How Much VOLUME Do You Really NEED? (Science Explained)

In this video we discuss the all of the recent data we have on volume for hypertrophy and exactly how much you need to be doing for optimal hypertrophy.
References:
1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433...
2. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35291...
3. sportrxiv.org/index.php/serve...
👇🏼 Get 15 FREE programs at my website!
wolfcoaching.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 - 00:25 (Intro)
00:26 - 02:17 (Meta-analysis VS meta-analysis)
02:18 - 04:20 - (Limitations & considerations)
04:21 - 05:21 (Training to failure)
05:22 - 06:37 (Recommendations)
06:38 - 07:12 (Outro)
Follow us on socials for more:
• 📸 Wolf Coaching Instagram: / wolfcoaching_
• 💥 TikTok: / wolfcoaching
• 💻 Milo's Instagram: / wolfcoach_
If you enjoyed this video, please drop a like and SUBSCRIBE to the channel for more!
#volume #exercisescience #scienceexplained
"How Much VOLUME Do You Really NEED? (Science Explained)"
Music from Uppbeat.
Business Enquiries: [e-mail]

[@steelmongoose4956]

I’ve settled into a Mentzerish full intensity low volume routine. I do one money set followed by descending drop sets, all done until as far into failure as I can go. Sometimes I’ll do a little static hold/eccentric after the money set. I’m not a bodybuilder, and I do a lot of cardio and mobility work between weight days. I’ve actually been gaining muscle in my 50’s and without chemical help (aside from creatine). It’s possible that I could switch things up a bit to optimize pure hypertrophy, but this is working for strength and size.

[@OhDevBeard]

All this science is throwing me through an analysis paralysis cycle lol. I have restarted with different routines probably 6+ times over the last 2 months or so

[@kaiserfakinaway5909]

amazing video, absolutely class stuff. Thanks for clearing it up and not blindly saying 20+ sets is better, people forget that sets need to matter. Most of the time people just pump out more sets but don't go hard enough

[@scottw7098]

Videos are getting better and better ! I like the more light-hearted approach now with the information delivery on point 👍

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you boss! Appreciate the feedback. Glad you’re enjoying them! -Milo

[@jajahaha5451]

Great video!! I appreciate the apples to apples comparison to reps vs sets. Knowing that will make my next meso even better with lesser sets to focus on.

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It can be easy sometimes to get lost in the details - and thus miss the forest for the trees. -Milo

[@spectrefzier4626]

Hey Milo, once again an amazing video. I would love to see an educational video from you on periodization. The different kinds and when to use each. As I am getting more and more advanced I would love to include them to manage fatigue while still overloading consistently.

[@WolfCoaching]

Thanks a lot boss! Appreciate the kind words! Certainly something I can look at covering! -Milo

[@user-oc2kz5dl5r]

Keep the knowledge coming Doc.

[@douglasauruss]

What an amazingly informative and practical video. This channel deserves so many subs. Hey regarding failure, what's your hunch on going past failure on the last set for example? Like eeking out a few more eccentric-only reps once concentric failure happens. Sometimes I take my last set to failure but after a rest I feel like another would be good and go for it. Resulting fatigue/damage/soreness seems fine.

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you Boss! Regarding beyond-failure training: we don’t have literature that provides a clear answer to that question, as of current. Given the recent meta regression, it makes sense for your final set to be to failure. Beyond that, there’s no current reason to believe extra could/would be any better - and/or result in more growth. -Milo

[@dariofg]

Great breakdown of the science and awesome practical recommendations! Thanks!!!

[@WolfCoaching]

Glad you found it helpful king! Appreciate the continued support. -Milo

[@gregbulman1151]

Awesome content. Thanks for contextualising this. 👍🏼👍🏼 Out of interest, how does one count leg exercises ie leg press towards weekly volume ? It’s sort of half quads half glutes. Same with a hyperextension - is it hams or glutes etc etc.

[@YMESYDT]

This is my favorite video so far

[@jujoijo]

So glad i found your channel man!

[@WolfCoaching]

Thanks boss! Happy to have you here! -Milo

[@hiraya5296]

these videos are always full of good, actionable information! question: for how long should one train to be considered a new trainee vs a more advanced trainee? also, i tried your recommendations from your video on supersets and they seem to be working great!

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you! I’m glad you’re finding the content useful! It could depend on a number of factors. The main of which being: the quality of the first few years of training. However this is highly variable dependent on the circumstances of the trainee! I’m glad you found it useful in application! Turn on notifications and stay posted for more. -Milo

[@Omar1066]

Very informative video. Thanks Milo.

