When to Use Multiple Sets

The discussion on sets and reps with my friend Marlene continues. There's some good stuff here. 

When to Use Multiple Sets

Multiple sets work best for intermediate or advanced lifters who need a more sustainable approach to make steady gains. They're also better for athletes, because you don't have to train to failure as often, allowing you to recover before your next workout, practice or game.If you want to get better at complicated exercises like the squat, dead lift or clean, multiple sets work best. You need practice to perfect the skill necessary to move big weights—just like shooting a basketball or throwing a baseball. If you're an athlete, you know that exercises like the Squat are closely linked to your sports performance. Training barbell lifts to failure can be sketchy, so stick with multiple sets and stop short of failure.



Finally, the bigger and stronger you are, the more you can benefit from multiple sets. Beginners can use one set to failure and increase the weight each workout. But once you plateau and the weight doesn't go up each workout, you need to increase the number of sets to keep pushing your progress.


To Fail or Not to Fail?

The argument is that if training a muscle to failure makes it grow, why not do it once and be done with it? At first glance, this makes sense, but experience shows to isn't practical in the long run. Lifting to failure is only one way to make muscles grow. The body is extremely adaptive to stressors and will do whatever it needs to survive. Muscles grow in response to three types of stress:

1. Mechanical tension: heavy weight
2. Metabolic stress: lifting to failure or getting a "pump"
3. Muscle damage: microscopic tears in muscle fibers

Research suggests you don't need all three to build muscle—one usually does the trick. Which method you choose depends on your athletic goals, available equipment and how much time you can spend training. Bottom line: Training to failure may be the quickest way to spark muscle growth, but beware of soreness and reduced performance over the next few days.

Lift for Your Goal

There's a time and a place to use different combinations of sets and reps. Besides the 3x10 approach, here are a few other popular choices and how to use them:

1 Set to Failure

• Experience Level: Beginner
• Goal: Muscle gain
• Equipment: Machines
• Intensity: Failure

Using a single set to failure can spark quick muscle growth, especially in beginners. Research suggests that experienced lifters need more volume, but rookies can use machines to safely exhaust their muscles. But be careful—this method will leave you sore and tired.

5 Sets of 5 Reps

• Experience Level: Beginner
• Goal: Strength
• Equipment: Free weights
• Intensity: At least two reps shy of failure

5x5 is an old-school strength method that works incredibly well for adding pounds to the bar. Low-rep sets of five let you go heavy, but 25 total reps give you enough volume to add some muscle mass, too. For safety's sake, stop each set shy of failure to maintain proper form. 

4 Sets of 8 Reps

• Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Goal: Muscle gain
• Equipment: Free weights or machines
• Intensity: One rep shy of failure

Intermediate lifters with more muscle mass need more volume to keep growing. Four sets of eight reps allows for heavier loads to add mechanical stress, while stopping one rep shy of failure adds a solid amount of metabolic stress to force muscle growth.

10 Sets of 3 Reps

• Experience Level: Advanced
• Goal: Maximal strength
• Equipment: Free weights
• Intensity: Two reps shy of failure

Strong athletes can handle more volume with heavy weights. Ten sets of three reps allows for lots of heavy, low-rep sets to build massive strength and keep perfect form. This rep scheme works best with barbell lifts like the Squat, Bench and Deadlift.

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References


• Krieger, James W. "Single vs. Multiple Sets of Resistance Exercise for Muscle Hypertrophy: A Meta-Analysis." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24.4 (2010): 1150-159.

• McBride, Jeffrey M., Daniel Blow, Tyler J. Kirby, Tracie L. Haines, Andrea M. Dayne, and N. Travis Triplett. "Relationship Between Maximal Squat Strength and Five, Ten, and Forty Yard Sprint Times." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23.6 (2009): 1633-636.

• Schoenfeld, Brad J. "The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24.10 (2010): 2857-872.

• Smith, Lucille L. "Causes of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness and the Impact on Athletic Performance: A Review." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 6.3 (1992): 135-41.

• Todd, Janice S., Jason P. Shurley, and Terry C. Todd. "Thomas L. DeLorme and the Science of Progressive Resistance Exercise." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26.11 (2012): 2913-923.

• Winett, Richard A. "Meta-Analyses Do Not Support Performance of Multiple Sets or High Volume Resistance Training." Journal of Exercise Physiology 7.5 (2004): 10-20.

• Wolfe, Brian L., Linda M. Lemura, and Phillip J. Cole. "Quantitative Analysis Of Single- Vs. Multiple-Set Programs In Resistance Training." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 18.1 (2004): 35-47.

