If you’re trying to build muscle, one question comes up constantly: Am I doing enough, or am I doing too much?

For years, the debate has raged between “bro-splits” (training one muscle group once a week) and high-frequency training. A meta-analysis covering 67 studies has provided clearer answers than ever before. Whether you’re looking to build a physique that fills out a t-shirt or simply want to get stronger, here’s the science-backed blueprint to optimizing your training.

The Truth About Training Frequency

How often should you hit each muscle group? According to the data, training a body part only once a week leaves gains on the table.

• The Sweet Spot: For most lifters, training a muscle group 2 to 3 times per week is ideal for both strength and size.
• Why It Works: Higher frequency essentially acts like a “long rest interval.” By taking 10 sets of bench press and splitting them over two days (5 sets each), you’re fresher for every set. This allows you to lift heavier weights or get more reps with the same weight, driving better results.
• The 6-Set Rule: Research suggests you should avoid doing more than 6 sets per muscle group in a single session. After about 6 sets, the quality of your work drops due to fatigue. Spreading that volume out across the week is superior.

Key Takeaway: Stop training your chest once on Mondays. Split that volume into two or three sessions (e.g., Monday and Thursday) to maximize quality and growth.

Volume: How Many Sets Do You Actually Need?

Volume (the total number of hard sets you do) is the primary driver of muscle growth. The relationship is straightforward: generally, more volume equals more muscle, provided you can recover from it.

• The Realistic Range: While some data shows benefits up to extreme volumes, for most lifters with jobs, social lives, and average genetics, the “sweet spot” is likely 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week.
• Minimum Effective Dose: If you’re busy, you can still make progress with as few as 4 sets per muscle group per week, provided those sets are high intensity. (For more on this approach, see our guide on the minimum effective dose for muscle growth.)
• Recovery is King: The limit to how much you should train isn’t what your muscles can handle—it’s what your lifestyle allows. Poor sleep, high stress, and caloric deficits all lower the amount of volume you can recover from.

SetsApart makes tracking volume simple. Instead of logging every rep of every exercise, you track your hard sets per muscle group. The Volume Per Muscle Group feature shows you at a glance whether you’re in that 10-20 set optimal range each week.

Training for Strength vs. Size

While big muscles often move big weights, the training rules differ slightly depending on your primary goal.

For Maximum Strength

• Frequency: Train the specific lift (e.g., Squat) as often as you can recover from, but be careful. Going heavy on compound lifts more than 3 times per week significantly increases injury risk.
• Specificity: If you want a bigger bench, you need to bench. Accessory movements (like tricep extensions) count less toward your “bench press strength” than the lift itself.

For Maximum Muscle Size (Hypertrophy)

• Frequency: Secondary to volume. You only increase frequency to fit in more high-quality volume.
• Long-Term Growth: Interestingly, in the long term, muscle size is the biggest driver of strength potential. If you want to be an elite lifter eventually, you need to build a bigger “engine” (muscle mass).

Practical Action Plan

Based on this meta-analysis, here’s how you should structure your routine for maximum efficiency:

1. Ditch the “Once a Week” mentality. Hit every major muscle group at least twice a week.
2. Cap your daily volume. Don’t do more than 6-8 hard sets for a single body part in one workout. If you need more volume, add another training day.
3. Aim for 10-20 weekly sets. Start at the lower end (10 sets/week) and add volume only if you’re recovering well and not seeing progress.
4. Listen to your joints. If you’re pushing heavy compound lifts (Squats/Deadlifts) for strength, limit them to 2-3 times a week to keep your joints healthy.

Tracking Your Volume Over Time

The research is clear on what works—but applying it requires knowing where you stand. Most lifters have no idea how many hard sets they’re actually doing per muscle group each week.

With SetsApart, you can track your weekly hard set volume per muscle group and see trends over time. If progress stalls, you can check whether you need to add volume or whether you’ve been overreaching and need to pull back.

Final Thoughts

Science supports working smarter, not just harder. By spreading your volume out and aiming for that 10-20 set range, you align your training with how your physiology actually works—leading to faster gains and fewer injuries.

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Source

This article was inspired by and summarizes key insights from the following video. Check out the video for more detail and subscribe to the channel—it’s a great resource for evidence-based training.

Watch the full video: This is how to maximize muscle according to 67 studies