How Many Sets Do You Really Need to Build Muscle?

How many sets per muscle group per week do you really need to build muscle? Some say just 1 set taken to all-out failure is best. Whereas others go high workout volume, doing 4-5 sets per exercise and taking over 3 hours to complete a workout. Who’s right? And more importantly, how many sets per muscle group per week should YOU do, especially as a natural? Well, the answer to optimal training volume might surprise you and is probably a lot less than you’re currently doing. Here’s how many sets per week you should be doing.
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The first major analysis investigating the relationship between how many sets per muscle group per week and resulting muscle growth was done in 2017. They compared: 1-5, 5-9, and 10+ sets per muscle per week. While it suggested that more was better, it didn’t let us know the upper limit. Fortunately, 6 years later, a similar analysis compared lower volumes of less than 12 sets, moderate volumes of 12-20 sets, and high volumes of 20 or more sets per muscle per week. Overall, this analysis suggests the sweet spot seems to be 10-20 sets per muscle per week.
To find where within this range is best for you (i.e. exactly how many sets per muscle group per week you should do), there are 5 other factors you need to consider. The first of which is your individual response. Illustrating this is a 2016 study where they had 19 participants train one leg with 6-9 sets per week and their other leg with 15 sets per week. After 8 weeks, roughly a third of the participants had a leg that responded better from low volume, a third had a leg that responded better from high volume, and a third had a similar response in both legs. Suggesting that what one person can recover well and grow from may end up being too much for someone else.
Factor 2 for your workout volume: exercise execution. In most studies, a “set” is defined as going to or very close to complete failure. But we know from past research that most people don’t push themselves hard enough to reach this point. Or, as soon as they get anywhere close to it, they start cheating and using momentum. So you may not need nearly as much volume as you think you do if you simply fixed these more important areas instead.
Third factor that’ll decide your training volume, rest times. If you usually take longer rest periods between most of your sets, at least 2 minutes between sets, it’s likely that the lower end of the range would be best. Whereas the higher end of the range will likely be necessary if you mostly use shorter rest periods (less tha 2 minutes between sets).
Fourth, how you count your sets. Generally, researchers still count muscles that are indirectly worked with an exercise as 1 full set for that muscle. For example, during the bench press, they’ll count that as 1 set for the chest and 1 set for the triceps. Now whether or not this should truly count as 1 set for the secondary muscles is up for debate, but it does affect how many sets per week you should do. I also think this discrepancy in how people count sets is why high-intensity training, where you do just 1 set (max 2 sets per exercise) CAN work, and HAS seemed to work for many people.
Lastly, not everyone should be doing what’s “optimal”. Even though 10 or more weekly sets led to the most growth, 5-9 weekly sets still gave about 80% of the max growth. In fact, in some cases, even in trained individuals, just 3 sets per muscle week has been shown to build some muscle. So if you’re having trouble just being consistent in the first place, don’t chase the optimal guidelines.
So first off, I’d recommend starting off at the low end of the 10-20 weekly set range, especially if you’re a beginner. Dial in your form, make sure you’re pushing hard enough, take longer rest periods. As you get more experienced, if you’re sleeping well, pushing hard with good form, and eating enough, yet you’re still not seeing gains, then chances are you might actually need more volume. In this case, add about 2 more weekly sets, especially on muscles that are lagging behind, and see how you progress. Otherwise, you might actually need to take a break or consider decreasing your volume.
But remember, how many sets per muscle group per week is optimal is very individual. Experiment, listen to your body, and realize that you can still make incredible gains by just showing up and doing what you can, even if it’s less than what’s “optimal”.

[@transformation-station]

1. Focus on form. 2. Warm up properly. 3. Gradually increase weight. 4. Use proper breathing techniques. Keep these tips in mind as you continue your lifting journey. You've got this! 💪

[@vziuzi1100]

Yeah bro now i realize how important breathing is

[@mitsu7909]

Mi médica Ana bb Elena ha dicho esto mismo. No empezar por lo más fuerte . Graduately

[@petter3995]

And go slow to the negative.

[@JoeTakagi00]

Best way to warmup ?

[@petter3995]

@@JoeTakagi00 lower weight than working weight 20 fast reps to pump blood to the muscles.

