Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized/comparative trials.
PubMed 27433992 · doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
What was done
A systematic review and meta-regression evaluated the relationship between weekly resistance training volume (measured in sets) and changes in muscle mass. The analysis included 34 treatment groups from 15 studies, examining weekly sets as a continuous variable, a two-level within-study categorical variable (lower vs. higher volume), and a three-level categorical variable (<5, 5–9, and 10+ sets per muscle weekly).
What was found
Weekly sets as a continuous variable had a statistically significant effect on muscle size changes (P = 0.002), with each additional weekly set increasing effect size by 0.023 (corresponding to a 0.37% increase in percentage gain). In the within-study categorical analysis, higher volume produced significantly greater hypertrophy than lower volume (P = 0.03; effect size difference of 0.241, representing a 3.9% difference in percentage gain). The three-level categorical analysis showed a trend that did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.074).
Why it matters
This meta-analysis provides a quantified dose-response baseline indicating that higher weekly set volumes generally yield greater muscle hypertrophy than lower volumes.
Limits
The total number of individual participants, their training status, sex, and age are not reported in the abstract. Interventions differed across trials, and the three-level categorical comparison (<5, 5–9, 10+ sets) showed only a trend (P = 0.074) rather than a statistically significant difference.
Cited by
- supports The majority of muscle gains from a resistance training session are produced by the first working set performed.
- supports Performing roughly 10 sets of exercise per muscle group per week, taken within 1 to 3 repetitions of muscular failure, is sufficient to stimulate muscle hypertrophy.
- context Five studies (including Radaelli, Schoenfeld, and Enes) demonstrate a dose-response relationship where performing over 30 sets per week produces greater muscle hypertrophy.