In the last training newsletter, I looked at a new meta-analysis that determined the best number of sets per week and optimal intensity for hypertrophy…
Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain and Muscle Hypertrophy. Robinson, et al. 2023.
The researchers determined that the closer you train to failure, the fewer sets you need for optimal growth: You can train long or you can train hard, but you can’t do both…
And 12 right-at-failure sets per week was sited as a good target per muscle per week. That equates to six close-to-failure sets twice a week.
The Old Man, Young Muscle workout prescribes less volume—three to four all-out sets per workout for each muscle. Yet it has yielded great gains for many, myself included.
You may have guessed from my hint in the last newsletter that one reason for fewer all-out sets is age. Being older means recovery is less than stellar.
But there are other factors that can have you requiring fewer than the study’s 12 intense sets a week…
1) You’re under a lot of stress (in life circumstances or you’re adding intensity techniques to our workouts, like forced reps, X-Reps, etc.)
2) You’re recovery challenged in general, a.k.a. high-strung “hardgainer”
3) You’re older—past age 50
And the age-volume relationship gets even more precarious if you have a decade or more of training experience. That’s because…
Years of consistent training means that you have a heightened ability to generate intense effort on any given set—a well-developed mind-muscle connection….
So the more advanced you are, the less volume you require to keep growing because every set is more taxing than early in your training career.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: Using anabolic steroids throws a monkey wrench into all of the above. You can tolerate much more and amplify muscle growth with drugs or hormone-replacement therapy.
So with pharmaceutical help, you can grow with almost any crazy workout—which is why you should be careful who you listen to. If they’re on drugs, what they’re preaching may not apply to you…
I’m a natural bodybuilder as well as a self-centered bastard, so I’ll give you my personal drug-free geezer perspective after 50 years of training…
I’ve been using the Old Man, Young Muscle workouts for a few years now. It has three to four all-out sets per muscle twice a week—so six to eight intense sets per week, not 12.
The gains and transformation I made in my early 60s (pics above) were produced with a set total per muscle less than the average recommendation—half in some cases…
But I’m pretty good at generating intense effort after all these years. Plus, using STX and Speed Sets on the ideal exercise for each muscle allows me to stimulate an inordinate number of fast-twitch fibers in the target muscle with fewer sets…
It works—which is why I’m very happy with my physique despite being from a long line of genetic pool noodles…
But aging continues to make it a moving target. In fact, as I get older, I’m realizing that I may need even fewer sets to continue to improve—plus…
There’s a forgotten element you (and I) need to consider in determining the ideal set total per week per muscle—a hidden roadblock to mass….
What is it? No, it’s not neglecting to eat an entire chicken after your workout. I’ll have the surprising answer in tomorrow’s newsletter.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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