Like most lifters, I used conventional progressive overload for years. That’s where you gradually lift heavier weights to get bigger and stronger.
The only problem is I kept hitting a wall where my muscle gains plateaued and lifting more weight only resulted in bad form or injury.
But I recently heard about a different approach from Dr. Mike Israetel of Renaissance Periodization. He advocates adding more sets instead of increasing load when your goal is maximizing muscle growth.
Dr. Mike’s opinions are corroborated by a 2019 study that demonstrated a dose-response relationship where increases in training volume produced greater gains in muscle hypertrophy.
Still, there’s a point of diminishing returns where doing too many sets prevents you from recovering and making new gains.
My question was, “How many weekly sets should I do to gain muscle without overtraining?”
So, I put together a workout plan and carefully tracked my progress to find out how much training volume is too much.
Defining Workout Volume
In resistance training, “volume” is the total number of sets you perform each workout session and for a week of training.
- Session Volume = Exercises x Sets
- Weekly Volume = Session Volume x Training Days
For example, if your workout consists of four exercises with five sets each, your session volume is 20 sets (4 x 5 = 20). And if you work out five days a week, your total weekly volume is 100 sets (5 x 20 = 100).
However, we can go one level deeper and look at the number of sets performed for each muscle group, such as the biceps, pectorals, or quads.
- Muscle Group Volume = Exercises Targeting That Muscle x Sets
Going into this experiment, I averaged about 120 weekly sets, and most muscle groups saw 10–12 sets per week. So, I used that as my baseline training volume.
The Progressive Volume Approach
Next, I developed a plan to incrementally increase training volume by adding sets each week. I did this for one mesocycle or four weeks.
The process starts with what is considered the lowest volume necessary to build muscle, also called the Minimum Effective Volume (MEV).
Some research suggests that MEV is around 10 sets per muscle group for advanced lifters.
From there, I added two sets each week until I got to 16 sets per muscle group. This should be around the Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV) or the point where you can no longer recover between workouts.
If you combine every muscle group, the total volume starts at 110 weekly sets and goes up to 192 sets.
So, I pushed the volume much higher than my baseline of 120 sets.
After ramping up the volume, I had a deload week where I went back down to 6 sets per muscle group to let my body rest and recover for another mesocycle.
Tracking Volume & Recovery
I also wanted to know if the added volume was hurting my recovery during this new workout routine. So I used three different quantitative and qualitative measurements.
1. Performance Recovery
In a notebook, I wrote down the exercises, sets, reps, and weights lifted for each workout.
Then, I transferred that information into a spreadsheet at the end of each week. Finding the average weight lifted and average reps completed helped me see if my strength decreased, stayed the same, or increased. This is called performance recovery.
I also calculated the average work done per set, creating a normalized metric to compare week to week. A positive change indicates improvement, while a negative indicates a potential lack of recovery.
2. Perceptive Recovery
I also kept a journal of my perceived recovery based on muscle soreness and how I felt after workouts.
I knew the volume was too high if my muscles were still sore when it was time to train again. But if they recovered in time for the next workout, the volume was probably okay.
3. Nervous System Recovery
Finally, I monitored recovery using my Oura ring fitness tracker. This device measures heart rate variability (HRV), an indicator of how your body responds to training and stress.
A higher HRV is a sign of good recovery, while a lower HRV can indicate my body was under too much stress.
Progressive Volume Workouts
During the progressive volume plan, I continued to train my normal six days per week. However, I rearranged my workouts to accommodate the increased training volume.
Here’s my six-day training split:
- Monday — Biceps & Triceps
- Tuesday — Chest & Side Delts
- Wednesday — Back & Rear Delts
- Thursday — Quads & Abs
- Friday — Biceps & Triceps
- Saturday — Hamstrings & Calves
- Sunday — Rest
This workout routine is my modified version of the bro-split commonly used by intermediate to advanced bodybuilders.
I included two arm days because they generally recover faster, and I already trained them with high volume.
I also separated some muscles that are generally considered one group. For example, instead of a “leg day,” I had a quad day and a hamstring day combined with either abs or calves.
Additionally, I separated the shoulder into individual deltoid heads. Then I paired side delts with chest and rear delts with back since they’re complimentary muscle groups.
I left out the front delts because they get plenty of work on chest day. Likewise, glutes get ample stimulation on quad and hamstring days. Plus, I’m not trying to make my butt bigger.
Week 1: The New Routine
Before starting the progressive volume mesocycle, I took eight days off from the gym, which was my longest rest period in years. I was itching to get into this new routine.
The initial workouts included ten sets for each muscle group. The only exceptions were abs and calves since I had been training them with less volume in my previous workout split.
Being the first week, I had no performance recovery data to compare. So, I’ll start by sharing my perceived recovery and how I felt each day of the new workout routine.
