Building Muscle with Volume

Sorry I can’t hear you over the volume of my hair.

Volume-load, the total weight lifted during a workout (total sets multiplied by weight and then reps, for each movement or muscle group), is crucial for building muscle, increasing strength, feeling great, reducing pain, and promoting longevity.

By progressively increasing volume, muscles adapt by growing stronger, improving endurance, and better supporting joints and connective tissues. This adaptation reduces the risk of injury and pain, contributing to more comfortable and efficient movement.

Consistent training also stimulates metabolic health, bone density, and cardiovascular function, all of which are key to long-term health and longevity. 

So how do we know when volume-load is sufficient? And what the heck does that even mean?

First off, let’s cover frequency. Most muscle groups grow best when we attack them at least twice per week.

More days can mean more volume, but remember that four-days-per-week won’t allow you to squeeze in twice as much volume as two days because you won’t be able to recover in time for each session.

Second, let’s tackle reps and sets. Reps are pretty simple. Low rep, heavy weight sets are okay for growth, but they do require quite a bit of neurological drive and achieving sufficient total volume with 1-3 rep sets can be difficult.

Beyond that, science tells us that we can experience growth in basically any rep range between four and 30, provided we’re using sufficient intensity and are close enough to volitional fatigue (i.e. failure). 

And as for sets, there really isn’t a perfect answer. We find, at JMF, that 3-4 sets per exercise provides a good balance of volume and practicality. If we hit each muscle group once per day, twice per week, that nets us 6-8 total sets each week. 

We would say start here and then increase sets when appropriate. You’ll find that some muscles respond better to more weekly sets and some don’t need nearly as much. 

But if you’re looking for a quick answer, here are a few fun ways to get your volume in:

1. Total Reps. For every exercise, choose a total number of reps and work to get to it in as few sets as possible. We like 50-100 total reps in a workout – start on the lower end.
2. Timed Sets. Our 30/30 and 20/40 protocols are designed with time-under-tension in mind. Using 3-6 sets across the entire workout and all exercises, we can easily manage ~30 reps on the low end and ~75-100 on the high.
3. AMRAP + 1/2. Pick an exercise and choose a weight that you think you might be able to hit 10-20 times (maybe even more). Perform your first set as an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) and then divide by two and continue 2-3 additional sets with those reps. This will ensure that we approximate failure at least once and attain sufficient volume throughout the rest of the session.