How many sets are optimal for each muscle group? (muscles, lifting, gym)

[witsendman]

I only work each muscle group once a week. I use only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the weight of others my size who are much stronger, since it is difficult to develop strength with tendonitus, bone spurs, and inflammation in the upper arms and shoulders.

I would like to know what the optimal number of sets are for each body part per workout.

Currently, I do about 15-18 sets each for chest and back, nine for triceps, nine for biceps, and 12 for shoulders, and six for abs.

I do about three sets on the same machine, and average between 10-15 reps per set.

I use about 90 lbs for chest presses, 40 lbs for shoulder 90-120 for upper back, 25-50 lbs for biceps, and 35-40 for triceps. Weight is for both arms of triceps and biceps.

Should I stay the same, cut back ,or do more.

I do about an average of 40 sets per session, twice a week. I do need to work my legs more.

[skel1977]

Impossible to answer. Everyone reponds differently to training. Genetics, diet, time under tension, training age etc all play a part. Find what works for you.

For me personally, I train push, pull, and lower. 3 day split twice a week. I find what is more important than how many sets i am doing is diet(of course) and progressive overload.If you are getting stronger then you are growing regardless of how many sets you are doing. Do your best to add weight to the bar, add reps, increase time under tension or decrease rest intervals on a weekly basis.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by witsendman

I would like to know what the optimal number of sets are for each body part per workout.

.

There is no "optimal" number. You need to find out what works for YOU and YOUR particular goals.

What I have found that worked best for ME in terms of building muscle and increasing sizes (i.e., Bulking) (along with proper nutrition) was the HIT method of working to failure, and hitting those muscles only twice per week. Because the intensity is soooo high, and you work to failure by reps 7-8, you really only need to do one (maybe two) sets per exercise twice per week.

For example:

Squat - I would use whatever weight that caused me to completely fail by rep 8. This is ONLY done with slow movements like 4 seconds slowly down on the negative, 1 second at the bottom, and 3 seconds up. If I could do 9 reps this way, they weight is too light, if I could only do 5 or 6 reps, the weight is too heavy.

This is the same for all other movements in the routine which included:

Deadlift
Overhead press
Squats
Lat pulldowns
Cable Row
Bench press
Dumbbell pullovers
Upward rows
Leg extensions
Leg curls
Calf raises

As you can see, this is a whole body workout in just one session. Mostly always one set each (occasionally 2 sets). This would be done Monday and Thursday


Another that worked great for ME, is the standard Crossfit WOD of the Day (www.crossfit.com) preceded by the standard Crossfit warmup. I did this when I wanted to maintain (and increase) my strength for my martial arts, but not get any real size gains. More for explosive power, health, than for building my body.

Again, these are just two different routines that worked for ME, and the two goals that I wanted. As far as set number of reps like you asked, its impossible to answer.

[schmedes2]

9-18 sets is a crazy amount. You're doing 90-270 reps per bodypart. There simply is no way your body can recover from that effectively especially given your tendonitis and inflammation which is probably being prolonged by such a high volume. You should spend a majority of your time on back while focusing on mobilizing and stretching your chest and shoulders.

Also, I don't see anything about legs. Training legs provides a training stimulus to the entire body and helps you get stronger.

Also, you said you're using machines; free weights are generally superior to building size and strength however machines can aid by giving you some extra volume for aesthetic purposes. I don't know you're restrictions, but free weights are generally superior if you're fairly healthy, minus your tendonitis and inflammation.