- Day 1 — Biceps & Triceps: The first arm day of the week was a breeze since my arms were used to higher volume. But after a week off, the pump was incredible.
- Day 2 — Chest & Side Delts: Chest day was easy. However, I was only used to doing 3 to 4 sets of lateral raises on shoulder day and calling it good. They were totally blasted after ten dedicated sets.
- Day 3 — Back & Rear Delts: Back day was no problem. But as with side delts, my rear delts probably didn’t get ten sets in two weeks, much less a single workout. They got a massive pump.
- Day 4 — Quads & Abs: This workout consisted of ten straight sets of heel-elevated squats. My quads were sensitive to the touch for the next three days. Also, I had been neglecting abs before this, so it was all I could do to get through six sets without cramping. At this point, I wondered if my volume progression was even possible!
- Day 5 — Biceps & Triceps Round 2: The second arm day reassured me that my muscles could recover between these workouts. I had no lingering soreness and completed the workout with no issues.
- Day 6: Hamstrings & Calves: My hamstrings were accustomed to four weekly sets and definitely weren’t prepared for ten. It was the same for calves, and I blitzed them with six straight sets in this workout. Even 72 hours later, my calves were so tight it hurt when I straightened my legs!
- Day 7: Rest Finally, the last day of the week was a much-needed rest day. My muscles were aching, but I felt primed for more on Monday morning.
After the first week, I was initially surprised by how much muscle soreness I experienced with just ten sets. But it makes sense because the muscles that got sore were previously accustomed to less volume.
Also, muscle soreness wasn’t necessarily bad as long as I recovered in time for my next workout.
My Oura ring showed that my HRV actually increased slightly, meaning the overall systemic stress of the workouts was low and recovery was high.
The shock of the first week had me excited to see how my muscles would respond the following week.
Week 2: Measuring Workload
In week two of the progressive volume program, I added two additional sets per muscle group, going from 10 to 12.
I also bumped up the weight slightly on some exercises that felt too easy the previous week.
To determine how much work my muscles did, I recorded the number of sets, weight lifted, and the reps per set in my spreadsheet.
The “total load” is the sum of all the weight lifted on every rep. I don’t think this is a common metric, but I used it to gauge my overall work capacity.
My total workout volume increased by 16% from 114 to 136 sets. At the same time, the total load only increased by 10%.
I assumed the workload didn’t increase as much as the volume because I got fewer reps with the heavier weight on some exercises. But it could also be a sign of overtraining.
To be sure, I looked at the change in weight, reps, and work done by individual muscle groups from week one to week two.
This table shows that the work done per set only decreased for the triceps and slightly for the biceps and abs. All other muscle groups performed more work.
There are also outside factors that can affect how much work you’re able to output in a workout. For example, how long you rest between sets can significantly change how many reps you get at a given weight.
For this reason, I used a stopwatch to control rest periods as much as possible. Then, I tracked the same data the following week to find the cause of the performance drop.
Week 3: The Big Jump
In the third week, I continued the workout volume progression by adding two more sets per muscle group, going from 12 to 14.
This time, I kept the weight the same on all but a few of the exercises to get a better feel for the impact of volume instead of load.
My total workout volume increased by 18% with the added sets, which is on par with the previous change. However, the total load increased by a whopping 63%!
I was surprised by this big jump because I didn’t increase the weight on as many exercises as I did the previous week. But I did make it a point to push for 1–2 more reps on every set.
Therefore, the reps and sets contributed more to the overall work completed than simply adding another 10 pounds each week.
Tracking the average work done per set provided a huge insight into the increase in workload, independent of the rise in volume.
As you can see, the increase in work done was primarily due to the additional reps in week three. Although my hamstrings responded well to more weight and reps.
This data also showed me I was still progressing in every muscle group, which was an excellent sign that I hadn’t hit a wall regarding training volume.
The final week would be the real test approaching the proposed maximum recoverable volume (MRV). So, I continued tracking this data along with my recovery metrics to see if my performance would plateau.
Week 4: The Final Push
Week four added two more sets per muscle group, going from 14 to 16.
I learned in previous weeks that keeping the weight the same while adding more sets worked best. So, I aimed for one or two more reps per set to see if my muscles recovered and adapted from the previous workout.
This week, the total workout volume increased by 15% with the added sets, and the total load increased by 38%.
My quads were the only muscle group with a negative workload score. Again, this was primarily because I added 20 pounds to my squat weight, which resulted in fewer total reps.
This performance recovery data suggests that I fully recovered between workouts with 16 sets per muscle group. After the initial shock of week one, my muscles were no longer getting as sore.
My weekly average HRV did drop slightly from week 1 (79 ms) to week 4 (66 ms), probably due to the greater metabolic stress from training. However, those numbers are within my typical 50 to 100 ms range.
The following week was a planned “deload” where I scaled back all workouts to six sets per muscle group. This reset allowed my body to rest for another mesocycle of progressive volume training.