[@kevinm7523]

I've been lifting since '92, by now at 48yo I've learned to lift slowly, holding at the top and bottom of the movement momentarily, and only moving the muscle group not the joints unless necessary. Ie: when contracting biceps don't let your shoulder or elbow rotate in such a way as to take stress off of the bicep. And listen to your body if it actually hurts, YOU'RE PROBABLY DOING IT WRONG. with this system on any average day my workout will last anywhere between 30 min and 3 hours. I leave when I'm finished, whenever that may be

[@laurelandrea7278]

That's awesome, good for you Kevin! I definitely hope to be in the gym for my whole life to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

[@kevinm7523]

@@laurelandrea7278 that's literally all my goal is, I want to die healthy and old preferably, I was 8yo when I looked around at my obese, dug/alcohol addicted pharma patient extended family Members and told myself, I'm not going to live that way. It's hilarious that for decades they constantly told me I was killing myself with the healthy living and protein shakes, all while they are shoving cake in their mouths drinking soda and complaining about their blood pressure and blood sugar

[@spartacusptolemaida]

Keep it up brother. 💪

[@SolomonClarkeFitness80]

Keep it up dude

[@marioskbts3141]

Just move the big weight 💀

[@MaxEuceda7]

Hmm I was a bit skeptical watching this at first but the guy at 3:24 really convinced me! What a cool, down to earth, and handsome young man with a super bright future! Hopefully he doesn't bulk up to 200 pounds anytime soon 😁💪

[@vihangkavishan3513]

love ur videos bro

[@AK10.]

🐐

[@ISOPROPYLxBENZENE]

Love your home workout dumbells workout🙏 helped me to lost 10 lb of fat and now i am going gym😅❤

[@ErectileManagement]

You’re hilarious lol

[@childobliterator8133]

😂

[@felixchow5899]

Blessed to always have these informative and well laid out videos from you Jeremy!

[@Alexis-jo9hg]

Man!!! I loved the video and to see my two favorite fitness youtubers was awesome. I've been following Max and you for about 2 year and never thought you would make a video together. Love your videos and keep up the good work!

[@markguirguis5721]

I’ve been exploring this question for years now trying to find the best answer for how many sets per week and what’s the sweet spot. This is by far the most accurate, reliable and practical answer I’ve ever received especially considering how busy life can get with work and family. Thanks

[@rohansaxena7931]

I don't think there's any other fitness trainer out there who's sharing free programs - substantiated with evidence. Really grateful for your content!

[@Nathanael_Camacho]

I think this has been one of Jeremy’s best videos ever! And an interview with Max Euceda!!! I find it so fascinating how individual bodybuilding really is

[@skyq4062]

between the free guides and everything else absolutely incredible work. thank you

[@ruler8661]

I did not expect to see Max on here! It's awesome to see you expose him to a wider audience, as he's put out some short and to-the-point content that's helped me along my fitness journey

[@visualsbyrb]

yeah I didn’t expect that 😂

[@stevethea5250]

toimestmap?@@visualsbyrb

[@jessicacook8186]

You're the best. Such great information presented clearly, concisely, and confidently. Thank you!

[@fatherlouiswilliamssugaada5023]

Bless you Jeremy on updating this topic!

[@raying123]

Thank you jeremy for the educational video and free workout routines 🥺

[@TurnOneYeti]

I got more gains in 6 months doing roughly 5-6 sets a bodypart per week than I've gotten doing 12+ sets a week for over a decade. I'm ashamed it took so long for me to realize that I just wasn't responding to what the science deemed "optimal". I'd maybe get stronger but never bigger, and I would just add more and more volume and/or intensity thinking it would finally stimulate growth. I'd spend hours in the gym 5-6 days a week going nowhere. I always felt burnt out. I eventually came across a video on deloading which prescribed cutting volume in half and I for some reason stayed there. After a few weeks, I noticed that my body was responding positively in numerous ways. Now I just do 3-4 45 min sessions a week and I've never looked or felt better. I still go to the gym on "rest" days to do light cardio and mobility work because I'm addicted to the daily routine of getting my ass to the gym and doing something but it's not really needed. Regardless, long story short, you have to experiment and listen to your body.

[@robbertag808]

It's not the cutting to 5-6 sets. It's not being hours in the gym. I am in the gym for 60 to 75 minutes max (6 times a week) and do two bodyparts in that time. Who wants and needs hours in the gym? Every sane person knows that anything after 90 minutes will get you nowhere. Unless you juice.

