Relationship between effort, fatigue, and muscle hypertrophy.

A lot of very interesting papers have come out recently, that have explored the relationship between effort, fatigue, and muscle hypertrophy.

Interestingly, we know that training to (or close to) failure maximizes the hypertrophic stimulus that can be generated within a set, suggesting that if training to failure is implemented intelligently—by providing enough recovery time within sessions—we can theoretically maximize growth in our training programs (provided that all other variables are taken care of).

However, if we take a look at the data on fatigue-although limited-, we can see also that training to momentary muscular failure can lead to high levels of neuromuscular fatigue, compared to leaving more reps in reserve (RIR), but recovery is usually achievable within ~48h regardless of proximities to failure, at least following 6 sets of bench.

While we don’t currently know what the upper ceiling of the amount of ‘effective sets’ (or reps) per session is, ~6 hard sets to failure/muscle group/2x week, with at least 48-72h of recovery between sessions, seems like a realistic amount of volume to aim for.

Moreover, research indicates that an optimal training volume for muscle hypertrophy lies somewhere between 12-20 weekly sets per muscle group, so accumulating at least 12 sets/week is well within the guidelines on general recommendations for training volume.

Now of course it’s important to consider individual circumstances, potential risks of training to failure, and research limitations. No study is perfect and not everyone will have nor want to train the same. Some people might feel better to keep slightly more reps in reserve and do more volume, and vice versa.

However, as research progresses, it continues to deepen our understanding of these complex relationships. While we need more evidence for a complete understanding, the existing data offers a robust basis for creating and executing more effective workout plans.🤔