how many sets per muscle group per week To Build Muscle?

what is volume?

Volume is simply the amount of work we do in a workout or training session or over a period of time. Traditionally it would be calculated as weight lifted x reps x number of sets performed on a particular exercise. This would typically be used for dedicated strength training and in strength sports such as powerlifting and weightlifting. This way of quantifying volume may be more important when pure strength gains are the goal.

a simple way to quantify training volume

Over the last decade, a simpler way of counting volume has been popularised within the fitness industry and is better suited for pure hypertrophy training or building muscle. Instead of calculating precise volumes we simply count the amount of sets we perform for each muscle group over the week.

We find this to be an effective tool to use due to its simplicity, and it is also an easy concept to understand and apply for general population clients as well as individuals who take their training more seriously.

why is it important to quantify volume

It is important to quantify the number of sets we perform over the week for a muscle group because it gives us a baseline to establish whether the amount of work we are performing for a muscle group is providing enough of a stimulus to build muscle.

It is also one way to quantify the amount of stress we are placing on the body over the week or an amount of time. This allows us to make adjustments as and when needed. We may need to do more or less depending on our current goals, and lifestyle as well as our progress.

what does the current research point to?

The current research suggests that 10-20 sets per week per muscle group is effective for building muscle. This range is widely accepted as being effective for most people and comes from a team of researchers led by Brad Schoenfeld, who in 2017 performed a meta-analysis investigating the relationship between muscle growth and the number of sets performed per muscle group per week.

Another meta-analysis was carried out in 2022 comparing low, medium, and high volumes and concluded that a range of 12-20 weekly sets per muscle group may be an “optimum standard recommendation for increasing muscle hypertrophy in young, trained men”.

Many coaches, personal trainers, and experienced lifters find these recommendations to be fairly accurate for most people and we agree with this. However, it is important to understand that these recommendations are based on averages and that individual differences can come into play. Some individuals may require more volume and some less.

not all volume is created equal

One important point to understand is that one set for a particular exercise will not always be comparable to a set for another exercise for the same muscle group. For example, a heavy set of squats will be far more stressful on the quadriceps and also systemically compared to a set of leg extensions. One is a compound lift which allows for considerable amounts of weight to be lifted whilst the other one is an isolation move.

Machine work also needs to be taken into consideration. Using the same example as above a set of hack squats will have a lesser effect compared to the free weight squat even though it is still a compound exercise and large amounts of weights can be moved. This is due to the increased complexity of free weight lifts and the increased demand on the nervous system to coordinate movement patterns as well as simply having a large amount of weight on your back in the case of the squat.

With this understanding, we can begin to quantify what volumes are appropriate for us as an individuals. We may be able to progress and recover from 5 sets of barbell back squats and 5 sets of machine hack squats per week, however, if we performed all 10 sets using the barbell back squat we may run into recovery issues and progress would likely be worse.

volume’s relationship to intensity and frequency

When we are thinking about volume we must also understand that other variables in our training such as intensity and frequency will affect how much volume we can perform over the week and also in a given training session.

volume and intensity

When counting the number of sets performed for a muscle group over the week we should only include our work sets. These are the hard sets performed with a high enough intensity and effort to stimulate muscle growth. We do not count our warm-up sets. To learn more about this check out our article on intensity.

These sets should be taken to a close enough proximity to muscular failure, 0-3 reps from failure for most exercises. Sets taken closer to muscular failure will likely be more effective for stimulating muscle growth however they will also be more stressful, will produce more fatigue, and will require more recovery.

With this understanding, we can see how the volume we can perform and recover from will depend on the intensity of our sets. When performing the majority of our sets close to muscular failure we may be able to progress on lower weekly volumes for each muscle group. If we are performing more of our sets further away from muscular failure we will likely need more volume to progress.

In reality, some exercises are better suited for working at different intensities over others, and we will likely be performing a range of intensities working at different reps in reserve (RIR) throughout the week. This is why it may be a good idea to standardize the intensity of the different exercises we perform allowing us to establish the number of sets we can progress and recover from over the week.

Volume and frequency

Frequency is the number of times we train or work a muscle group per week, and can have a relationship to volume in several ways. For example, if we train at an effective frequency we can likely perform better quality sets over the week at a higher intensity and therefore potentially progress on fewer sets per week.

For example, performing 8 sets for chest per week split into 2 sessions rather than performing all 8 sets in 1 session. In the latter example, the later sets would become less stimulative for building muscle as fatigue accumulates and intensity drops. We are accumulating more fatigue and stress and getting less and less out of our sets. This is sometimes referred to as junk volume.

