Volume, Frequency, Intensity: considerations for hypertrophy and strength
- francescosidoti491
- 21 gen 2022
- Tempo di lettura: 12 min
Aggiornamento: 5 ott 2024
Table of content
Understanding how volume, frequency, and intensity impact training outcomes is essential for maximizing muscle growth and strength gains.
This article breaks down these key principles, highlighting their specific roles in hypertrophy and strength-focused routines.
VOLUME
Volume refers to the total amount of work performed during a training session or over a specific period. It can be calculated in several ways:
Volume Load
For example, you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of Squat with 80Kg, that’s a volume load of 80000 (10x10x10x80).
Total number of repetitions done
For example, you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of Squat, thats a volume of 30 reps.
Total number of sets
For example, you do 3 sets of 10 repetitons of Squat, that’s a volume of 3 sets.
The total number of sets is often used in the scientific literature as the most accurate measure for calculating training volume.
VOLUME AND HYPERTORPHY
When the goal is hypertrophy, there is a clear dose-response relationship between training volume and muscle growth: generally, the more volume you perform, the greater the muscle growth. However, this relationship is not linear.
As training volume increases, the rate of muscle growth tends to diminish. There comes a point where adding more sets may even hinder muscle growth. Excessive training volume can lead to fatigue and stress on both the muscles and the nervous system, which can outweigh the benefits of the training stimulus, resulting in a negative impact on muscle development. This excessive volume is often referred to as junk volume.
The term Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV) represents the upper limit of an athlete's capacity to effectively train and recover. Understanding the MRV is crucial because it determines the maximum training volume an athlete can handle without overtraining, ensuring they can still recover adequately and stimulate muscle growth.
MRV is influenced by several factors such as sleep quality, stress level, diet quality, genetic...So as you can imagine, it is highly individual and the 20 weekly set upper limit is a general average.
The minimum effective volume for hypertrophy is around 10 weekly sets per muscle group. This means that to build muscle mass, a minimum of 10 sets per week for each muscle group is necessary. Performing less than this amount will not sufficiently stimulate muscle growth.
The maximum recoverable volume is around 20 weekly sets per muscle group. Performing more than this amount may lead to excessive fatigue, which can hinder muscle growth as the stress will outweigh the stimulus. Therefore, hypertrophy training volume typically ranges between 10-20 sets per muscle group per week, depending on the individual.
While it's true that different muscle groups vary in their composition and size of muscle fibers, the recommendation of 10 to 20 weekly sets serves as a useful guideline for all muscle groups.
Beginners can start with a lower volume since they are not yet accustomed to the demands of resistance training. Even with a lower volume, they will still experience enough stimulus to see improvements in muscle growth and overall body composition.
Intermediate and advanced individuals, on the other hand, have already built a significant amount of muscle mass (presumably), which means their potential for further gains is more limited. To continue building muscle, they typically require a higher volume of training, which may involve more sets, reps, or exercises than a beginner would perform.
This increased training volume helps to challenge their muscles and promote further adaptation to the training stimulus.
By distributing this higher volume across more days, intermediate and advanced trainees can ensure they are always fresh and able to perform each set with the proper intensity.
VOLUME AND STRENGTH
When the goal is strength, less volume is needed (compared to hypertrophy training) to elicit positive adaptations.
While hypertrophy aims primarily to increase muscle size and endurance through muscular adaptation, strength training targets both muscular and neural adaptations
Strength improvements are largely driven by changes in the nervous system. In other words, it’s not just the amount of muscle you have that determines how strong you are, but also how well-trained your neurological system is. The nervous system controls muscle recruitment and activation, allowing you to express strength. The more efficiently your nervous system operates, the more force you can produce.
Additionally, strength is exercise-specific, meaning that how strong you are in a particular movement depends on how familiar and proficient you are at that specific exercise. For example, your strength in the squat will largely be influenced by how practiced you are at performing that movement pattern.
As a result, even though the total volume required to build strength is lower than what is needed for hypertrophy, training frequency is still important because we want to practice the movements we want to get stronger at as much as possible to gain efficiency in the movement pattern and to train our nervous system to lift heavier loads over time.
As little as 2 weekly sets per muscle group can be sufficient to maintain strength, while 3-4 weekly sets are recommended for strength development.
While these numbers seems low, it is important to bear in mind that these sets should be performed at a high intensity—typically above 70% of your 1RM.
As already mentioned, it is not only the volume itself that determine strength adaptations but also neural adaptations.
FREQUENCY
Training frequency refers to how often you engage in a specific type of exercise, movement, or workout over a given period, typically measured in a week.
It is directly influenced by the volume needed for your specific goals.
