It’s January 2015! You want to start your training off right.
You want to ensure you get those muscle gains or tone up your body with a proper workout program.
It can get confusing when trying to determine how many sets you should be performing to achieve the results you want when lifting weights.
Multiple Sets Are key
To get the composition results, you need to do 3 or more sets of each exercise. This will help you lose substantially more fat and gain more muscle. Another benefit of doing 3 or more sets will also help raise your metabolism.
A lot of different organizations that prescribe exercise for health will often tell you that performing 1 set is enough when you weight train. In my opinion, they probably say this because they just want people to do something. I can honestly say that 1 set is better than NO set, but if you’re serious about changing your body and getting stronger, performing extra sets will make all the difference.
A study compared the effects of 1 set versus 3 sets.
They did this by using 3 lower body exercises and then tested for strength and muscle gains. Participants used fairly heavy weight and after 11 weeks, the group that preformed 3 sets gained 50% more strength and significantly more muscle than the group performing only 1 set.
Volume is the most effective method of building muscle fast.
There are other studies that support the importance and value of doing more sets or “volume”.
This happens because the greater number of repetitions will target more fibers within the muscle. You can also sleep well at night knowing that muscle will help you lose fat.
Ladies, relax. Gaining muscle will not make you bulky; in fact, for every pound of muscle you will gain as a novice trainee, you will lose a pound of fat!
As a UFE Bikini Pro, Fitness trainer, group instructor, and nutrition specialist, I murder fat for a living. Muscle gains are your best friend; proper training and sound nutrition are extremely important.
Feel free to reach out to me in the comments below or on facebook for more information on how to get into the best shape of your life.
References;
– Ronnestad, B., Egeland, W., et al. Dissimilar Effects of One and Three Set Strength
– Training on Strength and Muscle Gains in Untrained Subjects. Journal of Strength and
– Conditioning Research. 2007. 21(1), 157-163.
