How many sets do you hit per body part?

[beebab]

I'm curious. Everyone's different. For some, training each body part in 12 + sets is majorly overtraining, for others it's just enough.

Assuming that each body part is worked thouroughly only once per week, what's generally your target set range? What would you consider overtraining?

 

[gdbear65]

when I did a body-part split I'd do 12 to 15 sets per group, however I never did any direct training for arms. I only performed compound lifts and depending on how I felt I would throw in a few sets of iso's for tri's on chest day and for bi's on back day.

 

[sdmf45]

20-25 sets for large muscles and 15 or so for smaller muscles. this is serious overtraining for some.

 

[wrasslin116]

With my workout I have core lifts which are lifts I feel most important for my goal so for core I do 5 sets then other I'll do 2 or 3 sets mostly 3. I never thought of going past 5 sets.. might try that this coming month when I change up my workout.

 

[Seth1013]

I feel that larger muscles like back deserve about 12 sets whereas i would only do up to 9 on bis or tris

 

[hardknock]

Depends, if it is on back day then my bi's only would get 6 total sets, and if i deaded that day, then my bis would probably get a good 5 sets...

If it was a day where i didnt get a chance to work bis and just worked them on another day, they'd get a solid 8-9 sets, reps depended on bulk or cut....never above 12reps or below 6 though

example for normal leg day
Squats 5 sets
Leg press 3-4 sets
SLDL 3 sets
Ham Curls 3 sets
........................
Calf - 5 sets

Sometimes i adjust, depending on how i feel. If i eat and not let it settle (15-20mins) then i'll adjust the sets by one less...if i eat and let it settle(45mins) then i'll do exactly whats i typed...

 

[poopypants]

well i wish i could revote as i read it incorrectly, usually do 5 exercises and 3 or 4 sets per exercise per body part.... so my vote would have to be for 15+

 

[thesinner]

1-2 "working" sets per exercise
1-3 exercises per muscle group (some exercises "hit" more than one group, and some groups can handle more work than others)

 

[fbxdan]

I usually end up going to about 24 sets for most bodyparts. I follow Vince Gironda's 8x8 (8 sets of 8 reps) and usually rest 45 seconds in between sets. Its what ive found out blows me up the fastest and. I don't do this for legs however. 8x8 on squats would probably kill me...

 

[Wedgylx]

CHEST - 11-12 sets
BACK - 4 sets lower back, 9-11 for lats
SHOULDERS - 9 sets for delts, 3 for traps (directly)
ARMS - 8-10 for bis, 9-11 for tri's
LEGS - 13-15 sets

 

[CHAPS]

normally 12, back and legs get more like 20

 

[EasyEJL]

Too many. I'm doing GVT right now

 

[HITscientist]

1-2 - Using H.I.T. on the same machines and some newly modified HIT machines the way Arthur Jones intended and like Viator etc etc.

 

[Beige]

i kill legs and as a result have killer legs. i stopped killing the bi's and as a result need to regain my killer bi's. for my major compounds, usually i like to do 6 sets of squats (mostly front squats), 6 DL's (regular stance), and 6-8 flat bb bench.

i recently put my ego aside and stopped maxing out so much. when i keep the reps between 6 and 12 i make much better progress. sometimes though on the bench i still have to show off a little...

 

[SteelEntity]

Asking how many sets one does reveals very little. If someones training 5x5 method then doing 20 sets for a muscle is not uncommon because the total reps done is 100. The same as someone doing high rep low weight training, then one could say they only do 5 sets. But at 20 reps a set the total reps still = 100

With HIT training the reps are extremely long so you could argue one HIT rep = 5 normal reps, is the effectiveness the same? who knows.

 

[HITscientist]

no the effectivness is not the same. With a long hit rep you keep constant muscular tension rather then "throwing" the weight and shifting the weight to your joints. HIT= constant muscular tension=Deeper inroad!

 

[SteelEntity]

no the effectivness is not the same. With a long hit rep you keep constant muscular tension rather then "throwing" the weight and shifting the weight to your joints. HIT= constant muscular tension=Deeper inroad!

hence the "who knows"

 

[EasyEJL]

time under tension, and intensity are what count.... the number of reps really are more a question of how fast the count is per exersize, and then the weight is based on surviving it

 

[Gutterpump]

I feel that larger muscles like back deserve about 12 sets whereas i would only do up to 9 on bis or tris

This works for me, and it's what I do, while keeping TUT high.

For things like clean + press & most chest workouts, I like to have an explosive up, lock it and hold, then let it down slow. I do sort of the opposite for flies, slow contraction, but still locking the contraction and holding before letting it back down. Made a huge difference for me this way.

 

[kwyckemynd00]

You don't have a low enough options. :lol: Occasionally I'll do 4 sets per body part, but its usually 2-3.

 

[JayCut]

The Best Generally for everyone is pounding your muscle with 3-4 sets with high reps like 15-20 not 10-12 and only about three days of rest is really reccomended in each group before you can pound them again dont forget to "TRICK" your muscles too switch up your work outs

 

[ms3jake]

1-2 "working" sets per exercise
1-3 exercises per muscle group (some exercises "hit" more than one group, and some groups can handle more work than others)

Same here exactly. :dl:

 

[gibsonj4]

So you think four exercises, four sets is too much for body parts like biceps or chest?

 

[raginfcktard]

it depends on the group for me...superset arms with 3exercises for 3 sets, so 9 set bis and 9 tris. is that still considered 9 sets or 18 hummm? other than that i say 12 for chest and shoulders, 15+ for back and upwards 20 for legs. i think i need to cut back.:whip:

 

[Genetic79]

depends on what part of the week I'm in.....

Power I do 4 sets 5 reps

Volume I do 3 sets 12 upper, 3 sets 20 for lower

 

[Plates1971]

I only work my body parts 1x per week..... the big 3 (Legs, Back, Chest) I will do 14-18 sets, 3-4 exercises.....small auxillary groups I do 10-12 sets 2-3 exercises...... I only work my muscle groups 1x per week because I am a little older 37 and I need more recovery time than some of the 20yr olds..... this seems to work well for me.

 

[jcp2]

I honestly beleive you need to be at a relatively advanced state for once a week thrashings of each body part to be effective. I see alot of young guys who want to do the Flex mag workout. If you took away drugs and what not most of them would make very little progress over the years. I feel most trainers, beginner to intermediate should be following something that is laid out for stength as well as hypertrophy as the are very closely correlated until you get pretty big to begin with. I may try to lose 20 lbs and do more of a hypertrophy based workout after my meet in october but it will still be a 4 day upper lower split. Probably 5 sets of each upper body part 2x a week and a little more than that for lower since i add posterior in their.

 

[Usf97j4x4]

I can't count past 5

 

[jtp217]

I don't usually do more then a 1 set for each goup (sets that I count anyway).

I keep the intensity very high, weight high, and reps lower.

 

[SokVichet]

This works for me, and it's what I do, while keeping TUT high.

For things like clean + press & most chest workouts, I like to have an explosive up, lock it and hold, then let it down slow. I do sort of the opposite for flies, slow contraction, but still locking the contraction and holding before letting it back down. Made a huge difference for me this way.

Absolutely. Strong, decisive initial positive, focus on the peak contraction, and focus on a slow smooth negative keeping tension at all times (no rest between reps unless rest-pausing through a potential failure). Every rep. I don't treat any muscle tissue differently (ex. abs).