Sets of anywhere from 4–40 reps will stimulate muscle growth quite well, but most research shows that doing 6–20 reps per set is the most efficient way to build muscle. Bodybuilders often use the middle of that range, favouring 8–12 reps per set.
For hypertrophy (building muscle), the sweet spot is 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. And if your objective is muscular endurance, shoot for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps. In each case, the key is to use the heaviest resistance that will allow you to complete all of your reps and sets with good form.
Three to four sets of eight to 10 reps is a good range, Trink says. Start off closer to 3×10 (three sets of ten reps, which is about the same as you were lifting before) and every six to eight weeks, subtract reps and add sets. “The lower-rep range will force your muscles to adapt to the heavier weight,” Dell says.
4 sets x 10 reps = 40 reps
Moderate to low intensity. Most ideal for building muscle, but also suited for endurance.
So, How Many Sets to Build Muscle? The ideal training volume for building muscle is around 9–18 sets per muscle per week. And if you're choosing good lifts, doing 6–20 reps per set, and bringing those sets within 1–2 reps of failure, the bottom end of that range is often enough to maximize muscle growth.
Sets of anywhere from 4–40 reps will stimulate muscle growth quite well, but most research shows that doing 6–20 reps per set is the most efficient way to build muscle. Bodybuilders often use the middle of that range, favouring 8–12 reps per set.
What Were the Study Results? The group that did 5 sets per exercise gained more strength, endurance, and muscle than the groups that did 1 or 3 sets per exercise or body weight exercises. The main finding was that the more sets people did, the better their results on the whole.
It won't make a lot of difference whether you do 3x12 or 4x10. 4x10 is slightly more volume so I'd be inclined to that. On the other hand, 3x12 will take a little less time, which is often important.
The Takeway For How Many Sets You Should Do
Each workout can consist of a total of around 15-25 sets, but the number of sets for a specific muscle group in that workout should be at around 10 or below.
Anything greater than 20 reps in a set is probably far too many. Performing this many reps in a set will have diminishing returns. If you can easily do more than 20 reps, then the weight you are using is probably too light or too easy to elicit any significant growth.
You will not build muscle by performing 3 sets of 10 during your weight training workouts. You must do many more reps and sets to build muscle and strength.
Up to about 10–20 reps per set (~60% of 1RM) is moderately effective for strength, but any lighter than that and the strength gain is small.
The term "sets" tells you how many times you will repeat a particular number of repetitions of a given exercise. Let's say you're doing triceps kickbacks. Two sets of 15 reps means you'll perform 15 kickbacks two times total, resting between each round. In total, you'll be doing 30 kickbacks.
Number of sets is also dependent on goals. A lifter looking to improve strength may do 4 to 6 sets, while someone who wants to work on muscular endurance may do 2 to 3 sets. For a full-body workout, spend another day focusing on legs and shoulders by doing squats, lunges, and overhead presses.
TO RECAP, these are the rep ranges you should be considering: Reps in the 1-5 range build super dense muscle and strength. Reps in the 6-12 range build equal amounts of muscular power, strength, and size. Reps in the 12+ range primarily build muscular endurance and size and also cardiovascular health.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that performing 10 sets compared to 5 sets of resistance training does not enhance the development of relative muscle endurance. The volume-load accrued within an individual set rather than across sets may be of greater importance when targeting muscular endurance.
Reasoning: A moderate range of 4 sets of 8 reps allows the lifter to handle loads that stress the muscle quickly while facilitating sufficient time under tension.
The short answer is that as long as you train hard enough, 3 or 4 sets will do the trick. More than 4 sets will not give you a better result. You should be able to complete all 3-4 sets with good form and intensity, but it's more important to focus on the quality of your workouts instead of how many reps they take.
High reps build muscle and connective tissue strength, and give your body respite from the grind of low-rep sets, too. Similarly, low-rep sets build neuromuscular and CNS efficiency.
In order to get bigger and stronger, you must ensure your muscles work harder than they are used to. Generally, between 6-12 reps for 3-6 sets will help to build overall muscle size.
The 5×5, also known as the “Strong Lifts 5×5,” is a simple and effective workout plan for building strength, muscle, and athleticism. Despite the apparent simplicity, the 5×5 program is designed to push you to your limits and drive incredible gains in your maximal strength and muscle mass.
If you are looking to increase size or better build some muscle mass, you should perform 4 – 6 repetitions at 80 – 85% of your 1RM or 6 – 12 repetitions at 65 – 80% of your 1RM.
If you've been training properly for less than a year, perform 10-15 sets per muscle group per week. If you've been training properly for one to five years, perform 15-20 sets per week. If you're very advanced and have been training properly for over five years, perform 20-25 sets per week.
Sets & Reps: Rules To Follow To Get Ripped
Moderate (10-15 reps) and higher rep training (15-30 reps) should be done as well to increase overall training volume, work performed, and help retain as much lean muscle mass you can during a diet.