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Writer's pictureAndrew Jones

VOLUME: SETS AND REPETITIONS




Curious about the perfect formula for muscle growth, muscular strength, and muscular endurance? Discover how the right combination of sets, reps, and percentages of your one-rep max (1RM) can unlock sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (muscle mass), enhance relative strength, and boost muscular endurance. Dive into the science of training and transform your workouts for maximum results!


In this article, I will lay out the fundamentals and no-nonsense advice to understanding how much volume you need for each goal you may have.


In this article we will go over:


  1. Science Behind Volume

  2. Sets/Reps/Weight Selection for Warming Up

  3. Sets/Reps/Weight Selection For Relative Strength

  4. Sets/Reps/Weight Selection for Muscle Mass

  5. Sets/Reps/Weight Selection for Muscular Endurance



Science Behind Volume


Research conducted by Med Sci Sports Exerc. PMCID: PMC6303131; evaluates muscular adaptions between low, moderate, and high volume resistance protocols with a weight selection based off of percentages towards your 1 Rep Max on a given compound exercise.


Research has shown that different repetition ranges target specific fitness goals: low reps maximize muscle strength, moderate reps build muscle mass, and high reps enhance muscular endurance.



Sets/Reps/Weight Selection For Warming Up


After performing mobility movements and foam rolling for at least 30 seconds on each muscle group, you should warm your muscles up with 50% of your 1RM for 8-10 repetitions, as feasible. In my training system, I follow through with a few minutes of mobility patterns and foam rolling techniques as my warm up. If I feel a lack of blood flow and tight muscles afterwards, I will throw in a few exercises for 8-10 repetitions at my 50% 1RM to mitigate injury. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to how many sets of warming up you may need.



Sets/Reps/Weight Selection For Relative Strength


Performing 2-4 sets of 4-6 repetitions at 80% and greater on your 1RM on compound exercises yields to thicker muscular adaptations resulting in a lean physique with a lot of strength.



Sets/Reps/Weight Selection for Muscle Mass


Performing 2-4 sets of 7-12 repetitions at 60-80% of your 1RM will yield to muscle mass.



Sets/Reps/Weight Selection for Muscular Endurance


Performing 2-3 sets of 13-20 repetitions will yield to muscular endurance based off of a 60% and less on your 1RM.



BREAKING IT ALL DOWN:


This article provides you with the no-nonsense and straight to the point scientific results to developing muscular strength, muscle mass, and muscular endurance utilizing sets, reps, and percentages based off of your 1RM. There is no need for the extra hype the business industry tries to sell.

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