The Weight Room

How Much Volume for Hypertrophy? Muscle Growth Volume

When it comes to how much volume for hypertrophy, there is a lot of debate. Some experts say that you only need a moderate amount to see results, while others believe that you need to do more volume in order to achieve significant muscle growth.

So which one is it? In this blog post, we’ll discuss what training volume is and how it affects muscle growth. We will also provide examples of how to calculate your own training volume requirements and tips for achieving the best results.

What is training volume? The key to hypertrophy.

Before we even get into the amount of volume that is required for muscle hypertrophy, you should first understand what training volume is.

Training volume is the amount of work that you do in the gym, or the total number of sets, reps, and weight that you perform.

So if you did 3 sets of 12 reps with 135 pounds on the bench press, then your volume for that exercise would 4,860. (3 sets x 12 reps x 135 = 4,860)

In order to build muscle, you need to do a certain amount of work (training volume) and overload your muscles beyond what they’re used to because this is the most effective way for you to stimulate muscle growth.

Training volume for hypertrophy is Imperative.

Training volume is important for muscle hypertrophy because it’s the amount of work that your muscles are exposed to. The more work you do, the more your muscles will be stimulated, and the more they will grow.

But of course, this isn’t to say that you should just do as many reps and sets as possible. There needs to be a balance of volume and intensity in order for you to see results.

Hypertrophy is the scientific term for muscle growth. When you lift weights, you are causing tiny tears in your muscle fibers. In order to repair these tears and prevent them from happening again, your body adapts by building bigger and stronger muscles (amazing right?).

The amount of volume that you do in your training will determine how much hypertrophy you will see.

How much volume for hypertrophy?

Now that we’ve discussed what training volume is and why it’s important, let’s get into how much volume you need for muscle hypertrophy.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question because everyone is different and will respond to different amounts of volume. Also, it depends on what exercises your’e doing as some exercises may be more taxing than others. But generally, the sweet spot is around 10 to 20 sets per muscle per week.

For beginners, it’s recommended that you do 3 to 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps for each exercise. This volume will stimulate muscle growth without overworking your muscles and as you become more experienced, you can increase your volume by doing more sets and reps.

For intermediate lifters, it is recommended that you do 4 to 6 sets of 10 to 15 reps and for advanced lifters, 5 to 7 sets of 12 to 20 reps.

As far as going beyond 20 sets per muscle per week, there isn’t really much scientific data that suggests a certain threshold or specific limit. But that doesn’t mean you should go too crazy to the point of overtraining.

But If you simply feel like you aren’t progressing and you feel like you can add more volume, then by all means do so.

As you get more experience, you can start to experiment with different volumes and find what works best for you.

Of course, how much volume you do will also depend on how heavy you are lifting. If you are lifting very heavy weights, you may only need to do 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps. However, if you are lifting lighter weights, you may need to do 5 sets or more in order to see results.

The role of intensity in relation to volume 

Intensity as it relates to volume in weight lifting, simply means how heavy the weights are that you’re lifting.

In addition to sets and repetitions, intensity is another important factor to consider when determining how much volume for hypertrophy.

For example, let’s say you’re doing a bench press.

You could do 100 reps with 100 pounds, or you could do 20 reps with 300 pounds. The first option would be lower intensity and higher volume while the second option would be higher intensity and lower volume.

Both options would lead to muscle growth, but how much growth depends on how your body responds to the different intensities.

Some people may respond better to lower intensity and higher volume while others may respond better to higher intensity and lower volume.

It really depends on the individual.

As you can see, intensity has a big impact on how much volume for hypertrophy. In general, the higher the intensity, the less volume you will need. Conversely, the lower the intensity, the more volume you will need.

This is due to the fact that high-intensity training leads to greater levels of muscle damage and fatigue than low-intensity training. As such, your body needs more time to recover from high-intensity workouts.

On the other hand, low-intensity training does not lead to as much muscle damage and fatigue. So your body does not need as much time to recover from low-intensity workouts.

How to determine your training volume requirements.

Now that we’ve discussed how much volume for hypertrophy, let’s talk about how to determine your training volume requirements.