[@WolfCoaching]

Thanks boss! Glad you found it informative. -Milo

[@mentalpower0]

I'm telling you without watching. Contrary to many fitness instructors, I guess you included rest time and intensty while evaluating this subject. Because why. you are the best (my humble opinion)

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you sir! I aim to please. -Milo

[@gabrielefredducci9691]

Since I'm a theorycrafting nerd, i would like to see longer videos 😂!!!! Anyway, great work as always ❤

[@gabrielefredducci9691]

I would like to see something about stimulus to fatigue ratio to better contextualize intensity and volume

[@WolfCoaching]

Love to hear it! And thank you bud! Could definitely look at something along those lines! -Milo

[@javipiglifts]

Hey I just subbed, love your content! I am wondering how much volume would you recommend for someone dieting and dealing with fatigue.

[@WolfCoaching]

Probably close to 15-20 sets/week for most muscle groups, time-permitting!

[@johnmacdonald713]

Good video dude. You are starting to become a good and valid voice in the space in my opinion 👍.....not that my opinion is worth that much 😂

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you boss! Glad you’re enjoying the content. Incorrect sir! I appreciate you taking the time to chime in! Milo

[@tomaswilliams6481]

Hi, Milo. Wouldn't going to failure on the first set, provided you're warmed up, be more effective? Why should you leave RIR on a set before a set to failure? Why not just do those two sets to failure? Does it have to do with calcium sensitivity?

[@maximeodekerken9358]

Great video Milo! Do u think muscle groups like chest and back need more sets/volume than muscles like tricep and biceps?

[@WolfCoaching]

Probably not. In fact, the data (see the meta-analysis by Baz-Vale) suggests that perhaps the biceps/quads don't benefit as much from additonal volume as the triceps (which may benefit from 20+ sets a week).

[@rafalmaziarz2365]

​@@WolfCoachingin study before IT shows that you will get more benefit from more sets per week. 22sets average 32sets average 37sets average And people that was doing 37sets get best results on QUADS. Now you are saying that QUADS wont get too much from additional volume. Its all confusing

[@Tjwheat903]

Slam dunk video, efficient and informative

[@WolfCoaching]

Thanks boss! Glad you enjoyed it! -Milo

[@heibaimao]

Hey Dr wolf. How many sets and frequency do you do for chest per week?

[@Devynplett]

Just here to say thanks for the vid and give that algorithm a little tickle tickle

[@WolfCoaching]

You are welcome! And thanks boss! Appreciate the support! -Milo

[@Strassenschlaeger]

About the recommended numbers: How would you split muscles groups up? For example do you count front, side and rear delts separately or as one muscle group? The same goes for "back" since it's also fairly complex? Thanks of course for the great content. I really appreciate that you seem to be completely unbiased when it comes to these "controversial" topics and thst you are not trying to fit study result in a pre supposed mindset.

[@jajahaha5451]

+1 Good question.

[@nixen74]

+1 for this question. I’ve been unable to figure out what ppl mean regarding volume for exactly shoulders and back.

[@WolfCoaching]

Firstly, I’m glad you’re enjoying the content! Regarding counting volume: you can do the following: count front delt work(but be conscious of pressing frequency - as that trains the front delts) Side/rear delts: You can either: count the side and rear delts together; or count them separately. All in all, providing they’re recovering between sessions, that’s the most important factor. It’s worth noting that there’s regular crossover between ‘isolation’ movements for the rear/side delts, as far as muscle utility is concerned. Regarding back training: you’re correct, it is complex musculature. Because of this it would be difficult to assess what would be working in isolation, if you did want to attempt to track lats/other separately. My suggestion here: track back sets as just 1 set of back, per back movement - but just ensure you are pulling with a variety of grips, from a variety of angles. That’ll cover your bases. Hope that answers your questions! Let me know if not. -Milo

[@Strassenschlaeger]

@@WolfCoachingThanks for the amazing reply! Up to now I divided shoulder training into overhead pressing and side/rear isolations and back Training into vertical and horizontal pulling, applying the recommend Volume (10-20) Sets to every category separately and I wanted to verify if this is congruent with the literature, so again, thanks for clearing this up for me.

[@WolfCoaching]

My pleasure! It’s important to tick off the big rocks - but also equally important to not get lost in the minutia. -Milo

[@wiggerlywoo]

Would resting an hour or more between sets be as effective as a regular routine? Does lactate accumulation contribute at all to hypertrophy?

[@Botman_Rubthem]

How often can I train my side delts? I like doing them I can have 1 rest day in between them and feel I can easily train them again. I do about 12-15 working sets a week in them.

[@Frag1ty]

but if mechanical tension is the primary driver for building muscle and training to failure is worse to progress in strength than not training to failure, how do you go about it? Cause you could just train to failure every session but you wont get stronger so you will be using the same weights week after week?

