What is a set?
A set is a group of reps or repetitions. For example, 3 x 10 reps mean that you do 10 reps for 3 sets.
What is the best amount of sets to do in the gym?
This is a very controversial issue for some. Many fitness 'experts' argue about the perfect number of sets all the time. Intensity determines the perfect amount of sets.
Acute program variables
There are acute program variables when it comes to a workout: exercise selection, sets, reps, load, and tempo.
All of these areas are argued about, but sets are probably the hottest topic.
Intensity and focus is just as important as set number
Let me take you through a little journey of thought.
Let's say that one person does 3 x 10 reps of pull-downs. They do all of the sets to failure. They are extremely focused on each rep.
Another person does pull-downs as well. They also do 3 x 10, but they stop far short of failure and they are thinking about their grocery list during the workout.
Are they really doing the same amount of work? The sets and reps are exactly the same, but the results will be very different. Anybody would admit that.
Here is another example. One person does 1 set of 12 reps to failure. Another person is does 3 x 12 reps of the same exercise but without as much intensity. Are they equal?
That is a tougher question, isn’t it? We are all different, but I would bet on the one who was doing less work with more intensity.
There has been study after study that has shown that less can be more.
If you are really going hard and going to failure; the more sets you do, the more likely you will be cutting into your recovery and stalling results. In that case, fewer sets are going to be far more productive.
Does that mean that more sets are bad? No, different sets numbers each have their place. You must consider all variables when looking into this.
What about doing a single set?
Years ago Nautilus, Inc. and Arthur Jones pushed the “One set to failure” routines. I know people that worked for them.
They were legit and the science demonstrated that the single set people could benefit more.
This is mostly because it is extremely hard to focus intently and go hard when you are going to be there for a long time. It is human nature.
You must also consider the recovery aspect. I have always said that you can go hard and you can go long, but you cannot do both. Pick one.
Dr. Mike Fulton was a mentor of mine for many years. He does a fantastic job with back rehabilitation and using exercise as the means to do so.
He was the Medical Director for Nautilus. We would talk shop often. I loved his quote when he said, “It’s not that multiple sets don’t work. It’s just that single sets to failure work as well in far less time.”
Bingo! It is more efficient. We have learned in exercise science that if you want to get stronger, you must go harder. You must overload.
How are you doing that if you are doing too much volume?
I am not a proponent of just one way of training. There are many effective ways.
My point is that you must know what you are doing and why you are doing it.
I train a lot of people that have things to do. They want to learn the best way to train in a time-frame that works for them.
Many do not want to spend 90 minutes at the gym. They do not need to!
Some of my best results have come from single set and low set programs.
There is a catch - and that is that it is hard! It is extremely hard. That is what makes it so good.
When you can really focus in on that one thing, you can give it your all. Am I right? It is human nature.
We tend to save our energy when we have multiple sets to do
If I told you to do this set of squats with 225 pounds and do it until you can’t do anything else, you will focus in and go till you blow!
If I said that we are doing 3 sets of as many as you can and I told you this beforehand; don’t you think that you would stop short of where you would if you were doing it one time? Of course you would - and so would I.
Find the set range that works for you
Do your own research. Experiment on yourself. Measure yourself, preform a plan for 6 weeks, measure yourself again and see what results you get. Test other programs. Take time to do research and understand the mechanics behind what you are doing. There are many effective ways.
Compare apples to apples when you look at how many sets and other variables to do. Make sure that you consider form, focus, and intensity. You must compare apples to apples if you want a fair assessment.
Three sets of 10 while going all out with great form is vastly different than 3 sets of 10 with horrible focus and form.
This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.
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