The Science of Training Volume: How Many Sets Do You Really Need?

One of the most debated questions in resistance training is simple but crucial: How many sets should you do per week per muscle group to maximize muscle growth?

For years, the "evidence-based" crowd settled on 10-20 sets per muscle group per week. But recently, a new wave of meta-analyses has challenged that assumption—some arguing that you can build maximum muscle with far fewer sets. Others push the opposite direction, claiming more is always better.

So what's the truth? Let's look at what the science actually says.

What the Research Shows

A landmark 2024-2025 series of meta-regressions by Pelland and colleagues analyzed 35 studies on hypertrophy and 66 studies on strength outcomes. The findings were clear:

For muscle growth: Higher weekly training volumes consistently led to more muscle growth. The relationship shows diminishing returns—going from 5 to 10 sets produces a bigger jump than going from 20 to 25 sets—but the curve never flattens completely within the ranges studied. For strength: The picture is different. Strength gains max out around 4-5 sets per week per muscle group. Past that point, additional volume produces negligible strength benefits—though it also doesn't hurt.

This creates an interesting paradox: if more volume builds more muscle, why doesn't that extra muscle translate to more strength?

The answer lies in how strength and size relate. Muscle mass is only one factor; neural adaptations, skill acquisition, and fatigue management matter too. At higher volumes, you build more muscle but also accumulate more fatigue, which can mask strength gains in the short term—even if the long-term payoff is there.

Minimum Effective Volume: The Floor

How little can you get away with and still grow?

Research suggests the minimum effective volume for noticeable hypertrophy is roughly 5-6 hard sets per muscle group per week. Below this threshold, most people won't stimulate meaningful growth, though genetic responders may see results even lower.

Studies comparing very low volumes (1-3 sets) against moderate volumes (8-12 sets) consistently show superior growth in the higher-volume groups. The exception: complete beginners can grow on very little volume because any stimulus is new to their system.

The Optimal Range: Where's the Sweet Spot?

This is where things get nuanced. The research supports a few key principles:

• More volume = more growth, up to a point. The dose-response curve is curvilinear (diminishing returns), not linear. Every additional set adds less benefit than the last.

• The "maximal" volume isn't known. Studies haven't found an upper threshold where more sets stop helping. Even 30+ sets per week show continued benefits for most people.

• Individual factors matter. Training age, recovery capacity, genetics, and nutrition all influence your optimal volume. What works for a pro bodybuilder may crush a recreational lifter.

Practical Volume Guidelines

Based on current evidence, here's a workable framework:

| Goal | Weekly Sets per Muscle Group | |------|------------------------------| | Minimum for growth | 6-10 sets | | Solid baseline | 10-15 sets | | Accelerated growth | 15-20 sets | | Advanced/optimizing | 20-30+ sets |

For most people building muscle, 12-16 sets per muscle group per week represents a solid middle ground—high enough to maximize growth, low enough to recover from.

The "Low Volume" Debate

Some influencers argue that 5-8 sets per week is all you need—that more is "junk volume" that wastes time and increases injury risk without added benefit.

The research doesn't support this position. Studies directly comparing low (5-8 sets) against moderate (12-16 sets) and high (20+ sets) volumes consistently show dose-response relationships favoring higher volumes for hypertrophy.

However, there's a kernel of truth buried in this debate:

• Strength may plateau earlier than hypertrophy
• Recovery becomes harder at higher volumes
• Diminishing returns are real—you get less bang per set as volume increases
• Consistency matters more than optimization—doing 8 sets reliably beats doing 20 sets sporadically

So while the "5 sets is enough" crowd oversells their position, the principle of not overcomplicating things has merit.

Per-Workout Volume: Does It Matter?

Recent research has also explored whether splitting your weekly volume across more sessions matters.

Key findings:

• Frequency (how often you train a muscle) has minimal impact on growth when total weekly volume is equal
• Per-session volume matters more than previously thought—going above 10-15 sets in a single session may produce diminishing returns due to fatigue
• Split routines work fine; full-body works fine—the best program is one you can sustain

The practical takeaway: you don't need to hit each muscle group daily. 2-3 sessions per week with 6-10 sets per session works well for most people.

When More Isn't Better

Despite the "more is better" trend in hypertrophy research, there are limits:

Recovery Capacity

At very high volumes (25+ sets), recovery becomes the bottleneck. Sleep quality, nutrition, stress levels, and prior training experience all determine how much volume you can actually recover from.

Diminishing Returns

The jump from 10 to 15 sets is more impactful than 25 to 30 sets. At some point, adding more sets yields negligible muscle growth while increasing fatigue, injury risk, and training time.

Individual Variation

Some people thrive on high volume; others do better with less. If you're constantly sore, regressing in performance, or feeling burnt out, you may be above your recovery threshold—even if the science says more volume should work.

How to Apply This

• Start moderate. If you're doing 5-8 sets per muscle group, try bumping to 12-14 and see how you respond. Most people can handle more than they think.

• Progress gradually. Add 2-4 sets per week over several weeks. Monitor recovery, sleep, and performance.

• Don't chase extremes. Neither the "minimum effective dose" nor the "maximum volume" approach serves most people well. Find your sustainable range.

• Prioritize intensity. All sets should be taken to or near failure. High-volume training with submaximal effort is less effective than fewer hard sets.

• Periodize. Your optimal volume fluctuates. Phases of higher volume (growth blocks) followed by lower volume (deload/transition) tend to work better than static training forever.

The Bottom Line

The science is clear: higher training volumes lead to more muscle growth, with benefits continuing well beyond the "10 sets is enough" crowd's claims. However, the law of diminishing returns is real, and recovery capacity sets a practical ceiling.

For most people building muscle: 12-18 challenging sets per muscle group per week, distributed across 2-3 sessions, represents an evidence-based sweet spot. From there, adjust based on your recovery, schedule, and goals.

More training does lead to more gaining—at least until it doesn't.

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References:

• Pelland et al. (2024). The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. SportRxiv
• Pelland et al. (2025). Is There Too Much of a Good Thing? Meta-Regressions of the Effect of Per-Session Volume on Hypertrophy and Strength. SportRxiv
• Stronger By Science. "More Training, More Gaining: Everything You Need to Know About Training Volume"