[@willmcgregor7184]

What about Maintenance Volume? Is there consensus on number of sets/week for each body part to maintain muscle mass? Thanks

[@TOKYEO]

Great vid!

[@WolfCoaching]

Thanks Boss! -Milo

[@Cup.cake991]

Thanks for the vid, what would you say in the minimum dose of sets just to maintain muscle?

[@WolfCoaching]

My pleasure! Probably a lot lower than you think! It could be anywhere from around 30-50% of your average training volume(providing you’re volume is around what you can recover from) -Milo

[@Strassenschlaeger]

Anothet question popped into my head: You mentioned in another video that higher frequencys are better for hypertrophy (showing Greg Nuckols Meta Analyses), do you think there is a cutt off point to that or is High Frequency training ala Menno Henselmans the way to go?

[@WolfCoaching]

Eh, we don't really have the data to know the specifics. I do think we have the data to say higher frequencies - say 3+ - is at least as good as lower frequencies. But whether 7x is better than 3x for example is less clear. I might make a video on this in the future.. -Milo

[@Strassenschlaeger]

@@WolfCoaching I'd love to see that video! Thanks again for your reply.

[@hanshelfer2799]

if i’m progressively overloading on weight/reps do i really need to add sets week to week? for example i’ve been hitting my calves 6 sets a week for like the last 2 months and have been adding weight to the calf machines.

[@bigjohn331]

i know guys who built more than 90% of their genetic potential on no more than 5 sets per muscle group per week. minimalist training if you train hard will give you the best results for minimal training time. i wish i knew this when i was starting out

[@WolfCoaching]

The big rocks are for sure nailing your basics - one of which being training in the right ball park where volume is concerned! -Milo

[@j.rob.5943]

No one knows their genetic potential

[@ethan-sq6zv]

@@j.rob.5943very true

[@papaspaulding]

@@j.rob.5943 You do after a decade or more of good quality training. you'll get there and know (talking of natural potential) They'll be times where you think you've hit the ceiling but by that time knowing your body well and knowing where to make finer tweaks to training manage to eek out a little more muscle over the years here and there to the point you'll be already really big but cannot get any bigger. At which point you can either jump on gear or go into maintenance mode

[@onurbole7921]

​@@j.rob.5943another thing is that almost nobody does the same thing for a decade and more. When I was a beginner I trained in an unconventional way: I would train compounds three times a week, 10 sets of 3 with 60 seconds between sets, only reaching failure in last sets. Because I was a beginner, and I was obsessed with eating well, I gained about 25 pounds in two years, and still had abs so it was mostly muscle. Never in my life did I gain that much muscle in a year again. But I could not sustain that type of training as weights got heavier and heavier, quite fatiguing even if I wasn't training to failure. I haven't trained like that for more than a decade now, and everything I've done for a decade barely matches the gains I got in those two years (I got maybe another 20 pounds in ten years). Still, it would be absurd to say 30 short weekly sets per movement is ideal for gaining muscle, because it is what gave me my noobie gains. Consistency and progressive overload are two most important things that will sooner or later take you far into your genetic potential, the rest is context.

[@nimbus865]

so my question to you milo is I get sore on quads from 3 hard sets a session. 2 to failure 1 to 2-1 RIR. how would I be able to go up to lets say 8 sets?

[@maenlest17]

Not Milo but: You either don't go to failure to add more volume or you keep doing what you're doing, if you're progressing your lifts and getting some soreness after every session you're doing alright. I've coached guys at the national level that didn't need more than 4 sets per week to grow their quads and if they go overboard they'll get tendonitis, so more isn't always better.

[@MM-bu9ir]

Would be good to see you in a podcast discussion with someone like Lyle McDonald, maybe moderated

[@ab1053897310]

plz talk more about lengthened partial！

[@WolfCoaching]

I'm planning on it! Stay tuned king. -Milo

[@Wartock]

Hi Milo, I train around 18-22 sets in back training and never get sore muscles and I'm really around RPE 8-10 and the technique is also decent. How much should I increase the volume? or how do I determine what the correct volume is?

[@WolfCoaching]

What does progress look like? Are you confident your RPE is where you think it is? (Are you implementing some final sets to momentary failure to be able to determine this?) soreness isn’t our primary concern. The above is. You could be an outlier that doesn’t get too sore. That’s fine, provided you’re progressing well. -Milo

[@Wartock]

So I'll make sure I do RPE 8-10 like you specified. On the last set I can no longer complete the repetition, including muscle failure. So I can see that the movements before were around Rpe 8-9. Technology itself should also fit well. I have been training for 10 years and am always curious. I think I'll just sore less often. I'll keep an eye on the progress. I'm just wondering whether I should do less or more, as long as the progress is ok, should "a little" more be better? Thank you@@WolfCoaching

[@WolfCoaching]

There's a good chance you're optimizing progress. Soreness is far from a perfect predictor of growth!