How Many Sets and Reps Should You Really Do?

This article comes from The Stack, through my friend Marlene. I have worked hard to vary my set and reps to get the right combination and the most from my workout. How you're feeling, among other things, can cause your ability to vary from day to day. Just make sure you pick a number combination suitable, depending on your goals... and stick with it.

How Many Sets and Reps Should You Really Do? 

Getting bigger and stronger is a beautifully simple science. You lift something heavy, stress your muscles, eat, rest and repeat. Do this with enough intensity and consistency, and you'll strengthen and sculpt your body. If it's that simple, why on earth does weightlifting seem to be so mind-numbingly complicated? Undulating periodization? Compensatory acceleration? Alactic capacity? These sound like topics from a trigonometry textbook, not ways to get jacked. Like most things in fitness, there's no absolute right or wrong way to build muscle, but there's certainly an optimal way, especially regarding the number of sets and reps you use. So what's the right combination of sets and reps to build muscle? 3x10? 5x5? 10x10? Somewhere in between? This article will shed some light on the science of how many sets you should do to maximize your type II muscle growth and strength. 

Origin of 3 sets of 10: First and foremost, we need to address the famous three sets of 10 reps, hands down the most popular set-and-rep scheme in fitness. Even couch potatoes know that when you lift weights, you do three sets of 10. It's what everybody does, so it must work, right? Well, not always.Three sets of 10 reps actually originated as a rehabilitation protocol created by an army physician back in the 1940s. Dr. Thomas L. DeLorme, an avid weightlifter, was desperate for a better alternative to the subpar rehab protocols at Gardiner General Army Hospital in Chicago during World War II. With the hospital overflowing with injured soldiers, Dr. DeLorme needed a faster way to get them back on the battlefield.

DeLorme's program called for 3 sets of 10 reps with increasingly heavier weights, which he called "Progressive Resistance Exercise," and it worked wonders. Previously, soldiers rehabbed with light weights and never tired their muscles, only to spend six to nine months in therapy. By focusing on strength rather than endurance, DeLorme got soldiers in and out of the hospital in record time. And so was born the concept of progressive overload, which is now the heart and soul of almost every effective weightlifting program. But was 3x10 the secret to DeLorme's success? Or was it something else?

Single Sets vs. Multiple Sets: Alright, story time is over. Now the argument begins. Despite DeLorme's success with 3 sets, many people argue you only need one set to build muscle and strength. They point to the fact that in DeLorme's method, the first two sets were just warm-ups and only the third set was a maximal effort. Hence, one set done with maximal effort (i.e., as many reps as possible) is all you need to build muscle. Some studies say multiple sets build up to 40 percent more muscle than a single set, whereas others say there's not much difference. Truthfully, it's a silly argument, because both methods work, but each one is better suited for different situations.

When to Use Single Sets: Single-set training works, especially with new lifters. But for single sets to be effective, you have to train the muscle to all-out failure. And once your progress starts to stall, you have to make a change.

The key ingredient for single sets is intensity—not in the sense of grunting and screaming, but to the point where the muscle can no longer move the weight. This ensures full recruitment of both slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers and stimulates hypertrophy (muscle building) by accumulating metabolic byproducts that tell your muscles to grow. Single sets work better for smaller muscles groups and simple exercises. To grow bigger and stronger, the biceps, forearms and calves don't need nearly as much volume (i.e., total number of sets and reps) as the chest, back and quads. And it's a lot safer to do an all-out set of dumbbell curls than it is to do a set of 20 deadlifts to failure.

Single sets also make sense if you're crunched for time. It's completely possible to hit each major muscle group with one set to failure in less than 15 minutes, and you'll still build size and strength.

But be careful—single sets to failure can make you brutally sore, which can reduce your athletic performance and increase injury risk for up to 72 hours. If you're an athlete who needs to practice or play games, this is not ideal. That said, stick with smaller muscles and simple exercises (machines, dumbbells or body weight) for single-set training. If you're an athlete, use them only during the off-season when you don't practice as often.

Consistency and Supplements That Don't Work

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933

Be Consistent by Brian Johnson


One of my favorite lessons from any type of training is the idea that you want to focus on consistency over intensity. It’s not about getting all fired up one day and going off at the gym for 3 hours…and then waking up the next day unable to move!

It’s much much much much much better to just show up. Put in your 20 minutes, your 30 minutes, your 40 minutes. Whatever. Just do it consistently. Aristotle made it pretty clear: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence (aka Areté) then, is not an act, but a habit."

This applies to all aspects of our life. Quite simply, we are what we consistently do.

