How many sets per muscle group per week should you be performing to stimulate desired progress on your fitness journey? The answer to this question can vary depending on factors like fitness level and personal goals. 

Before establishing a workout routine, you should know your specific fitness goals to craft a quality training program. It should integrate a training frequency that is appropriate to your fitness level to avoid overtraining. The same goes for the number of sets per muscle group per week you perform to achieve your milestones. 

This article provides research-backed information on sets per muscle group based on your unique goals. Keep reading to learn how to accurately integrate this information into your training routine to increase success on your journey.

How Many Sets Per Muscle Group Per Week Should You Do?

Based on your specific health and fitness goals, the number of training volume performed will vary. Training smart using efficient programming can optimize your workout progress to help you achieve your fitness goals.

For Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is a bodily process where the cells thicken to increase the size of the organ or tissue. In exercise, hypertrophy is related to muscle growth, specifically the shape, size, and density of skeletal muscles. 

If your goal is to promote muscle growth, then 12–20 sets per muscle group each week would be proficient. The amount of sets per week can vary depending on experience and fitness level. Beginners require less training volume, while advanced lifters will likely need more, staying within this determined range.

For Strength

Strength refers to the capacity to employ force or withstand strain or pressure. The one-repetition maximum (1RM) test is a standard method of measuring a person’s strength. It is a critical aspect needed to support functional and athletic activities along with health and fitness. 

Current research states performing one set 1–3 times per week is sufficient to produce 1RM strength gains. Numerous variables, like fitness level, can determine volume-based recommendations for training to better increase strength gains. Beginners may be better suited with medium weekly sets (5–9). More experienced lifters can benefit from medium or high weekly sets (≥10) in strength training.

For Endurance

Endurance translates to the ability to sustain prolonged periods of activity or stress. In exercise, this typically refers to the physical aspects over the mental and emotional ones. 

An example of endurance exercise is running. How long a runner can maintain their pace for a set distance or time can determine their endurance level.  

Present research cannot provide an accurate recommendation for lifters looking to increase endurance based on the number of sets. However, there is a loading recommendation scheme that lifters can follow to produce muscular endurance improvements. Lifters should emphasize weight loads below 60% of 1RM with a high repetition scheme of 15+ reps.

For Weight Loss

Weight loss refers to a reduction in body weight. In the fitness world, there has been a movement to correct this statement, as many individuals wish to lose fat. Weight loss can mean a loss in lean mass, body fat, and fluid, not solely fat. 

Lean body mass should be maintained for a multitude of reasons, including:

• Immune System: The body uses protein reserves sourced from lean body mass to fight inflammation and infection. Healthy lean body mass can support the immune system to protect the body from disease and other health risks. 
• Bone Health: Healthy lean body mass protects bone density from growing thinner or weaker. Low bone density can result in weak or brittle bones (osteoporosis) and affect quality of life by increasing injury risk. 
• Metabolism: Your lean body mass percentage determines your resting energy expenditure (REE), the calories burned at rest or awake. Individuals with higher lean body mass percentages will burn more calories at rest than others. 

Fat loss should be the aim of exercise instead of weight loss. Lifters should prioritize maintaining lean body mass through the use of resistance exercise and a high-protein diet. 

Current evidence does not dictate the number of sets per muscle group per week to promote weight or fat loss. Various variables such as energy expenditure, diet, caloric intake, and exercise programming can determine progress. As a general recommendation, prioritize a caloric deficit with a high-protein, nutrient-dense diet with resistance training 2–4 times a week.

Variables To Consider

How many sets per muscle group per week you should integrate can vary depending on specific variables. Experience, frequency, volume, and intensity are all considerable factors that can make or break your training success.

Training Experience

A significant variable to consider when deciding on the appropriate sets per muscle group each week is training experience. Beginners and advanced lifters will not, and should not, have the same training load. 

The reason is that beginner lifters must adjust to the new stimuli placed on their bodies through resistance training. A beginner will typically display rapid adaptations from training due to neuromuscular adaptations. This is when the nervous system adjusts and learns to recruit muscle fibers, making beginners more responsive to training stimuli. 

An advanced lifter will need to apply maneuvers, like toying with training volume, intensity, and frequency, to discourage plateaus. More complex programming may need to be applied to encourage more prominent progress, paired with proper nutrition and recovery methods.

Training Volume, Frequency, And Intensity

Volume refers to the amount of work executed in a session by calculating sets by the number of repetitions. In exercise, this is useful for determining the overall workload the muscles undergo during training. 

Frequency is how often a lifter exercises, which is usually tracked on a weekly basis. Training frequency may also refer to how often a specific muscle group is trained weekly. 

Intensity gauges how hard your body is working and how much energy is exerted during training sessions. Measuring perceived exhaustion, breathing rate, heart rate, and power output are methods to examine a workout’s intensity. 

Fitness watches have become popular tools for measuring heart rate and calorie burn. Typically, the rate of perceived exhaustion (RPE) is calculated on a scale of 1–10. Weight load in a workout will determine how intensity is affected.  

Altogether, training volume, intensity, and frequency can determine the number of sets per muscle group per week that should be executed. As discussed earlier, beginners will require less volume, intensity, and frequency than advanced lifters due to their rapid neuromuscular adaptations. Advanced lifters will require more frequency, intensity, and volume to discourage plateaus and encourage continuous results through progressive overload.

Can You Do Too Many Sets Per Muscle Group Per Week?

It is entirely possible to perform too many sets per muscle group per week. This can lead to potential muscular imbalances, weaknesses, and risk of overtraining. 

Overtraining occurs when the body is placed under too much physical stress without enough recovery time. When overtraining occurs, this can lead to a decrease in athletic performance and a higher risk of injury. Some symptoms of overtraining include:

• Fatigue.
• Unusual muscle soreness.
• Decline in performance.
• Mood swings.
• Disrupted sleep.
• Appetite changes.

Appropriately customizing your workout program to your current fitness level and goals can better approach a healthy relationship with exercise. It can also better promote desired workout progress to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. This is done by establishing sustainability and proper technique in your programming and fitness journey. 

The number of sets per muscle group per week will be determined by a few important factors, including:

• Fitness Level — A beginner should not be performing the same amount of sets or training as frequently as an advanced lifter. An advanced lifter can perform more sets and reps per muscle group per week than a beginner without overtraining. Even advanced lifters will need to allow the muscle groups time to rest to prevent overtraining and should program accordingly. 
• Recovery Ability — How well your body recovers is another attribute to consider when determining training frequency. The more efficient your body is at recovering, the more frequently you can train with overtraining. Muscle groups typically need at least 24 hours to recover. Some muscles may need days to rest depending on fitness level and workout intensity.
• Body’s Response — Always prioritize listening to your body to examine whether your body is signaling symptoms of overtraining or potential injury. Adjust training volume accordingly depending on how your body is reacting to training. 

Examine how your body adjusts to training stimuli, whether it’s not enough or too much. If you feel you need to increase or decrease training volume, modify frequency accordingly and observe your body’s reaction.

Conclusion

How many sets per muscle group per week you program into your workouts can be determined by numerous factors. Your fitness level and goals, along with training frequency, intensity, and volume, are considerable factors in workout programming. They can determine how frequently you can train without risking overtraining while on the path to achieving your fitness goals. 

The road to success on your fitness journey can be challenging to maneuver, but with accurate information, it’s more accessible.

Frequently Asked Questions