[@dsasdavaxx8498]

@@robbertag808 most of the time i last around 90 mins in the gym especially when its chest/shoulders. because i take long rests (3-5mins)

[@jacobramirez4894]

@@robbertag808i love apple juice

[@xdd543]

what split are you running?

[@LalosSaw]

Off me it was the other way around. I was doing for years what you do now and got nowhere. When is tatted doing ppl split with many sets per week, doing twice every muscle group in a week, then I started seeing some results

[@jacksondurranjustin]

Thanks for the video! I hate spending so much time in the gym so knowing that as long as go hard and keep the correct form that I can still get good gains makes it not so daunting

[@felixthecat3n2]

I love that all advice is backed by science. Subscribed, thank you.

[@nohariad1029]

Thank you so much for the precious info and the freebies!!

[@chrisdom7731]

Man, this video was packing. Thanks so much for the info and workout plans =D

[@josefernandez4423]

Thank you very much for the workout plans Jeremy

[@MedWassimBerrima]

Thank you so much for the free workout routine and the recipe book ! god bless you

[@RolanTHUNDER]

Thanks for the info Jeremy. This sheds a lot of light on exactly how much work you really need to do to build muscle.

[@elikane7701]

thank you for the knowledge,I finally feel a pump again in my larger muscles, following the 2 minutes rest , I was only resting one minute mostly.My focus is on staying strong and flexible with good mobility as an older surfer with over fifty years of wear and tear on top of the weight lifting.I alternate the 3 times with the 4 times a week workouts, unless surfing . I just turned 69,and struggle to keep my weight up being on chemotherapy. I appreciate your passing on the science and thank you much

[@donteatmyoreo867]

thank you buddy, i needed that for real. subscribed liked and I'm waiting for more videos.. maybe when all is side and down.. i'll show u the before and after pictures from watching ur videos

[@lailan8578]

Best yt channel for evidence based fitness advice! You can tell how much thought, effort and research goes into each video 🙌🏽

[@tetley6535]

these are really microptimizations, the majority of natural gains will come from eating in a caloric surplus, sleeping 7 or more hours a night, and training at rpe 8-9 across compound lifts like squat, bench, deadlift, pull ups, etc, while adding weight and reps weekly to biweekly

[@TravisMcGee151]

After warming up who DOESN’T do each set to failure? Why bother doing the sets at all? I see these KZbin videos, like Mike Mentzer telling you to take it to failure. lol. Like it’s so new philosophy or something. If you don’t go to failure take up bowling instead.

[@ordelipyorinen8235]

@@TravisMcGee151 Smart ones don't

[@3komma141592653]

@@TravisMcGee151Well as a newbie you are not used to use your muscles in your daily live until you can't any more.

[@EgelundB]

This is straight quality. Latest science, conveyed in a direct, compact, scientific yet simplified way for everyone to understand. Combined with great visuals to go with each segment. Chef’s kiss

[@pavithraweligampola9289]

Thank you very much Jeremy, been following your videos since I started working out in September. I am gonna switch to the 4 day routine and share my experience in a couple of months.

[@zapataboy9377]

I've found it to be the best option. I used to go 6 days a week to the gym but made no progress at all, while now I'm having fun exercises and have more time to do others sports

[@FitNerdz]

That was an awesome video! Thx Jeremy!

[@Khalifa5485]

Thanks for your efforts, Waiting for PPL part2!

[@rosenovcharov5940]

Great content as always Jeremy! Thank you for the programs!

[@iijj]

Hey, are you Russian?

[@kennethjansencasasmagtabog1681]

Thank you for this Video Jeremy. ive learned a lot. ive doing a lot of sets and reps lately and observed less on my muscle gains and you featured Max too! ive been a fan of the both of you.. NO BS Muscle building tips. Godbless to you both!

[@davisherrera7425]

Another amazing video. Jeremy never ceases to impress.

[@zgw420]

Bro, thank you so much. This cleared up so much for me. Thanks!

