery and progress, using population-level evidence as a starting point while monitoring personal response.
Following these steps may reveal similar muscle growth between 1 and 3 sets in a small sample, but when combined with broader evidence, will support that higher set volumes generally produce greater hypertrophy over time, especially in larger populations.
Studies from Description (4)
Claims (10)
1. People might respond differently to how much weight training they do, but we can't say for sure because the studies done so far aren't clear enough.
2. If you spread your workouts over more days each week but keep the total work the same, you'll get stronger—but your muscles won't necessarily grow bigger.
3. The more you lift each week for a specific muscle, the more it grows—but after a point, doing even more doesn't help much.
4. If you're new to lifting, doing three sets of an exercise might not build more muscle than just doing one set—as long as you push each set to the point where you can't lift anymore.
5. Putting together lots of small studies gives a better guess about what's really going on in the whole population than looking at just one small study.
6. If you lift weights until your muscles can't do another rep, it helps scientists measure muscle growth in a consistent way over time.
7. The big chest muscle has two parts: one on top with smooth, even fibers, and a lower part made of 6 or 7 separate bundles, where the bottom one folds forward.
8. If you're new to working out, both parts of your chest muscle might grow about the same when you lift weights.
9. Doing just one set of each exercise can still help build muscle, even if you're already fit — and it saves time.
10. When a study doesn't include enough people, the results might just be due to chance and not reflect what's really going on for most people.
Related Content
Claims (10)
If you're new to lifting, doing three sets of an exercise might not build more muscle than just doing one set—as long as you push each set to the point where you can't lift anymore.
The more you lift each week for a specific muscle, the more it grows—but after a point, doing even more doesn't help much.
When a study doesn't include enough people, the results might just be due to chance and not reflect what's really going on for most people.
Putting together lots of small studies gives a better guess about what's really going on in the whole population than looking at just one small study.
Doing just one set of each exercise can still help build muscle, even if you're already fit — and it saves time.
Studies (4)
The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain
DOI: 10.51224/SRXIV.460
Without fail: Muscular adaptations in single set resistance training performed to failure or with repetitions-in-reserve
DOI: 10.51224/SRXIV.484
Three‐dimensional study of pectoralis major muscle and tendon architecture
DOI: 10.1002/ca.20784
Pectoralis Clavicular and Sternocostal Thicknesses Increase Similarly in Response to One and Three Sets of Pec Deck Resistance Training in Untrained Young Men
DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000005045