Our whole aim in the gym is to make the most amount of progress in the shortest amount of time. So how do we know how many sets and reps to complete to make optimal progress?
The term ‘Junk Volume’ refers to the extra sets that, beyond a certain point, don’t significantly contribute to muscle growth or strength. This concept suggests that after reaching an optimal number of sets per muscle group in a session, additional sets may no longer yield benefits and in some cases, be counterproductive in terms of creating additional recovery time but with no increased hypertrophy affect.
TLDR:
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For Hypertrophy Focus: Aim for around 6-8 sets per muscle per session with 2min rests between sets. Twice-weekly sessions per muscle group will yield efficient gains without wasted volume.
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For Hardgainers: Consider slightly higher weekly volumes if you aren’t seeing results. Experiment with up to 24 sets per week split over multiple sessions - (8 challenging sets over three sessions).
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For Time-Efficient Gains: Train with longer rests and moderate set volume (6-8 per session) for each muscle group, 2-3 days per week.
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The OUTWRQ training app automates this science for you, no matter if your’re an experienced lifter or fresh out the gates.
What does the research say?
Optimal Volume Studies indicate that hypertrophy (muscle growth) has an optimal training volume. Research suggests an effective volume may range from 6–12 sets per muscle group weekly, with diminishing returns and even potential negative effects as sets per session or week go beyond this range.
So what does that look like: Key Guidelines for Effective Volume
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Volume Sweet Spot Per Session: Research suggests that training with 6-8 challenging sets per muscle group in a single session tends to maximize muscle growth, provided you take long rest intervals (2+ minutes). This typically translates to a total weekly volume of 12-24 sets per muscle group if you’re training each muscle group 2-3 times a week. When we say challenging, this means that each of these 6-8 sets are close to failure or 1 rep from failure. A good measure on a challenging set is the speed of repetition, if the final reps in each set are slowing down dramtically compared to the first few then that is a good sign of a challenging set.
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Impact of Rest Intervals: Taking short rests (under 90 seconds) often reduces the effectiveness of each set for hypertrophy, which may require you to do nearly double the sets to achieve similar results. For optimal muscle growth without excessive volume, aim to rest longer between sets.
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Avoid “Bro-Split” Overkill: Training a single muscle group with high volumes (e.g., 20+ sets in one session) once per week is generally less effective than spreading the volume across 2-3 sessions. Distributing sets over multiple days minimizes fatigue, allowing for more effective, intense sets.
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Individual Needs Matter: Every person’s optimal training volume varies, influenced by genetics, recovery ability, prior training experience, and available training time. Beginners might do well with fewer sets, while experienced lifters might benefit from exploring slightly higher volumes if they recover well.
Structuring Your Training Volume
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Ramp up Gradually: When increasing volume, add sets gradually. A 20% increase in weekly sets is often enough to stimulate growth without overwhelming recovery. For example, if you’re currently doing 10 sets, add 2 sets weekly rather than doubling your volume.
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Volume Cycling: Cycling volume over time can prevent plateaus. Slowly increase volume until growth plateaus, then drop down to a maintenance level (e.g., 2-4 sets per muscle per session) for several weeks. After this “reset,” ramp up the volume again for renewed gains. (the OUTWRQ training app does this for you through build, overload and deload microcycles)
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Responsive to Plateaus: If you’ve stalled in progress on lower volumes, increasing weekly sets by 20% might reignite growth. Conversely, if you’re feeling overly fatigued or aren’t recovering, consider a temporary reduction in volume.
In Summary: Junk volume is a real concern — more isn’t always better. Optimize your training by finding the effective volume that fits your recovery and goals, increase volume gradually, and consider volume cycling to avoid plateaus. If you’re seeking an easy way to structure your training around the science above, try the OUTWRQ training app which has all of the above laid out for you.
Key Studies on Junk Volume and Optimal Training Volume
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Schoenfeld et al., 2019 - This meta-analysis examined the dose-response relationship in resistance training, finding that muscle hypertrophy plateaus after a certain volume and that higher volumes can lead to overtraining rather than additional gains.
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Heaselgrave et al., 2019 - This study assessed strength adaptations in varying training volumes and found that lower volumes might be as effective as higher ones for strength, suggesting that optimal gains don’t necessarily come from high volume.