Most people think more is immediately better when it comes to exercise. However, that isn’t always the case. To build muscle and gain strength, less is more. It’s all about training smarter, not longer.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic Univ. (FAU) looked into how we grow muscles and saw two keys to success — the number of sets you do and the frequency you target each muscle group every week. Spending a ton of time on your workout can lead to muscle fatigue and less desire to stick with a workout plan.
They broke their study down very precisely. Things like bench presses that build overall chest strength were defined as a direct set. In contrast, things like triceps extensions that test a smaller group of muscles were defined as indirect. By breaking it down so granularly, they saw that the benefits of working out taper off after a point. Only two direct sets or 11 indirect sets are needed per workout. Some people call direct exercise “compound movement” as it trains multiple groups of muscles at once. Other examples include rowing, deadlifts, pull-ups of pull-downs and squats.
After that point, you will see more improvement, but any benefit will be small compared to what came before it. “Because of the diminishing returns and greater uncertainty of outcomes as volume increases, it’s important to weigh the small potential benefits of additional volume against the extra demands on time and recovery,” said Jacob F. Remmert, lead author and a Ph.D. candidate at FAU. “To be fair, some people value squeezing every last drop of muscle growth out of their program no matter the cost; for them, experimenting with higher volumes makes sense, so long as they keep a close eye on recovery.”
They found that consistency in weekly frequency with fewer sets was the key to success. As senior author Dr. Michael Zourdos said, “There’s a tipping point where the benefit of doing more becomes very questionable – and in some cases, it may even work against you when considering fatigue, time and so on. This challenges the common assumption that more volume always equals more gains. Instead, we found that diminishing returns set in very quickly, and a low dose of training for strength or a moderate dose of training for muscle growth seem to deliver the most efficient results. For busy people, that’s great news: you can train smarter, not longer, and still see real progress.”
The researchers were looking at short-term exercise programs. They noted that the outcome could be different for people working out for years to maintain strength. And the needs of individuals always vary. However, if the idea of going to the gym fills you with so much dread that you avoid it altogether, this can be a comfort. You only need a small dose to get the best results. You’ll be in and out as you see large gains. By targeting large groups of muscles with your exercises, you’ll maximize your workout and minimize the amount of time you spend in the gym. Knowing that might make the gym less scary!