Sure, it's a lot more fun to jump into the latest fad diet or hit the gym for an intense workout once a week or go to a motivational seminar or yoga retreat, but the question is not how intensely we get into any given workout or week of dieting or weekend of yoga...it's all about whether we have the self-mastery to do the things we know we should be doing consistently--moment to moment and week in and week out, month to month, year to year.

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Four Muscle-Building Supplements That Don't Work

Supplement companies are like meteorologists. If what they say is true about half the time, nobody makes a fuss. But if you're a regular consumer of muscle-building supplements on the wrong end of that 50 percent, you could waste hundreds of dollars on products that don't live up to the hype.

Open a bodybuilding magazine or walk into a supplement store and you'll be bombarded with bold claims that promise to turn you into Superman with the pop of a pill. But did you know that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate nutritional supplements? In fact, as long as a supplement hasn't been shown to be harmful and doesn't claim to cure a disease, it's fair game–even if the supplement is completely useless.

Luckily, researchers work hard to find the truth about supplements–and it's not always pretty. Before taking any supplement, ask a doctor or dietician, and consult a trustworthy source like the Supplement Goals Reference Guide or Stack Guide from the experts at Examine.com.

Here are four popular muscle building supplements that, according to science, aren't worth a penny. When you're done looking at these, check out these supplements, which actually do help you.

Glutamine: The Claims: L-glutamine, an amino acid, increases protein synthesis and reduces protein breakdown to help build muscle.

The Truth: No studies confirm that glutamine helps build muscle in healthy individuals. Glutamine only seems to enhance muscle building in those with muscle-wasting disease or physical trauma, such as burns or puncture wounds.

Interesting Fact: In healthy individuals, the intestines seem to get "first dibs" on any extra glutamine. In other words, the intestines grab glutamine before the muscles can get it. This leads to increased protein synthesis in the gut, which can protect the intestines from foreign invaders and possibly reduce symptoms of stomach discomfort.

Try This Instead: Whey protein, when used as a supplement, has been proven to increase muscle protein synthesis and can help add lean body mass. To build muscle after a tough workout, mix a shake with 20 to 30 grams of protein—usually one scoop of protein powder—and an extra carbohydrate source like a banana or fruit juice.

Creatine Ethyl Ester: The Claims: Creatine, a popular and highly effective muscle-building supplement, improves performance by enhancing short-term power output and increasing intracellular fluid volume. Creatine ethyl ester supposedly enhances performance without unwanted water retention.

The Truth: Although creatine ethyl ester causes virtually no gain in water weight, that's simply because very little creatine makes it into the muscle cells. All the creatine gets degraded into creatinine—a waste product of creatine breakdown—in the intestines, making the supplement totally useless.

Interesting Fact: Gaining water weight actually increases performance. Extra water makes the muscle cells swell, which activates protein synthesis and can lead to more muscle growth.

Try This Instead: Simply take creatine monohydrate, which is safe and effective. Supplementing with 5 grams per day can increase power output and lean muscle. And those rumors about creatine causing dehydration? Not true. Drink enough water during exercise, and creatine will have nothing but positive effects.

Glucosamine: The Claims: Famous for its supposed joint-healing properties, glucosamine is touted to relieve joint pain. And though glucosamine doesn't actually build muscle, many people also take it to recover from hard workouts.

The Truth: Science shows that glucosamine definitely helps relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis, but only a little. It's about the same as taking Tylenol.

Interesting Fact: Glucosamine is derived from shellfish, so don't take it if you're allergic.

Try this Instead: Fish oil reduces inflammation, which may help with joint pain. Plus, it's heart-healthy and can reduce cortisol, a stress hormone that can interfere with building muscle.

Testosterone Boosters: The Claims: Testosterone boosters promise to "naturally" increase testosterone levels, leading to bigger muscles, less fat and increased athletic performance. 

The Truth: Unless your current testosterone levels are below average, boosters won't do much for you. And whether they work or not, many testosterone boosters are on the NCAA Banned Substances list and could get college athletes in serious trouble.

Many supplements, from herbs to Vitamin D to the infamous Velvet Antler, attempt to raise testosterone levels in the blood, but most studies show a positive effect only in people who had low testosterone levels to start. For example, DHEA, a supplement known for its "anti-aging" effects, boosts testosterone in older women but doesn't boost levels above normal in young, healthy athletes.

Try This Instead: Zinc can boost testosterone if you're deficient in this essential mineral. Luckily, most athletes can benefit because zinc is lost in sweat and with excessive exercise. Eat plenty of meat, eggs and legumes or take 5-10 mg daily.