How many sets per muscle per workout?
A fixed upper limit per session is not scientifically established. A meta-regression (preprint, 2025) finds no reliably measurable extra benefit for muscle growth beyond about 11 sets per muscle per session, but stresses that this is not a hard cap.
Why this is hard to answer
Most studies on training volume compare different numbers of sets per week, not per session. How many sets make sense within a single workout can therefore only be inferred indirectly: from studies that split the same weekly volume differently, and from analyses that look at per-session volume specifically.
The analysis by Remmert et al. (2025)
Remmert et al. ran a meta-regression focused on per-session volume. For muscle growth, the point beyond which a benefit of extra sets could no longer be reliably detected was about 11 so-called fractional sets per muscle per session. Fractional means that sets working the muscle only indirectly count as half. For maximal strength, that point was already reached at about 2 direct sets.
Two caveats matter. The paper is a preprint and not yet peer reviewed. And the authors explicitly state that these values are not upper limits beyond which no further gains occur.
Once with a lot, or several times with less?
Brigatto et al. (2019) had trained men perform 16 sets per muscle group either on one day or as 2 × 8 sets on two days. Both groups improved similarly. Calzavara and Barroso (2026) likewise found no difference in quadriceps thickness when the same weekly volume was spread across one or three sessions. In their meta-regression, Pelland et al. (2026) conclude that training frequency has only a negligible effect on muscle growth, but a positive one on strength.
How many sets per exercise?
Studies on German Volume Training compared 5 and 10 sets per exercise. Amirthalingam et al. (2017) found greater gains in trunk lean mass in the 5-set group and recommend 4 to 6 sets per exercise. Hackett et al. (2018) concluded that more than 5 sets per exercise does not produce greater gains in strength and muscle mass.
| Level | Guideline from studies |
|---|---|
| Per exercise | 4–6 sets (Amirthalingam et al., 2017) |
| Per muscle per session | up to about 11 sets with detectable benefit (Remmert et al., 2025, preprint) |
| Per muscle per week | 12–20 sets (Baz-Valle et al., 2022) |
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- Remmert, J. F., Pelland, J. C., Robinson, Z. P., Hinson, S. R. & Zourdos, M. C. (2025). Is There Too Much of a Good Thing? Meta-Regressions of the Effect of Per-Session Volume on Hypertrophy and Strength. SportRxiv (Preprint). SportRxiv
- Pelland, J. C., Remmert, J. F., Robinson, Z. P., Hinson, S. R. & Zourdos, M. C. (2026). The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. Sports Medicine, 56(2), 481–505. PubMed
- Brigatto, F. A., Braz, T. V., Zanini, T. C. C., et al. (2019). Effect of Resistance Training Frequency on Neuromuscular Performance and Muscle Morphology After 8 Weeks in Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(8), 2104–2116. PubMed
- Calzavara, J. & Barroso, R. (2026). Effects of Weekly Set Distribution on Volume Load, Lower-Body Strength, and Quadriceps Muscle Thickness in Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. PubMed
- Amirthalingam, T., Mavros, Y., Wilson, G. C., et al. (2017). Effects of a Modified German Volume Training Program on Muscular Hypertrophy and Strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(11), 3109–3119. PubMed
- Hackett, D. A., et al. (2018). Effects of a 12-Week Modified German Volume Training Program on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy – A Pilot Study. Sports, 6(1), 7. PubMed
- Baz-Valle, E., Balsalobre-Fernández, C., Alix-Fages, C. & Santos-Concejero, J. (2022). A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy. Journal of Human Kinetics, 81, 199–210. PubMed