4 ms·

I'm really surprised people didn't know this. I recall Rippetoe & Kilgore speculating in Practical Programming for Strength Training that 70-80% of all muscula

I'm really surprised people didn't know this. I recall Rippetoe & Kilgore speculating in Practical Programming for Strength Training that 70-80% of all muscular gains occur in the first set. I had OpenAI's deep research look into this and its sources concluded that "One-set routines can achieve roughly 60–70% of the muscle growth that higher-volume (3–5 set) routines produce". You can do one set of various exercises and be out of the gym in minutes. Of course, this sounds ridiculous, but appears to be true.

ImHereToVote 2y ago
I also understand the stretched muscle pose is where the biggest gains are coming from. So one could theoretically cheese, by doing only a quarter of the exercise. (Don't do this, you will damage yourself).
sentimentscan 2y ago
>"One-set routines can achieve roughly 60–70% of the muscle growth that higher-volume (3–5 set) routines produce". Do you have any source for that? I know Mike Mentzer and heavy duty programs, but the devil is in the details.
- catigula 2y ago
  This is what GPT-4 summarized from deep research. Krieger, J. W. (2010). Single versus multiple sets of resistance exercise: A meta-regression. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(4), 1150-1159. This meta-analysis found that multiple sets lead to ~40% more muscle growth compared to a single set. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and muscle growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(11), 1073-1082. Concluded that higher training volumes (≥10 weekly sets per muscle group) produce greater hypertrophy. Ralston, G. W., Kilgore, L., Wyatt, F. B., & Baker, J. S. (2017). The effect of weekly set volume on strength gain: A meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 47(12), 2585-2601. Found that strength and hypertrophy improve as volume increases up to a certain point. Schoenfeld, B. J. (2016). Science and development of muscle hypertrophy. Human Kinetics. Discusses the mechanisms of hypertrophy and the role of training volume. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Position Stand (2009). Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(3), 687-708. Provides guidelines for resistance training and muscle growth. Haun, C. T., Vann, C. G., Osburn, S. C., et al. (2018). A 6-week resistance training study on the minimum effective training dose for muscle hypertrophy in trained men. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 118(3), 593-605. Found that low-volume training still leads to substantial hypertrophy but not maximal growth. Heaselgrave, S. R., Blacker, S. D., et al. (2019). Effects of resistance training frequency on hypertrophy and strength: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 49(12), 1935-1947. Concludes that training a muscle 2–3 times per week is more effective than once per week for hypertrophy.
kelipso 2y ago
There have been a few research articles showing that in the last few years too that says the same thing. The minutes thing won't be true, for heavy weights you need to warm up and ramp up, but yeah it can cut down your gym time significantly, and if you are fatigued from lifting, this can cut down your fatigue significantly too.
- catigula 2y ago
  I've never warmed or ramped up in over 12 years of heavy lifting. That being said, that could explain my bad back.
  - kelipso 2y ago
    That's insane lol.
    - catigula 2y ago
      Why do you think that? I've been doing it for years with no issue. Intuitively, the idea that muscles/joints require "priming" seems really odd and not very useful from an evolutionary perspective. Cats don't warm up when they jump 5 ft.
      - Rendello 2y ago
        I'm curious, have you ever tried the McGill Big 3 for back pain?
      - jppope 2y ago
        Cats don't sit at a desk for 8-10 hours a day in the same position
      - echoangle 2y ago
        I don't think "priming" your muscles is necessary because it's an evolutionary advantage, but because that's the best muscles evolution has come up with so far. It's like saying "why would I have to change the oil in my car, why would an engineer make an engine that needs that?". And jumping 5ft for a cat probbaly is the priming, that's not peak performance for them.
goldenchrome 2y ago
True for a year or two, but after that your warm up sets get so heavy that you’ll need at least 10 minutes to get up to your working sets.
- catigula 2y ago
  I've never warmed up before. I'm not a super advanced athlete, but I can put 315 on the bench and I don't weigh very much.
  - oarfish 2y ago
    Theres not really much documented benefit of warming up for injury prevention as far as i know. I think it improves performance, but its definitely an area where much time can be saved.

ImHereToVote 2y ago

I also understand the stretched muscle pose is where the biggest gains are coming from. So one could theoretically cheese, by doing only a quarter of the exercise. (Don't do this, you will damage yourself).

sentimentscan 2y ago

>"One-set routines can achieve roughly 60–70% of the muscle growth that higher-volume (3–5 set) routines produce". Do you have any source for that? I know Mike Mentzer and heavy duty programs, but the devil is in the details.

catigula 2y ago
This is what GPT-4 summarized from deep research. Krieger, J. W. (2010). Single versus multiple sets of resistance exercise: A meta-regression. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(4), 1150-1159. This meta-analysis found that multiple sets lead to ~40% more muscle growth compared to a single set. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and muscle growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(11), 1073-1082. Concluded that higher training volumes (≥10 weekly sets per muscle group) produce greater hypertrophy. Ralston, G. W., Kilgore, L., Wyatt, F. B., & Baker, J. S. (2017). The effect of weekly set volume on strength gain: A meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 47(12), 2585-2601. Found that strength and hypertrophy improve as volume increases up to a certain point. Schoenfeld, B. J. (2016). Science and development of muscle hypertrophy. Human Kinetics. Discusses the mechanisms of hypertrophy and the role of training volume. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Position Stand (2009). Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(3), 687-708. Provides guidelines for resistance training and muscle growth. Haun, C. T., Vann, C. G., Osburn, S. C., et al. (2018). A 6-week resistance training study on the minimum effective training dose for muscle hypertrophy in trained men. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 118(3), 593-605. Found that low-volume training still leads to substantial hypertrophy but not maximal growth. Heaselgrave, S. R., Blacker, S. D., et al. (2019). Effects of resistance training frequency on hypertrophy and strength: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 49(12), 1935-1947. Concludes that training a muscle 2–3 times per week is more effective than once per week for hypertrophy.

kelipso 2y ago

There have been a few research articles showing that in the last few years too that says the same thing. The minutes thing won't be true, for heavy weights you need to warm up and ramp up, but yeah it can cut down your gym time significantly, and if you are fatigued from lifting, this can cut down your fatigue significantly too.

catigula 2y ago
I've never warmed or ramped up in over 12 years of heavy lifting. That being said, that could explain my bad back.
- kelipso 2y ago
  That's insane lol.
  - catigula 2y ago
    Why do you think that? I've been doing it for years with no issue. Intuitively, the idea that muscles/joints require "priming" seems really odd and not very useful from an evolutionary perspective. Cats don't warm up when they jump 5 ft.
    - Rendello 2y ago
      I'm curious, have you ever tried the McGill Big 3 for back pain?
    - jppope 2y ago
      Cats don't sit at a desk for 8-10 hours a day in the same position
    - echoangle 2y ago
      I don't think "priming" your muscles is necessary because it's an evolutionary advantage, but because that's the best muscles evolution has come up with so far. It's like saying "why would I have to change the oil in my car, why would an engineer make an engine that needs that?". And jumping 5ft for a cat probbaly is the priming, that's not peak performance for them.

goldenchrome 2y ago

True for a year or two, but after that your warm up sets get so heavy that you’ll need at least 10 minutes to get up to your working sets.

catigula 2y ago
I've never warmed up before. I'm not a super advanced athlete, but I can put 315 on the bench and I don't weigh very much.
- oarfish 2y ago
  Theres not really much documented benefit of warming up for injury prevention as far as i know. I think it improves performance, but its definitely an area where much time can be saved.