the most important factors

here’s one of *the most important* factors that needs to be taken in consideration when building a training program.

It’s not about accumulating all possible exercises “to maximize” targeting an area. It’s about picking a small number of exercises and getting as strong as possible on those, progressively, within manageable levels of training volume.

In a very recent systematic review conducted by @bazman_science, @carlosalix and colleagues, the goal was to compare responses to moderate and high training volumes, aimed at inducing muscle growth.

The studies included in this meta analysis were randomized controlled trials, where the number of sets had been explicitly reported, they lasted for at least 6 weeks, and partecipantd had a minimum of 1 year of training experience (age 18-35).

According to the results of this meta-analysis, there were no differences between moderate and high training volumes for quadriceps, and the biceps brachii, while additional training volumes may be more beneficial for the triceps.

All in all, according to the results of this review, a range of 12-20 weekly sets, per muscle group may be an optimum standard recommendation for increasing muscle hypertrophy in young, trained men.

References:

Baz-Valle E, Balsalobre-Fernández C, Alix-Fages C, Santos-Concejero J. A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy. J Hum Kinet. 2022 Feb 10;81:199-210. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2022-0017. PMID: 35291645; PMCID: PMC8884877.

Alix-Fages C, Del Vecchio A, Baz-Valle E, Santos-Concejero J, Balsalobre-Fernández C. The role of the neural stimulus in regulating skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2022 Feb 9. doi: 10.1007/s00421-022-04906-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35138447.