I'll show some example beginner and intermediate programs just to clarify:

Starting Strength
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press
5x3 Power cleans

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

The more advanced beginner/novice program is

Monday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench press / Press (Alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press / Bench Press (Alternating)
1x5 Deadlift

Friday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press / Press (Alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

The Texas Method Intermediate Program

Monday — Volume Day
A) Squats, 5 x 5 @ 90% of 5RM
B) Bench press or overhead press, 5 x 5 @ 90% 5RM
C) Deadlifts, 1 x 5 @ 90% 5RM

Wednesday — Recovery Day
A) Squats, 2 x 5 @ 80% of Monday's work weight
B) Overhead press (if you bench pressed Monday), 3 x 5 at slightly lighter load than previous 5 x 5 OHP weight, or bench press (if OHP on Monday), 3 x 5 @ 90% previous 5 x 5 weight.
C) Chin ups, 3 x Bodyweight
D) Back extensions or glute-ham raise, 5 x 10

Friday — Intensity Day
A) Squats, warm-up, then work up in singles or doubles to one single, new 5RM
B) Bench press, (if you bench pressed Monday) or overhead press (if OHP on Monday), warm-up, then work up in singles or doubles to one single, new 5RM
C) Power clean, 5 x 3 reps or power snatch, 6 x 2 reps

or Wendler's 5/3/1 Boring but big

A)Squat 3x5/3/1
Squat: 5 x 10 x 50%
Leg Curl: 5 x 10

B)Bench Press Workout 3x5/3/1
Bench Press: 5 x 10 x 50%
One Arm Dumbbell Row: 5 x 10

C)Deadlift Workout 3x5/3/1
Deadlift: 5 x 8 x 50%
Hanging Leg Raises: 5 x 12

D)Overhead Press Workout 3x5/3/1
Overhead Press: 5 x 10 x 50%
Chin Up: 5 sets to failure

My point is, full body or upper body/lower body splits are superior and lower total exercises and sets will allow you to train more intensely and giving a much better training response. The volume you're training at now is only good if you're eating 4000+ calories a day and you'd probably need steroids to recover enough for the next workout.

[irlinit]

I do low weight, high number of reps. 3-4 sets

[latino_esq]

I think the OP may have confused reps and sets.
A rep is a complete motion of an exercise. A set is a group of this. In other words, if you do 4 sets of 10 reps on the bench you are saying that you do 10 repetitions of the exercise which completes your first set, then rest. You do the same the second time and you've completed your second set, third set, etc. I would think that you confused it since you said you do 15-18 sets which is not recommended, and would probably take up a lot of your gym time. I'm assuming you were talking about each gym session.

As was mentioned, it really depends on your goals and, ultimately, on what your body can handle. Per gym session, I typically do about 4-5 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise. But this may also depend on the time at the gym and the muscles I am hitting. I may go down to 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps on really heavy lifting or at the tail end of my gym session. I may even do high reps, about 20, on a 3 set to trick the muscle.
The key is to focus on the muscle group you are working on.

[Molli]

My trainer works many of my muscle groups to failure -- we aren't doing super heaving weights because I don't want a lot of bulk -- so it requires a few more reps. I do 2-3 sets and the number of reps changes per set By the last set I'm only doing 5-6 reps for my muscles to completely give out. I see a lot faster progress working certain muscles to failure.

[grmi66]

Better minds than mine have said that the optimum number of reps in a workout is about 25-30 reps. So if you are training for pure strength and don't want to bulk up much that is going to be your classic 5 x 5 routine. For hypertrophy you are looking at 3 sets of 10 reps.

I used to overthink my workouts until I finally figured out that there are some classic lifting routines that have stood the test of time. Keep it pretty basic and do a 5 x 5 routine for most of my weight room training. Then do a couple of 4-6 week sessions of hypertrophy ( 3x10) every year. Fill in the gaps with kettlebell workouts at home. Plus the great advantage of doing 5 x 5 or 3 x 10 workouts is that I can get in and out of the weight room in less than an hour. Do about 10 minutes of warming up, 30 minutes of the workout, 10 minutes of some finishers like weighted carries or dumbbell work, 10 minutes with a foam roller and I'm done. Add 10-15 minutes if the gym is busy and I need to wait for a squat rack.

[irlinit]

8-10 reps per set

[ineedhelp253]

You are doing far too many sets by almost any standard.

The best number is one hard set of each exercise, with maybe two exercises per bodypart.