Results & Key Takeaways
I weighed myself every morning for the first 25 days of this workout plan to determine if I gained muscle. As you can see in the chart below, my weight fluctuated, but overall, the trendline went up.
It’s hard to say if the weight gain was from muscle, fat, or just water because I didn’t measure body composition.
On average, I gained at least two pounds during these four weeks with a small calorie surplus. So, that is a good indicator that my diet and workouts produced favorable results.
Systematically changing training variables while tracking my workouts was eye-opening. It gave me a new understanding of work capacity and adaptations to training. Here are the main things I took away from this experiment.
- Don’t Go Up On Weight: I realized in week two that trying to increase weight and sets resulted in less overall workload because my reps went down. In subsequent weeks, my work capacity increased significantly by keeping the same weight while adding more sets. This result confirms that you should either increase weight or volume, but not both simultaneously. But this requires choosing appropriate weights based on your 8–12 rep max on every exercise.
- Let Reps Be Your Guide: In my experience, tracking reps completed on each exercise from one week to the next was a good indicator of performance recovery. If I got the same number of reps or more, I knew my body was recovering and adapting to the increased workload. The fact that I continued getting more reps in week four meant my work capacity was still improving.
- Start Small: In hindsight, my minimum effective volume was significantly lower for some muscle groups. That’s why my abs, calves, and quads were stiff as a board while my arms breezed through. Going forward, I would choose a different starting volume for each muscle group based on how much training they’re used to getting. Knowing which muscles need more or less volume would prevent the excessive jumps in stress that led to extreme delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
After a deload week, I continued with another round of progressive volume.
This time, I picked a few muscle groups I wanted to grow and pushed upwards of 20 sets with arms, shoulders, and calves. But I held at 6-10 sets for the remaining muscle groups and gradually increased weight.
Basically, I combined powerlifting and bodybuilding training strategies, which some would call a powerbuilding routine. I’ll cover those results in another story.
High Volume Challenges
Progressive volume training has upsides for breaking plateaus and potentially building more muscle. However, it’s not right for everyone, and it’s important to acknowledge the downsides.
- Measuring Muscle Growth: Most of us don’t have access to accurate body composition equipment like a DEXA scanner. But even if you do, it can be difficult to see relatively small changes in muscle mass in a short timeframe.
- Addressing Workout Duration: Many people just don’t have time for high-volume training. I kept most of my training sessions under 60 minutes using short rest periods. But that still adds up to six hours a week in the gym. My longest workouts included more unilateral exercises (one arm/leg at a time). I would consider using more bilateral exercises (both arms/legs) to save time.
- Controlling Multiple Inputs: Structured workout progression requires controlling several variables. That means you must log your weights, sets, and reps at a minimum. If you’re not the analytical type, this might be a barrier to entry. Of course, you don’t have to create an elaborate spreadsheet like I did. A workout app or pen and paper work just fine.
- Managing Expectations: The primary purpose of progressive volume training is to gradually increase the stimulus on your muscles, resulting in new adaption and hypertrophy. However, adding more weight while maintaining or reducing volume is better suited to maximizing power. So, if you’re a powerlifter or athlete, progressive volume isn’t the best approach for you.
How to Find Your Workout Volume
We all have different training experience levels, work capacities, recovery abilities, and external stressors.
That means your ideal training volume is probably different from mine. And honing in on an effective progression takes some trial and error.
Here are my guidelines for finding how many sets you should do for muscle growth.
- Rest: Giving your body a break before increasing training volume is a good idea. You can do this with a deload week where you pull back on training volume and intensity or just take an entire week off from the gym. A rest and recovery period lets you start your progressive volume plan with a clean slate.
- Reset: Next, return to the gym with what you believe is a reasonable MEV. For most people, the minimum effective dose for resistance training is 5–10 sets per muscle group. But it could be as little as three sets for beginners or for muscles you don’t train as much. More experienced lifters may even need to start with more than 10 sets. Use your best judgment and adjust as needed.
- Ramp Up: From there, add one or two sets per muscle group per week. Keep tabs on your perceived recovery, which is muscle soreness, fatigue, and whether you get an increase in blood flow from your workouts (a pump). You can also track your weights and reps to check for performance recovery dips. Continue adding sets for 3–6 weeks or until you feel like you’ve hit your MRV.
- Repeat: At the end of your progressive volume mesocycle, take another deload week and start the process again. You can increase or decrease your MEV based on what you learned during the first cycle. Or you can change goals and go back to progressing with weight instead of volume.
More On Progressive Overload
Paying more attention to my workouts showed me that you don’t have to keep pushing heavier weights to make progress in the gym.
Trying this new progressive volume approach also reignited my passion for working out. That motivation alone can lead to transformative results.
Are you ready to take your muscle-building results to the next level? Check out my related story to learn more about applying progressive overload to your resistance training workouts.