As we mentioned earlier, there’s really no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. But here are a few things you can do to figure out how much volume you need for muscle growth:

  • Take into account your experience level and asses your current training volume. How many sets and reps are you currently doing? How many times per week are you training each muscle group?
  • Once you have a good idea of your current volume, you can then start to experiment with different volumes and see how your body responds.
  • If you’re a beginner, you won’t need as much volume as someone who is more experienced. As you become more experienced, you can gradually increase your volume.
  • Take into account your goals. If you’re trying to gain muscle mass, you’ll need more volume than someone who is just trying to maintain their current muscle mass.
  • Consider your recovery ability. If you have a hard time recovering from your workouts, then you’ll need to decrease your volume to prevent overtraining. On the other hand, if you have a good recovery ability, you can handle more volume without overtraining.

Once you’ve taken all of these factors into account, you should have a good idea of how much volume for hypertrophy you need.

If you’re still not sure, don’t worry. Just start with a moderate amount of volume and see how your body responds. You can always increase or decrease your volume as needed.

Tips for increasing training volume

How much volume for hypertrophy

Now that we’ve gone over how much volume for hypertrophy, let’s talk about how you can increase your training volume.

Here are a some tips to help you out:

Use supersets:

Supersets are a great way to increase your training volume. A superset is when you do two exercises back-to-back with no rest in between. This is a great way to increase the amount of work you’re doing in a given period of time.

Use giant sets:

Giant sets are similar to supersets, but they involve three or more exercises. Again, this is a great way to increase the amount of work you’re doing in a given period of time.

Use drop sets:

Drop sets are a great way to increase the intensity of your workouts. A drop set is when you do a set of an exercise and then immediately reduce the weight and do another set. This is a great way to fatigue your muscles and force them to grow.

Use pyramid sets:

Pyramid sets are a great way to increase the intensity of your workouts. A pyramid set is when you start with a lighter weight and then gradually increase the weight as you go. This is also a great way to fatigue your muscles and force them to grow.

Use rest-pause sets:

Rest-pause sets are a great way to increase the intensity of your workouts. A rest-pause set is when you do a set of an exercise and then take a short break and do another set.

Commonly Asked Questions:

Do the volume recommendations include warm-up sets?

The volume recommendations do not include warm-up sets.

Warm-up sets are important, but they are not counted as part of your training volume.

What if I can’t do the recommended number of reps?

If you can’t do the recommended number of reps, try reducing the weight.

For example, if you’re supposed to do three sets of eight reps at 80% of your one-rep max, but you can only do six reps, try reducing the weight to 75%.

Can I use volume training to improve my strength?

Yes, you can. Volume training is a great way to increase your strength.

In fact, many strength athletes use volume training to help them break through Plateaus.

What is the difference between volume and intensity?

The difference between volume and intensity is that volume is the amount of work you’re doing, while intensity is how hard you’re working.

For example, let’s say you do a chest workout where you perform 4 sets of bench press with 100 pounds.

Your training volume would be 400 pounds (100×0=400), but your intensity would be 100 pounds.

How do I know if I’m doing too much volume?

If you’re doing too much volume, you will start to see signs of overtraining.

These signs can include:

-Decreased performance

-Increased fatigue

-Muscle soreness

-Joint pain

-Loss of motivation

If you start to see these signs, it’s important to back off on your training volume.

Summing Up How much Volume for Hypertrophy

In sum, there really is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how much volume for hypertrophy. The amount of training volume you need will depend on your goals, your current level of fitness, and your recovery ability. However, there are a few general guidelines you can follow to make sure you’re getting enough volume to stimulate muscle growth. Experiment with different methods and see what works best for you. And if you start to see signs of overtraining, back off on your volume to give your body a chance to recover.

Key takeaways:

-Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much volume for hypertrophy, 10 to 20 sets per muscle per week is ideal.

-The amount of training volume you need will depend on your goals, your current level of fitness, and your recovery ability

-There are a few general guidelines you can follow to make sure you’re getting enough volume to stimulate muscle growth

-If you start to see signs of overtraining, back off on your volume to give your body a chance to recover.

I hope this article was helpful. Let me know what you think in the comment section down below. Until next time, train hard and stay healthy!

2 Comments

  1. pasindu dimanka

    Thank you very much for this detailed Muscle growth volume post. I went to the gym for a while. But it stopped because of the pandemic. This was also a problem for me at that time. Today I learned from this post how to measure the volume. And also about muscle hypertrophy. I am sending this post to all my gym friends. Keep posting like this.

    • Thank you! Yea the pandemic was a pretty big set back for sure. I had to get creative with my home workouts until the gym opened back up. But I am glad you learned something from this post! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Kind regards!

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