Struggling to make progress in the gym? New study says up your volume
When it comes to building muscle, you may not be sure if more is more. Some advice suggests those who struggle to build muscle should work out using lower volume (fewer reps, sets and overall workload), but heavier weights.
However, a recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at participants who didn't respond that well to training, and found they could counteract their difficulties in muscle growth (AKA hypertrophy) by adding more volume.
The study's methods
The researchers asked 85 older individuals to train one leg with one set per exercise and the other leg with four sets per exercise. They performed knee extensions at an 8-15-rep max for 10 weeks, exercising for two days per week.
They found this method to be much better when it came to accuracy compared to different people doing each of the workouts, because it controlled for dietary factors, genetics and lifestyle differences between people.
Before and after the study, the participants also underwent MRI scans.
The study's findings
After 10 weeks, over half of the participants turned out not to have built as much muscle – measured as muscle growth below a specified MRI reading – because of the low volume.
However, the higher-volume group responded with significantly more growth.
Those who built strength easily showed greater muscle growth with more strength training, but the additional gains were smaller compared to non-responders.
One-rep max was also not affected significantly by training volume, which is in line with previous studies suggesting that more volume is better for building muscle size than strength.
What does this mean for us?
If you're struggling to build muscle, unfortunately the solution may be good old-fashioned hard work – and you might just need to add more reps and sets to your workout.
However, it's crucial that you recover from this higher rep range, as a 15% subset of participants experienced worse gains from the higher volume. The explanation? It's still possible that while those whole struggle to build muscle need to do more work, they also have a lower maximum recoverable volume: the highest amount of training volume that you can complete while still being able to recover properly for the next training session.
Bottom line, though: it's possible for everyone to build muscle, even if you may have to try a bit harder than the person next to you in the gym.
More fitness stories:
Cut through the noise and get practical, expert advice, home workouts, easy nutrition and more direct to your inbox. Sign up to the WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWSLETTER
How Trinny Woodall built her strong arms at 60 – by her trainer
Alison Hammond reveals the secrets behind her 11-stone weight loss
You Might Also Like
