The lack of time is one of the main reasons many people struggle to stick to their workout
plans… so they say.
But, luckily for you busy beavers, a new study by fitness expert Dr. Brad Schoenfeld and
his colleagues suggests that you might be able to reap some benefits even when spending
less than 15 minutes at the gym.
In their 8-week experiment, 34 college-aged male subjects with at least 1 year of resistance
training experience was split into three different workout volume groups: high-volume, moderate-volume,
and low volume.
All groups performed the same 7 exercises using a load that took each set to failure
within 8 to 12 reps.
The key difference between the groups is the amount of sets completed.
The high-volume group performed 5 sets of each exercise per session, resulting in 30
and 45 sets per muscle each week, with the larger 45 sets done in the lower body muscle
groups.
The moderate volume group performed 3 sets, totaling 18 and 27 sets per muscle each week.
And the low volume group performed… just one single set per exercise, totaling only
6 and 9 sets per muscle each week.
Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty, the results:
Unsurprising to those familiar with the literature, muscle growth was better with more volume
performed, in this case the more sets performed.
5 sets are clearly superior if you want greater muscle gains.
They also measured muscular endurance via 50% 1RM bench press to failure.
All groups achieved similar improvements, which again, is not too surprising.
Training in the 8 to 12 rep range isn’t exactly optimal for improving endurance levels
in terms of specificity.
Again, not too alarming of results.
But the magic finding falls in the case of strength.
Normally, we’re told that more volume of the same intensity should lead to more strength.
We’ve had studies showing this.
In 2015, a study employing a similar 1, 3, and 5-set experiment found that more volume
via more sets led to greater strength gains.
However, that study was done in beginners.
Beginners might exclusively benefit from more sets because they get more chances to develop
their motor skills for each exercise, or, as Dr. Schoenfeld puts it, more sets can lead
to an “enhanced learning effect.”
In the present study, they used experienced lifters, where such an enhancement wouldn’t
be as impactful.
Now, on to the current findings.
Contrary to what Schoenfeld and his colleagues initially hypothesized, all groups surprisingly
achieved similar strength improvements in both the squat and bench press 1 rep maxes.
This ultimately means that if your goal is to get stronger, and you’re not exactly
new to training, you might be able to get away with doing only one set of each exercise.
This is a huge finding when considering the glaring differences in time commitment.
On average, it took 68 minutes to complete a session for the high volume group, 40 minutes
for the moderate volume group, and only 13 minutes for the low volume group.
That’s right, less than 15 minutes to maximize strength gains.
However, there are some important limitations to consider.
The results only give us information on the 8 to 12 rep range.
We’ve had plenty of studies that showed using heavier loads of 3 to 5 reps to failure
leads to more strength gains than other, higher rep ranges at equal volumes.
It remains to be seen whether 1 set versus 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps to failure will yield
similar strength improvements.
Also, the subjects were NOT used to taking their sets to failure.
Trouble adapting to this style of training might have impacted the results.
The higher set group could have experienced overtraining, which would explain a lack of
superior strength gains.
Plus, the sample size of 34 was relatively small for a 3-group comparison.
Initially there were 45 subjects, which would be enough, but 11 dropped out.
And finally, this study only looked at young, college-aged resistance-trained men, so we
can’t necessarily apply these findings to other populations.
Still, the results are quite shocking and goes against previous norms.
If you’re strapped up on time and prefer training in the 8 to 12 rep range, then doing
only one set of each exercise to failure might just be enough, granted your only goal is
to maximize strength.
Sorry muscle bros, if you wanna get bigger, you still gotta hit that precious volume.
Let me know what you think about this new study in the comments below.
Do you think the findings are similar to your own experience?
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