[@TomK201]

Thank you for the information, been going to the gym for 2.5 years now but caught a back and shoulder injury in a car crash and lost all motivation. It's been almost 3 months since I hit the gym because I don't want to be confronted with the strength I have lost. My doctor says I'm good to go again and this 3 day workout plan seems to have reignited the spark to get back into my flow. I guess I will settle for starting at 40% of my peak strength and work my way back up over 6-8 weeks orso and then go back to PPL split This video made a difference for me, thanks for that

[@rounaksubramanian1686]

Wow simply just wow bro you are doing a wonderful work for all of us by making this video and telling about how much set we actually need to maximize our growth and keep it up and keep up the good work as always and take care Keep smiling always

[@laurelandrea7278]

I would definitely advise just starting and figure out what you like. I started the gym 10 months ago, I've played around. For me I lift weights twice a week, mix in pilates and cardio every day and I'm in the best shape of my life😊

[@ranepratt4985]

Glad to see youre still around bro

[@RodDammit]

I've been on the mike mintzer work out for a month and half. I can see my muscles getting more defined and I've been having increases each workout and I'm only working out every 4-5 days. Loving all the free time

[@drewgb]

This is really great content. For 99% of gym lifters, less is more if the intensity and form is there.

[@SolomonClarkeFitness80]

Yeah, most people ego lift in the gym.

[@MarcoAshford]

Kinobody was right all along, yet people mocking him. I knew from the beginning 2 days of training per week is enough to grow as a natural. One all out training session that covers 1 major legs, push, pull compound movement is enough to stimulate the body to the point it needs 2-3 days of recover.

[@Galactic_fart_sniffer]

Unless your extreme bulking or on steroids. I extreme bulked and 3 hours of medium weight lifting with the third hour dedicated to absolute failure was easy. 6 days a week, 3 hours a day was easy. I never felt tired or fatigued. But i got obese vfat and now im screwed trying to cut that off.

[@solojohno1]

I did this recently (over 40 guy here) -- my workout times are cut in half and I go to the gym only 2-3 times per week. As a result, I'm not nearly as exhausted as I was before. And I was worried about it. I used to think that exhaustion was evidence that I did enough. Now, I feel better, and I'm not losing mass in most areas. I plan to increase sets/intensity this week because there are some areas where I think I haven't done enough and may have lost some strength. But, in other areas (legs!), I'm gaining and stronger than I have been in years. Plus, I feel good enough to go play some pretty competitive open-court basketball one night per week. Overall: Improved quality of life.

[@MarcoAshford]

@@Galactic_fart_sniffer 6 days, 3 hours each. If you are not competing, You are on some serious mental OCD and probably juice it up to deal with recovery issues. 2 hours is maximum you should be staying to have effective workout. Hour 2-3 you are basically doing junk volume and just comforting yourself to claim you did 3 hours. Unless you are using your phone for 1 hour in there just to kill some time.

[@_lolikpacholik_]

Right on time Jeremy👏

[@alexsaa2116]

Thx for all u do make more videos like this there helpful

[@imluissebastian]

Would be great if you can do a video on how to apply the suggestions from this video, as well as the one titled "More Gains, Half the Time (LIFT LIKE THIS!)," into practice. These are really intriguing topics!

[@Yomommahouse6801]

Your video’s are great but honestly, there is so much info that feel like I should change what I’m doing every time I watch a new video.

[@Arjun.Fit1]

Thank you so much bro love your vids 🔥

[@AdamScottfit]

This completely makes sense for me personally, too. I feel like I have a tendency to always take a final set to failure when training my chest, back and arms. I went really high with volume on my chest for 4 weeks, 30 sets per week. My strength stagnated and then went down for 3 weeks in a row. I have recently scaled it back and my strength is going up every week now!

[@markkian8551]

Do you still do that final set to failure or no?

[@AdamScottfit]

@@markkian8551 some exercises I will do. Isolations and machines mainly.

[@samcary777]

I have a theory about this. When I train that hard and add an extra high-volume set in during the week, without a significant refeed and recovery time, my strength also goes down a bit temporarily. But I don't think that's because you've become weaker. It's because you've recruited new muscle fibers to convert from slow twitch to fast twitch fibers. Meaning you have taken more fiber than usual to failure, so you will need more time to recover. But when you come back in the following weeks you should be stronger than you were before. Lowering the volume may not be what gave you the strength gains. It may be the additional hypertrophy catching up with the newly recruited muscle fibers from the high-volume weeks

[@rishibhandare7688]

Thankyou Jeremy for free workouts I was searching this type of workouts from so long....❤️❤️❤️❤️you are a gem

[@fermatto]

wow, thank you Jeremy for this

[@patrick-rb3ul]

Been using a hard gainer going on 43 months with great success. My age is 76 years young with this program. I use only DBs with 25 to 30 lb range for push workouts as a max. Pulls 100 lbs for lat work max and lighter for other movements. Walking for cardio and or shooting free throws for keeping agility and eye hand coordination. 1st wk. one set (12-15) pushes and pulls alternating days. Wk 2, 2 set, Wk 3, 3 set, Wk 4, 4 set, Wk 5, 5 set followed by deload w. Of diet and rest and flexibility. My mindset is Animal First, Human Being 2nd! And there it is!

