How Many Sets Should You Do? Making Sense of Training Volume For Muscle Growth

Introduction: What Really Gets Results?

Ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice about building muscle? You're not alone. Walk into any gym, and you'll hear strong opinions - do more sets, lift heavier, hit every muscle once, twice, or even three times a week. There's a reason it all feels confusing: even top exercise scientists are still debating what actually works best.

But here's the good news - while there's no single magic number or perfect routine for everyone, the latest evidence does give us some practical answers. If you're ready to move past the myths and learn what the research really syas about training volume, frequency, and sets per exercise, keep reading. Here's how you can train smarter - not just harder.

Sets Per Exercise: Does It Really Matter?

Yes, it does - doing more than just one set per exercise makes a big difference for muscle growth.

Research shows that most of the benefits come when you bump your sets up from just one to two or three for each exercise.

This gives your muscles a much better stimulus to grow rather than sticking with only a single set.

But adding more and more sets to the same exercise doesn't mean you'll keep seeing more results. Once you get past about four to six sets for a single move, the extra gains get smaller and smaller, while your fatigue goes up. That's why most training studies recommend spreading your sets out over a few different exercises for each muscle group, instead of putting everything into just one.

For example, instead of doing all your chest sets on the flat bench, you could mix in some incline presses or dumbbell flyes. This way, you train the muscle from different angles, get enough quality volume, and avoid overdoing it on a single movement. It keeps your workouts more interesting, helps prevent overuse, and makes it easier to rack up the weekly sets your muscles need to grow

Weekly Training Volume: How Much is Enough?

Let's talk about training volume - the total number of hard sets you do for each muscle group every week. A lot of people assume that if you just keep adding more sets, you'll keep gaining more muscle. But research paints a more interesting picture.

Several meta-analysis have found that the relationship between training volume and muscle growth follows more of a U-shape than a straight line. What does that mean for you? Well, doing some sets is always better than doing none. Even low-volume training can still bring muscle gains, especially if you're new to lifting or getting back into it. But as you add more sets, your progress tends to increase - up to a certain point. This is where the "U-shape" comes in: after you hit a certain number of weekly sets, the extra muscle you gain from adding even more sets starts to shrink. Eventually, doing too many sets can make it harder to recover, slow your progress, or even leave you feeling worn out.

So where does the most growth happen? It's not just one study that says this - several big research reviews and meta-analyses have looked at different set ranges, and most land in a similar place.

People who train with 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle group each week usually see the best results.

Studies that compared groups doing less than 9 sets to those doing more found that crossing that 10-set list made a difference for muscle growth.

A few reviews have gone further, checking what happens when you add even more sets. They found that muscle growth does keep going up as you add sets - at least up to around 20 sets per week. After that, researchers are not in agreement if further reps still help muscle growth, plateau it, or even damage the growth.

It also depends a bit on the muscle you're training. For example, your triceps sometimes benefit from a bit more volume, since they do a lot of work in other pressing exercises and might need extra attention to grow. For other muscles, like your quads or biceps, doing more than 20 sets per week just doesn't seem to give much extra benefit.

All in all, if you keep your weekly set for each muscle gorup in that 10 to 20 range, you're right where the research says most people make their best progress. Keep those sets tough, focus on good form, and you won't need to stress about anything more complicated than that.

Workout Frequency - How Often Should You Train Each Muscle?

When it comes to building muscle, most people don’t just want to know how many sets to do—they want to know how often they should train each muscle group every week. This is what’s called training frequency. So, does it really matter if you hit a muscle once a week, twice, or even more?

The short answer is: yes, frequency does matter, but mostly because it helps you organise your total weekly volume.

Research and reviews show that training a muscle group at least twice a week is generally better for muscle growth than just once a week.

If you only hit a muscle once every seven days, it’s hard to do enough quality sets—and even if you try to cram in all your sets at once, you’re more likely to get tired and see your performance drop off as the workout goes on.

That’s where frequency and volume go hand in hand. Higher frequency lets you split your total sets into more manageable sessions, so you can train harder, recover better, and keep your form sharp. For example, if your goal is 14 sets per week for your back, you’ll get more out of it if you do 7 sets on two different days rather than 14 all at once.

It’s also worth mentioning that while training frequency can help you fit in the right amount of volume, most studies agree that simply increasing frequency by itself (without also increasing your total sets) doesn’t automatically mean more muscle. The main benefit is that it allows you to reach that sweet spot for weekly sets, without burning out in one marathon session.

The Bottom Line: No Magic Number, Just Smart Guidelines

When it comes to building muscle, there’s no magic number that works for everyone—but there are proven ranges and strategies that set most people up for success. Aim to train each muscle group at least twice a week, mix up your exercises, and focus on quality sets done with good form and real effort. Adjust your training based on your results and how you’re feeling, and don’t get stuck chasing perfection—steady progress and consistency always win.

Key Takeaways:

• Plan for 10–20 tough, effective sets per muscle group every week.

• Split your training across at least two sessions per muscle group for better performance and recovery.

• Use a variety of exercises, and stick to 2–4 sets per movement.

• Choose any rep range (6–20+) that lets you train hard with good form.

• Listen to your body and tweak your plan if progress or recovery stalls.

If all of this still feels overwhelming or you’re unsure where to start, that’s what we’re here for. ClubQ is a private personal training gym in Fitzrovia, featured in GQ, Business Insider, and The Times, and we’ve helped dozens of people transform both their bodies and their lives. You don’t have to figure it all out on your own—our coaches are ready to guide you every step of the way.