Since beginners usually perform lower training volume, 2-3 training sessions per week is a good starting point to balance training stimulus and recovery.
On the other hand, intermediate and advanced trainees require a higher volume of training. Distributing this higher volume across more days ensure that every set is performed at a sufficient high level of intensity. This often translates in 4-6 training sessions per week.
This approach not only helps intermediate and advanced trainees make consistent progress toward their body composition goals but also minimizes the risk of injury.
To determine the optimal training frequency, it’s crucial to consider not only your fitness goals but also your available time. For example, if your goal is to complete 18 sets per week and you design a program with a 5-day split but only manage to go to the gym half the time due to work or family commitments, your plan won’t be effective.
Creating a “perfect” training routine on paper that you can’t realistically stick to is counterproductive. Instead, choose a frequency that you can adhere to consistently.
Remember: a consistent, achievable plan will always outperform a “perfect” plan that you can’t maintain.
INTENSITY
Intensity is a measure of how challenging a set is and reflects the difficulty of the exercise.
It can be defined in two primary ways:
% 1RM (Repetition Maximum)
RPE/RIR (Rate of Perceived Exertion/Repetitions in Reserve)
1. % 1RM (Intensity of Load)
The percentage of 1RM refers to the intensity of the load being lifted relative to your maximum strength. For example, if you are performing squats with your 6RM, it means the weight on the bar allows you to complete only 6 repetitions with good form. Thus, your 1RM is the maximal weight you can lift for a single repetition.
2. RPE/RIR (Intensity of Effort)
These are subjective measures that gauge how difficult a set feels:
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): This scale rates how challenging the set was, ranging from 4 to 10. A lower RPE means the set was less challenging, while a higher RPE indicates nearing maximal effort.
RIR (Reps in Reserve): This scale estimates how many more repetitions you could have completed before reaching failure. For instance, if you perform 10 reps of squats and feel you could have performed 2 more reps before failing, the exercise had an RPE of 8 or, equivalently, an RIR of 2.
Since RPE and RIR are inversely related, a higher RPE means fewer RIR and vice versa. They are often used interchangeably to assess the intensity of effort.
INTENSITY FOR HYPERTOPHY
For decades, the bodybuilding world emphasized lifting the heaviest weights possible, believing it was the only path to muscle growth. This traditional approach focused heavily on the intensity of the external load (e.g., the amount of weight lifted).
Even though it is true that, over time, you should be able to lift heavier loads to build muscle mass, recent evidence has shown that other forms of progression, such as increasing the number of repetitions or sets, can achieve comparable muscle development. In other words, multiple intensity strategies can be used to stimulate muscle growth effectively.
In short, you can manipulate not only the weight on the bar, but also other variables to stimulate muscle growth.
Muscle mass can be achieved using either low loads (>30% of 1RM) or high loads (65–90% of 1RM), as long as the intensity of effort is sufficient. The key factor is not just the weight on the bar, but how close you are to failure, measured by Reps in Reserve (RIR) or Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).
For optimal muscle growth, RIR should fall within the 3–0 range, equating to an RPE of 7–10. This means that regardless of whether you use light or heavy weights, pushing yourself close to failure is the primary driver of hypertrophy.
For muscle growth, the intensity of effort (how challenging the set feels) is more important than the absolute weight lifted. As long as the effort is comparable, both high-load and low-load training can produce similar hypertrophy outcomes.
This means that, If Bob and John each perform 15 sets of chest exercises per week, the specific loads they use—whether high for Bob or light for John—are less important than the intensity of their effort. As long as both apply the same level of intensity (measured by how challenging each set feels), their muscle development will likely be similar.
However, if Bob completes all 15 sets at an RPE of 6, exerting minimal effort and avoiding the discomfort necessary for growth, he is unlikely to see significant results. In contrast, John, who pushes himself harder, will likely experience greater muscle development despite using lighter weights.
Now that we know that a RPE of at least 7 is necessary to stimulate muscle growth, the question is: should we train at an RPE of 7, 8, 9 or 10? This is one of the most discussing topics in the fitness industry.
While reaching a high RPE is necessary for stimulating muscle adaptation, it’s also crucial to consider recovery and injury prevention, both of which are impacted by excessive intensity.
To date, research has not shown significant differences in hypertrophy gain between groups that trained to muscular failure (RPE 10) and groups that trained at lower intensities (RPE 7–9), as long as the volume was equated.
Going to muscular failure (the point during a set where a person is unable to complete any more repetitions with proper form and technique. It is the point of maximal effort) can be a useful tool for advanced lifters who have already developed a considerable amount of muscle mass and need to push their limits in order to continue making gains.