[@kanishkverma9385]

I alwayss love the way of your explaination and science based results..❤❤

[@AB-lb4zv]

Biggest difference for me was rest times depending on if I’m doing a compound lift or isolation movement which correlates to if I’m moving lighter or heavier loads . Example *usually if I’m using lighter loads I have less rest and vice . Heavier weights longer rest .

[@rondoudoushiney3868]

Yo great to see you collaborate with Max Euceda he's a great dude with a lot of knowledge.

[@liounique1177]

True. He has gained respectable size and tremendous knowledge about fitness lately.

[@iProFIFA]

but also he's not natty

[@siamakalaei1148]

Thanks so much for the tips! 😍😍😍

[@ShapeDoppelganger]

Almost 2 years of weight lifting and I feel tired from the workout all the time, and this by doing just the full body routine that was suggested by this very channel. I'm incredibly strong compared to the others guys in the gym who trains for far longer time than me. And this is where I think I may have some kind of limitation in my physiology. It's really hard for me to be able to go to the gym the suggested 3x per week in the full body routine. I'm seeing improvements, but my volume is down a third because of this.

[@mightymike889]

Can some1 say it as well this video is A1. Very nice job editing it and really breaking stuff down with actual studies!!

[@codmania6129]

I like to do what I call natty "cycles". Ive been lifting naturally for 10 years, I'm 25 now. For two weeks I do 15 sets a week per body part. Then for a week or two I will do half the volume and "recover" and maingain, then repeat and try to grow. I like the intensity change and this has always worked for me.

[@SolomonClarkeFitness80]

I always use low volume, even with low volume my body stays in good shape

[@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975]

Do you increase intensity when you decrease volume?

[@tetley6535]

you wont make any progress naturally unless you bulk, maingaining is useless, just do ~10 sets per muscle group per week every week, no need to switch it up so often, then bulk for 6 months to a year and see how much ur lifts skyrocket

[@tetley6535]

@@SolomonClarkeFitness8010-20 sets per week is way too broad, 8-12 is plenty for anyone to build muscle, dont listen to anyone claiming anything close to 20 lmao thats just extra stress and time for less gains, law of diminishing returns, stick with low volume bro its good gains with less time and fatigue

[@tetley6535]

@@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975be consistent, you dont need to keep switching it up

[@Bxrlito97]

Max Euceda! Man, two of my favorite fitness KZbinrs collabing, that’s awesome to see

[@seanwickham8905]

Nice video! Thanks for that!

[@RobertMiller-sh7gb]

Very helpful! Thanks so much.

[@panhouska]

Jeremy you are trully amazing. I love your informative videos (coming from university PT teacher :-) )

[@4n0nmann5]

You should definitely share those 3 new workout routines as the new Routines instead of the 4 years old Full Body Workout based on science. Thanks for the free content!

[@marcalexgrueso7094]

Such an amazing information.

[@imtiazsharifazan2295]

Great insight! Thanks 💪

[@Rusty_yt76]

That's helpful mate.❤

[@itsa.k7028]

I love all you do bro all the research you put in into your videos it really shows you love what you do and it will always be appreciate it

[@Tjj2503]

love to see max i the vid i follow his current push pull legs split and i see a lot of progress

[@lydiatomlinson2712]

DAMN free programs?? and one's i've definitely never seen before. very cool very nice. i'd feel very lucky if i came across your channel as a beginner - i hope a lot of them find this video

[@dawnpoint]

I tried bumping up to 8 sets a day, 3 days a week for one of my muscle groups. All that did was make me miserable and didn’t increase my rate of gain at all. Doing fewer sets with lighter weight and perfect form not only makes the same progress but is way less miserable.

[@nf4119]

This was just the video I needed!

[@SCFick318]

I do as much weight as I can with good form to failure until I feel I’m good, which depending on the muscle and day could be 4-6 sets/muscle/week. Been getting great results

[@danielbotterill-wb6kq]

This is a great channel. Common sense and science.

