One of the most important parts of any training program is sets and reps and how you perform your exercises. When the goal is to gain muscle, the number of sets and reps you do matters – a lot. Of course, the answer to this question doesn’t lie in some random recommendation, but in asking the right questions to get the exact answer that’s right for you. First, you need to clarify the main goal of your training. If you’re training to be a better athlete, training for strength, or even endurance, any low-volume approach with minimal sets will be ineffective in the long run. However, if your goal is to gain muscle and increase size, then you need to look at the volume you’re putting into your workouts. Here the question arises of how much effort you’re willing or able to put into your workouts. This is critical. There’s confusion about whether the goal of any training is to find the maximum work your body can tolerate, beyond which you can no longer make progress, or to find the minimum effective dose of training that creates a positive stimulus for growth. If you choose the first option, you may quickly find that you cross that threshold into impaired recovery and plateauing muscle growth if you have a stressful week, a string of nights of poor sleep, or even a particularly high volume workout. On the other hand, if you hit the minimum stimulus with a lower dose and ensure that you maintain the ability to properly recover from it, and then return to the next workout with the same energy and ability to push yourself to the maximum required to hit the minimum threshold again, then you are likely to experience much faster muscle growth. This was a philosophy that Mike Mentzer employed with his Heavy Duty training. I have been a proponent of some aspects of Heavy Duty training, while critical of others for years. What I think Mike got right is that when training naturally, the amount of volume you put into your workouts must be carefully monitored if you want to see continued progress. You simply do not have the ability to ignore recovery like those using steroids do, as you do not have the same biological responses to training. That being said, one of the downsides to Mike Mentzer’s training was that many people are not able to bring an adequate intensity to their workouts to perform just one set and get a positive result. It is for this reason that people will extend their workouts to more sets and more reps. Sometimes performing up to 20 sets or more in a single workout, even dedicated to a single muscle group. If you are a newbie (not a total beginner), it might make sense for you to find the specific number of sets and reps that is best in your case for gaining muscle. This is most easily achieved by performing one set to absolute failure. Many people who previously advocated training with reps in reserve are now promoting training to failure. If you decide to train this way and don’t see the results you are looking for, you can logically always increase to two sets and monitor it again. If you are doing a lot more sets, you wouldn’t necessarily know if the next adjustment should be up or down and you might be wasting time in your quest. Is one set to failure suitable for everyone? Definitely not, if you struggle to push yourself to your maximum. And the good news here is that lower effort sessions strung together can create just as great an end result in muscle growth, albeit at the expense of more time and volume. Instead of building your training around sets and reps, figure out how much effort you can consistently bring to the gym and put into your workouts. From there, tailor your volumes and frequency to match the effort and you’ll find the exact number that works best for you. Sets & Reps Done Right - https://athleanx.com/x/proper-sets-and-reps-done-right Subscribe to this channel here - /athleanxespa%c3%b1ol For more ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of your workouts, be sure to stay tuned to this channel and remember to subscribe so you never miss another video from an experienced professional sports physical therapist and strength coach. For complete, step-by-step training programs to help you gain muscle using science-backed principles, visit athleanx.com and be sure to use the program selector to find the best fit for your personal goals.