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How many sets per muscle per week to grow

Around 10 or more hard sets per muscle a week beats fewer than 5, with diminishing returns. How volume, effort and frequency fit together.

By the Laroa team, checked against Laroa’s evidence base. Updated . 2 minute read.

How many sets per muscle per week?

A dose-response meta-analysis found that 10 or more weekly sets per muscle produced more growth than fewer than 5. Gains taper off at higher volumes, and people tolerate different amounts.

So Laroa treats about 10–20 hard sets per muscle per week as the productive band, and only adds sets when your recovery and progress allow.

What counts as a hard set?

Muscle grows more as sets end closer to failure. But the gap between stopping one or two reps short and true failure is small, and the fatigue is higher. Keep most working sets about 0–3 reps from failure.

To judge it, rate your reps in reserve (RIR): how many more reps you could have done. It’s a practical, validated method.

Load matters less for size than most people think. Muscle grows similarly across roughly 5–30 reps when sets are hard. Heavier loads, about 1–6 reps, are better for maximal strength.

How to spread sets across your week

With weekly volume equal, frequency has little effect on its own. Training a muscle about twice a week is an easy way to fit 10–20 sets without very long sessions.

Rest about 2–3 minutes or more on heavy compound lifts. Very short rests cut the work you can do, and the gains that follow.

Counting your chest sets: an example

Say you do 4 sets of bench press and 3 of incline dumbbell press on Monday, then 3 sets of dips on Thursday. Counting only sets taken close to failure, that’s 10 weekly sets for chest. If your chest lifts are still progressing, there’s no reason to add more.

When to add volume, and when not to

Add a set or two only when you’re recovering well and progress has stalled despite consistent effort.

If performance is dropping and the same loads feel harder, fatigue is the more likely problem. More sets won’t fix it.

Common questions

Is 20 sets per muscle per week too much?

It’s the top of the range Laroa treats as productive. Some people grow on it. Others recover poorly. Add volume gradually and pull back when performance stalls.

Do warm-up sets count?

Count sets taken close to failure, about 0–3 reps in reserve. Warm-ups end far from failure, so they don’t count.

The evidence behind this guide

Each claim above traces to an entry in Laroa’s evidence base (version 2026-10-16.2), which summarises position stands, guidelines and meta-analyses and grades how strong each one is.

Sources

  1. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
  2. American College of Sports Medicine. Position stand: progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670
  3. Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Hamilton DL, Fyfe JJ. Influence of resistance training proximity-to-failure on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2023;53(3):649-665. doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01784-y
  4. Helms ER, Cronin J, Storey A, Zourdos MC. Application of the repetitions in reserve-based rating of perceived exertion scale for resistance training. Strength Cond J. 2016;38(4):42-49. doi:10.1519/SSC.0000000000000218
  5. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200
  6. Lopez P, Radaelli R, Taaffe DR, et al. Resistance training load effects on muscle hypertrophy and strength gain: systematic review and network meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021;53(6):1206-1216. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000002585
  7. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
  8. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Davies TB, et al. Effect of resistance training frequency on gains in muscular strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2018;48(5):1207-1220. doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0872-x
  9. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001272

General information for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or have pain or warning symptoms, ask a clinician.

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