[@TeaLeafThief]

This is a relief, because at the moment my entire life has been rocked, so I'm trying to make ends meet, my time training has suffered, but I still hit a few sets per muscle group every week.

[@ahmedinnovativs996]

I love the content that you make❤❤❤

[@railasvuo]

Thanks this was a really good video.

[@aac7x]

I been waiting for this

[@PatientCarrot-w4ffl3s]

''VERY CLOSE TO FAILURE'' Yeah! That always works for me! Thank you, great video 💪

[@Sumguyinavan_]

Finally, this answers a question I've been struggling with for my recent program. I've asked friends who lift, reddit, other youtube comment sections and never gotten much of an answer. I just wanted to know if I needed sets for each targeted muscle section equal to the total per week. Because there is a huge difference betweeen 3 exercises per 'head' of a muscle and 3 exercises with each one targeting a head. I don't really want to be doing 9 sets in a workout for triceps if I'm training it 3 times a week just because I want to isolate each major muscle

[@Governemntistheproblem]

I love your editing

[@princeicio]

We are so lucky to have vids like this today

[@foxdogs1st]

Great Video. I was going to ask about extended reps. Mentzer also used rest pause extended. Which "to me" looks like a very short rest time multi set.

[@naturalgains4229]

Best gains I’ve made were on 1 set to true failure, 1 or 2 exercises for a muscle, once a week. Reaching failure in the 10-12 rep range as a gauge to see if I’m progressing in strength and also because I prefer to reach failure in that rep range. I also prefer to use machines or cables training to failure. True failure means you do reps until you physically can’t perform another rep, not when you mentally think you can’t.

[@mchase4]

Bro. How do I contact you. You just blew my mind. I’ve been training so hard in the gym doing 18-20 sets a muscle per week and I’m burning out and want to quit. I’ve never heard the method you explain. Can you give me your socials so you can hook me up with some videos/info on your technique?

[@jigglegod6709]

Bro how many sets do u perform close to failure? Like is it 9 to 12 sets per week?

[@naturalgains4229]

@@jigglegod6709I go all the way to failure and it’s supposed to feel uncomfortable. Be more specific. Like for a muscle? Depends on the muscle but for chest I’d only do 1 set for chest press and 1 set for incline chest press twice a week at most. Each set taken to failure. And only 1 exercise for a muscle. So for biceps I’d only do barbell bicep curls. For abs I’d only do a weighted ab machine. For legs specifically quads id only do leg press, for hamstrings id do hamstring machine curls and for calves id do calf raises on the machine. Everything only for a 1 set taken to failure. And again you would probably only want to hit them twice a week with enough time to recover in between sessions.

[@jacobblack666]

@@mchase4I do too max 1 set per exercise and I grow last 3 months extreme from 67 kg to 75 kg and I love to hit failure

[@rokamusprime7859]

Just look up HIT training.. lots of info in KZbin. 1 set to failure slow and controlled. I’ve had the best gains using this method

[@noahmccollum-gahley4633]

Dude, this is *exactly* the kind of thing I've been wondering about ever since hearing about those "10+ sets/week" recommendations. Thank so much for making this video.

[@tetley6535]

just do 8-12 sets, didnt watch the vid but you dont need 10 minuted to figure out 20 sets a week is wayyyy too much, if you can make gains with 8 sets, why do more, its more time for less gains

[@depekthegreat359]

Hi good friend,good morning and this is an extremely so fantastic men's workout which all the respective men which included me to do and I must build my muscles stronger than ever!!!🏋️‍♂️

[@gregd4391]

I enjoyed the video and thi k some of the details you covered are very important. 1> training to failure has been shown to be detrimental. Stopping before failure (0-3 reps in reserve) has been shown to be optimal. Training to or beyond failure does not cause more growth, but does dramatically extend recovery time. 2> resting 3 minutes or more is important because it appears to make every set more effective. 3> counting bench as a set for front delts and triceps, in addition to pecs, is important to consider. 4> You touched on it but did not go into detail...adding more sets. Adding 20% appears to be the limit that the body can handle in a short period of time...adding more appears to overwhelm the body and progress is stunted.

[@Sanhova]

Thank you for the free workouts! I didn’t notice any exercises for the core. Do you do these exercises every day?

[@jvl4832]

Probably, one of the most important videos concerning muscle growth. Once again Jeremy has nailed it being concise, scientific and professionally presented…..love this channel!