Since improvements become harder to achieve with experience, training to an RPE of 10 on certain exercises can provide the necessary stimulus.
On the other hands, for less experienced lifters, training short of failure (RIR 3–1) in most exercises minimizes injury risk and burnout while still producing significant muscle gains. Studies show minimal differences in hypertrophy between going to failure and stopping just short, making the latter a safer and more effective approach for newer lifters.
While producing a high degree of effort is essential for inducing muscle growth, the principle of marginal utility applies here. The stimulus difference between leaving 5 RIR and 4 RIR is substantial, but the impact becomes progressively smaller as you approach failure.
For instance:
Moving from 5 RIR to 3 RIR creates a significant increase in muscle stimulus.
Moving from 3 RIR to 1 RIR yields a smaller increase.
Going from 1 RIR to 0 RIR (complete failure) provides minimal additional benefits for muscle growth, yet drastically increases fatigue and recovery time.
In summary, you can achieve similar muscle growth by training at RPE 7–9 (1–3 RIR) without the risks associated with pushing every set to failure.
Training to complete muscular failure (0 RIR) is not inherently bad, but it should be approached with caution depending on the type of exercise being performed.
Compound movements, such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, involve multiple muscle groups and joint actions. Due to the complexity of these lifts, reaching muscular failure can cause one muscle to give out before others, leading to compensatory movements, breakdown of form, and an increased risk of injury. For these reasons, staying 1–3 RIR (RPE 7–9) is generally recommended for compound exercises.
For example, if your quadriceps reach failure in a squat, your lower back or other stabilizing muscles might be forced to take on the extra load, making the exercise unsafe and potentially leading to improper form and injury. This is especially critical for less experienced lifters who may struggle to maintain technique under fatigue.
Isolation exercises, such as bicep curls or leg extensions, target a single muscle group and often have a lower overall load on the body. Since these exercises are simpler and less risky in terms of form breakdown, it is generally safer to train to failure (0 RIR) to fully fatigue the targeted muscle. For advanced lifters, going to failure on these movements can provide the additional stimulus needed for muscle growth without the same risk as in multi-joint lifts.
INTENSITY FOR STRENGTH
Strength training is typically defined as a type of exercise modality that focuses on neural adaptations, which refers to improvements in the nervous system's ability to recruit and coordinate muscle fibers effectively. It maximize neural drive to the muscles, enhancing both muscle activation and coordination.
Strength training is typically defined by using high loads and performing low repetitions (usually in the range of 1–5 reps per set). The goal is to lift heavy weights, which places greater demand on the nervous system and stimulates strength gains more effectively than higher repetition ranges.
While volume (total sets and reps) can contribute to strength gains, the relationship between volume and strength development is weaker compared to hypertrophy training.
The primary driver for strength is intensity, which refers to the percentage of an individual’s one-repetition maximum (1RM) being lifted.
Optimal Load Range: For strength gains, the optimal intensity range is typically between 70–100% of 1RM.
Lifting within this range is essential because heavier loads recruit a greater number of muscle fibers and place a higher demand on the central nervous system, promoting neural adaptations.
While there is some overlap between strength and hypertrophy training, they are not identical. Strength training can promote hypertrophy to a degree, especially when using moderate to heavy loads (6–12 reps). However, hypertrophy can also occur with lighter loads and higher repetitions, which would be suboptimal for strength gains. As a result, the best intensity range for strength training is much narrower than that for hypertrophy
CONCLUSIONS
Finding the optimal training frequency and intensity depends on your individual goals, experience level, and physical capabilities. Understanding these variables helps ensure that you are targeting the right adaptations, whether your focus is on muscle hypertrophy or strength development.
For Hypertrophy Training:
Volume: Aim for 10–20 weekly sets per muscle group. Beginners should start at the lower end (10 sets) as they can achieve good progress with less work, while more advanced lifters can move towards the higher end (20 sets) for further muscle growth.
Intensity: Maintain an RPE of at least 7 (3 RIR). It’s recommended to train to muscular failure on isolation exercises but keep a few reps in reserve on compound lifts for safety and form.
Frequency: Beginners can start with 2 weekly sessions to cover the required volume. Intermediate and advanced trainees may need 3–6 weekly sessions to distribute higher training volumes more effectively.
For Strength Training:
Volume: Perform 1–6 weekly sets per muscle group. Use the lower end (1–2 sets) if your goal is to maintain strength and the higher end (3–6 sets) if you want to focus on strength development.
Intensity: Use loads above 70% of your 1RM to effectively promote neural adaptations.
Frequency: Beginners can achieve good results with 2 weekly sessions. As training experience and volume needs increase, 3–4 weekly sessions may be required for advanced trainees.
Thank you for reading.
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