[@user-py2ix8qm2h]

Thoughts on Glute Ham Raises for lengthened partials and hamstring hypertrophy?

[@WolfCoaching]

I don't think they would be great; even with partials, the resistance curve is still hardest in the most shortened position. Honestly, I rarely prescribe GHR/Back Extensions nowadays; I think RDL/Good Mornings and leg curls are almost always better. -Milo

[@user-py2ix8qm2h]

@@WolfCoachingI guess I mean just the top half of GHRs which are basically an easier Nordic Curl. Should have a favorable resistance curve, no?

[@Coachahmadreza]

Tnx milo. ❤

[@WolfCoaching]

You're welcome king!

[@Shrivatsaharagapur]

At 3:00 more important point.....many people don't aware about it...even i got it while watching Eric helms podcast with Dr swole......

[@WolfCoaching]

100%. Contextualises the application of the data completely, imo. -Milo

[@RobinLiftin]

You gotta say it's 8:43 pm, 8 pm sounds fake grindset. Great video s-t-b Doc Wolf

[@WolfCoaching]

Or as DJ Khaled would say: it's 4:47AM. You get home from the club. You're hungry -> cinnamon crunch with almond milk. GOD DID. -Milo

[@markolive6070]

Hi Milo, do you have a minimum/maximum volume recommendation per session? I noticed in your power building split video, that you’ve spread your work pretty evenly across the week.

[@WolfCoaching]

It depends on A) your chosen frequency(a higher frequency will mean less volume per session/the inability to do too much in one given session - in order to allow sufficient recovery time) B) How you choose to structure things. You can look to have an emphasised day, with more volume for a specific muscle group; you can split everything evenly per-session. Whether you choose to undulate your volume per session, or adopt a balanced approach throughout the week, providing you’re recovering between each bout of stimulus for the muscle group/s in question, that’s the most significant consideration. Some muscle groups may recover faster; and so may allow for higher frequencies/lower volumes per session. Hope that answers your question! -Milo

[@markolive6070]

Thank you!

[@WolfCoaching]

Any time!

[@khe8969]

So basically ppl that always say higher volume is better than lower volume bc it unfairly compares them using different / optimal rest periods.

[@robertjamestaylor9261]

Not hating, just asking. Isn't this pretty much the same what Paul Carter preaches? That if you take at least 2 minutes rest, you don't need as many sets, and that getting closer to failure builds more muscle? If I remember correctly his general recommendations was to exercise a muscle group twice a week with 3 to max 8 sets per session, this would fall in line with what you are saying here

[@WolfCoaching]

Roughly. That said, PC's take on volume seems a bit more dogmatic - since this video, there have been some more studies in the area suggesting volumes as high as 20-30+ sets are better yet for hypertrophy. I've changed my stance; PC hasn't.

[@sfarsitulumi]

Commenting to stay on reasonable exercise science KZbin

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you sir! -Milo

[@TheCCBoi]

Great video, I wish I had a cool accent like that lol.

[@WolfCoaching]

LMAO. Glad someone thinks it's cool! -Milo

[@heidiswisher2044]

👍

[@douglasauruss]

Could you please look at the claims from this video about lateral delt development? Specifically the recommended exercise, the validity of the reasoning behind it, and safety of the movement, especially the impingement risk or lack thereof using pronation. Lastly, and maybe the only important thing, if valid, your recommended way to accomplish the same with tension at the most lengthened position (probably cables). kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqCaqmhmn8uUa68m9s Frankly I have a hard time imagining someone with that advanced of musculature even being able to measure significant growth in a few months with no other changes.

[@WolfCoaching]

I'll do my best to get the time! Moving places at the moment so a bit pressed for time, lol. -Milo

[@spurzo-thespiralspacewolf8916]

4-6 sets to failure per muscle per week for me.

[@WolfCoaching]

Everybody’s certainly a little different! -Milo

[@gokukakarot1855]

For the algorithm

[@ddayfitness]

Just saw a video of you with Dr Mike talking about 52 sets a week per muscle group. So... 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@promo130]

gvt rules

[@Wetterwet]

Ali G reference!

[@WolfCoaching]

The one and only! -Milo

[@dory_m78]

Thank you for not swearing

[@WolfCoaching]

I failed you :( -Milo

[@jasonneil101]

Fuck science. Its all over rhe place. Each person needs to absolutely experiment over the year's. All approaches can work or not. Someone needs to spend time in each area.