[@markgeers8488]

I'm currently doing 9/10 sets per muscle group per workout - twice a week. So 18/20 sets in total for most muscle groups. Maybe a bit on the higher side, but these workouts feel great and I do see results thusfar. But good to know I should not increase anything.

[@Jammaster1972]

I've been lifting weights 35 plus years. The best advice I would give a beginner is: start with high volume sets (low intensity, i.e. 3 RIR), then as you build your base, progress to fewer sets with higher loads (high intensity, 0-1 RIR). Make a periodization schedule, so then rinse and repeat. I found that as I got to the higher intensity sets, progress (as measured by additional gained reps) would slow, and then the stress to my joints and tendons would increase causing me to reduce the frequency of my workouts (or until I got injured or burned out). That's why it's good to periodize and drop intensity to allow recovery. Also, I'm 50 years old now, so recovery and strength gains are not as easy as they were a few decades ago.

[@Mikejames1080]

Funnily enough, I've done exactly that. I naturally felt I needed to cut out the 15 rep sets and go heavier for 8-10 reps. Much prefer it too!

[@Jammaster1972]

@@Mikejames1080 Then for shits and giggles, try and push an 8-10 rep set to 15 or 20 reps and watch your muscles explode.

[@Mikejames1080]

@@Jammaster1972 I wish I could buy anything I do for 8-10 reps is way too heavy for me to get anymore than that lol. Certainly my shoulder and bench press anyway.

[@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975]

@@Jammaster1972it seems like when you drop volume, you’re actually increasing intensity, right? This would be great if you have made progress already and don’t to plateau.

[@Jammaster1972]

@@bepreparedforwhatscoming4975 Correct. Just do enough ascending sets to warm you up to the set that you intend to push to failure.

[@zezeti2246]

I think intensity is a bigger factor than volume on hypertrophy😉

[@wqertrykjhkhgc]

Im a newbie, I just subscribed. damn it so much work and thinking to do. I'm 5'6 59kg

[@risky_scalps]

Very good video ! GG Jeremy

[@LOLHICRONO]

been watching this channel for a long time, love to see it approaching 6m subs

[@mauryasumit4236]

Hello, I am from India and I watch your video very well, your video is very helpful. ❤❤❤ thank you brother

[@Sienn0]

The crossover I did not expect!!

[@mlunguomnyama5518]

Jeremy, you are a freaking legend! Was watching your videos when you had a couple thousand of subscribers. As a PhD, i was back then already very intrigued how you used science (the only metric that should matter anyway) to explain your stuff. References are all that matters. I remember commenting years ago "easiest subscribe of my life", to which you even responded personally "thank you. I truly appreciate that". Now look at you, buddy! All respect to you, you made the world a better place already!

[@JeremyEthier]

Haha! Means a lot man! Thank you for the continued support!

[@msp720]

I do a modified 3x10, where I do two sets of 10 and then a third set of 10+ with an extra push to failure or near-failure. I also cycle through my exercises instead of taking longer rests, because my program uses different muscle groups. This technique plus intermittent fasting helped me get back to my high school weight, which I haven't been in 20 years.

[@philofthesouth6019]

As a wise man once told me years and years ago - no pain no gain. That’s not pain as in injury, that’s pain as in you need to get to point where you have really worked a muscle. Your last video on this matter really helped me for growth. I take the muscle I want to grow and focus on that (normally 10+ sets) whilst only performing the standard sets on the other muscles so they don’t shrink. I’d say if your natty, you can expdct real visible change within 6-8 weeks provided your keeping up your protein.

[@maeve.rih3]

Just realized I followed you for 5 years now! Wow!!!

[@bluelagoon5]

Very helpful!

[@elalexsantos3150]

legendary collab with max :))

[@taylorhillard4868]

I definitely think its good that they count "secondary" muscles as full sets because everyone has different insertions and muscle activations. So for you benchpress probably uses chest as a primary mover and triceps as a secondary mover. However for myself, benchpress is a triceps exercise, with chest only becoming a primary mover if i preexhaust my triceps before trying the benchpress.

[@SolomonClarkeFitness80]

Yes, some people have different levels of strength in different muscles. My biceps are not particularly good (still decent though) but my lats are very strong.

[@gj1233]

What I would say is experiment then when you finally get what is best for you then stick at it and you will make great progress and be happy with your training