In this way, frequency can also help us accumulate more quality sets and volume over the week if needed. To progress higher volumes are sometimes needed so increasing frequency further, for example, 3-4 times per week can help us distribute our weekly volume effectively. To learn more you can check out our article on frequency.

practical applications

So how do we use this information and apply it to our training? First of all, we do not want to overthink things and try to overanalyze our training too much. A mistake many people make is trying to find optimum. Whether in their training or nutrition, they are looking for that perfect number, in this case, the perfect number of sets to perform each week.

Optimal training volume does not exist, there are just too many variables and these variables are always changing. Chasing optimum and in doing so causing more stress is likely hindering your progress rather than helping.

use volume recommendations as a guide

Use the volume recommendations as a guide. They are a useful reference point and having a basic understanding is important. If we are just beginning our fitness journey they give us a good starting point and as long as we are somewhere near the recommendations we will likely make good progress. As we progress we will have to find our own effective volume levels and will likely need to make adjustments over time.

perform the minimal amount of volume you can make progress with

We recommend starting on the lower end of the volume range. If you are a beginner you can make excellent progress on low volume training. Your focus should be on performing quality sets with excellent execution of technique. This could even be 5 or 6 high quality sets per week initially.

If you have been lifting for some time and are not seeing the results you are looking for we recommend you do a volume reset. Count your weekly work sets for each muscle group and see where they are. Then ask yourself, are these high quality sets? Often people need to work harder and reach a closer proximity to muscular failure to make progress.

The correct course of action would be to perform fewer sets and focus on intensity first before thinking about adding more weekly sets. Many people are surprised at how much progress they can make performing fewer sets when the intensity is correct. We think it is a good idea to perform the minimum amount of volume we can make progress on, only adding sets when we need to.

distribute your volume evenly throughout the week

Volume should be distributed somewhat evenly throughout the week to maintain the quality and intensity of our sets and provide a good stimulus to build muscle. For example, an individual starting at the lower end of the volume recommendations can train a muscle group twice per week, performing 5 sets in each training session, for a total of 10 sets over the week.

An example training setup that would work well for this is the classic 4-day upper body lower body split. The upper body and lower body muscles are trained with a twice per week frequency, each receiving 2 dedicated training sessions. If you would like to learn more about how to set up a simple training split with the correct volume, intensity, and frequency you can check out our free fit guide.

If you are more advanced and require more weekly sets for specific muscle groups you may need to increase training frequency to distribute volume evenly.

experiment with different volumes for different muscle groups

Certain muscle groups will likely require more or less weekly volume, therefore, some experimentation will be required to find out how much volume different muscle groups need to progress.

Some smaller muscle groups may need more volume to progress, and can also handle more volume. An example of one such muscle group is the medial delts. More sets will likely need to be performed over the week, therefore, using a higher frequency of 3-4 times per week can be effective. Smaller muscle groups will recover quickly, and the isolation moves used to target them do not cause much overall stress and fatigue.

Higher volumes for specific muscle groups can also be used to bring up weak points, although weekly volume for other muscle groups will probably need to be reduced so that the overall weekly training stress is not overly high. This is more of a concern for advanced lifters.

Training volumes may need to increase at some point depending on your level of advancement and your goals, although this is not always the case. More advanced lifters using heavier weights can stimulate a muscle to such a high degree they can maximize muscle growth and progress on fewer sets.

volume may need to be lower in a fat loss phase

In a fat loss phase, you will have less energy and reduced recovery capabilities due to being in a calorie deficit. In this situation, it can be a good idea to reduce the amount of sets you perform for each muscle group over the week. This way the sets you perform remain high quality which is vital for maintaining muscle in a fat loss phase. This will also reduce the overall weekly training stress on the body.

This will likely be more important if you were previously performing a higher training volume. If you were training with low or even moderate volume reducing weekly sets may not be necessary. The size of your calorie deficit as well as the levels of leanness you are looking to achieve will also be a factor here.

If you feel you need to reduce volume, removing 2-3 sets from the larger muscle groups is a good starting point. Some experimentation will be needed to see how many sets you need to maintain muscle in a fat loss phase and what your recovery abilities are.

conclusion

Performing around 10-20 high quality sets on average per muscle group per week is an effective amount of volume to stimulate muscle growth, and we agree that the general recommendations are appropriate for the majority of people, especially beginners and early intermediate lifters.

However, it is important to understand that volume is just one component and other things will need to be in place if we are looking to build muscle, especially to more advanced levels. Performing quality sets at a high enough intensity, following an effective and well designed training programme, allowing adequate recovery, as well as applying important nutrition principles is required to build muscle and make consistent long term progress.