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Volume of resistance training is one of the primary things to think about when constructing a routine. In regard to the volume of training you do, one of the most helpful points to know is what is the least amount of work you can do and still see progress. This is helpful whether you have an overly busy life or if you just want to dedicate the remainder of your time exercising to other goals. Fortunately, a bunch of data has been published recently looking at this topic. So, let’s discuss what the evidence suggests. How is Volume Measured The simple way to view it is as the number of sets per muscle group or movement per week. For instance, a one set of a bicep curls would count as one set for the biceps for the week. One set of squats would count as one set of quadriceps and glutes for the week. So, the “dose” of training we’re talking about is the number of sets / week. Strength vs Muscle Size In resistance training you’re typically pursuing either improvements in strength or improvements in muscle. Now, in many ways these are very similar adaptations. Any program oriented toward building strength will also build muscle & vice versa. However, there are some small tweaks you can make to orient more toward one or the other. One of these tweaks is with volume, as volume seems to be a more important variable for muscle growth as compared to strength. For instance, a review from last year [1] demonstrated that that the minimum effective dose was higher for muscle size and the room to add volume and see more progress was larger for muscle size compared to strength. If you’re interested, I explain this paper in more detail here. Does Frequency Matter? Not really. Frequency refers to how you split up a volume of resistance training across the week. In other words, whether you complete your volume over the course of 1 session per week, 2 sessions per week, etc. A 2019 systematic review [2] found that if the total # of sets across the week were the same, it made little difference how that volume was divided up across the week. There are practical reasons why you might opt for higher frequency training, but there isn’t necessarily a performance or gains benefit. So, it should be made to fit your preference / your life. Minimum Effective Dose for Strength Recent data [1] suggests that a single set per week done to sufficient intensity may be enough to produce noticeable gains in strength over time. Will these improvements be “optimal” per se? Probably not. However, you don’t always need to be optimizing things with your fitness. To still make any progress during busier seasons of life is a good thing. Furthermore, imagine you’re someone who can get a workout in 2x/week, which is manageable for most time-constrained people with proper planning. This would effectively put you at double the effective minimum dose. Minimum effective Dose for Muscle Growth That same review suggests that 4 sets per week might be the minimum amount you can do to see appreciable gains in muscle size. Compared to 1 set per week for strength, that might seem like a lot more. In actuality, it really isn’t that much exercise. It is certainly a dose that can be accomplished in 1-2 sessions per week with proper planning. That said, a recent randomized control trial [3] contends that the minimum dose might even be less. This paper demonstrated that just 2 sets per was sufficient to build muscle in resistance trained people. Similarly this can also easily be done in just 1-2 sessions per week. Again, results might not be optimal compared to a little more volume, but who cares. Ideally, you’ll be doing this for the rest of your life (at least, that should be the goal). Over that frame, the minimum effective dose would be more than enough. Take-homes Understanding the minimum effective dose for resistance training is useful for a number of reasons: Maybe you prefer to “optimize” things but are in a busier season of life Maybe you want to prioritize other fitness variables while still seeing the benefits of resistance training Maybe you just don’t have much time available period Maybe you just want the benefits of fitness but prefer not to dedicate much time to it
Whatever the case, I think understanding how little you can do and still see results is incredibly freeing. It adds to the idea that something is always better than nothing.
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