The Primary Driver Of Muscle Growth (Hint: It's NOT Volume)
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The Primary Driver Of Muscle Growth (It's NOT Training Volume)
"Workout volume is the primary driver of muscle growth."
You might have heard this common piece of bodybuilding advice floating around online.
Reality?
Training volume in and of itself is NOT a stimulus for muscle hypertrophy.
You can perform as many weekly sets as you want for a given muscle group as part of your bodybuilding workout, but if the intensity level of those sets isn't high enough, your body will still have no incentive to build muscle in response.
Muscle growth is an adaptive reaction to stress, and the primary driver that underlines the entire muscle building process is actually training intensity.
It's when you perform a physical task that is right up close to or beyond the existing capacity of the muscle. That is what triggers the body to adapt and to increase the size and strength of that muscle.
For that reason, the AMOUNT of work you perform (workout volume) cannot be considered as the primary driver.
Both intensity and volume matter in the overall bodybuilding picture and are two sides of the same coin, but when it comes to the issue of volume vs. intensity, intensity is the ultimate baseline factor.
In fact, even a single set per week performed with sufficient intensity can produce consistent muscle gains over time. It wouldn't be optimal, but it would still produce results if done correctly.
On the other hand, you can perform as much training volume as you want, but in the absence of sufficient training intensity, you won't see any appreciable muscle building results.
As a general workout intensity guideline, I recommend performing the bulk of your sets about 1-2 reps short of muscular failure, 3 at the very least. (Training to failure on every set can be done if the volume is lowered and the trainee is experienced enough, but this won't be ideal for most)
For example, if you were doing a set of 10 reps and that 10th rep represented an all-out grinder where the bar was just barely moving along, you'd want to stop at the 8th or 9th rep, and the 7th rep as a minimum.
How many sets per week should you perform at this intensity level to gain muscle optimally?
There is always individual variation at play, but a good reliable training volume guideline to go by is 8-15 weekly sets for large muscle groups and 4-8 sets for small muscle groups.
Don't fall for the idea that more weekly volume is automatically better. More training volume does produce more muscle growth, but only up to a certain point, and going too far will actually be counterproductive and increase your chances for injury.
What's the bottom line on volume vs. intensity?
They're both important factors in the bodybuilding equation, but intensity is still the primary driver when it all comes down to it and is the first thing you should examine when determining if your workouts are being executed properly.
In other words, quality first and then quantity. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Week 4 Day 3 // GEN vs TS | PRX vs ZETA](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nspkjQuZve0/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for watching guys, hope you found this video helpful. I know another big fitness channel uploaded a video on the same topic last week and came to a similar conclusion as me, but just want to note that I recorded this 3 weeks ago so this was purely a coincidence. Anyway, how close to failure do you personally train on your sets, and how much weekly volume do you use per muscle? Comment below.
Also don't forget to follow me over on Instagram as well where I post useful daily content and other updates that you'll get a lot of value from: instagram.com/sean_nalewanyj
See you in the next vid!
Honestly, i don't think you are the type to watch a video and then remake it. I too watch that other channel with the letter X at the end and im finding your videos to be more straight foward, with the stransparent truth easier to understand.
Sean Nalewanyj I’ve tried volume training long term and it actually led to muscle loss and CNS overload. I went back to my tried and limited number of sets and reps per muscle. Overload over time, and it does take time, and incremental added load works for me. Please don’t go their with Dorian Yates training. He was taking a shit load of drugs and his joints are now a mess. You’ve been in the right track with your recommendations, though you may have just confused many listeners. Intensity doesn’t = failure.
@@juliogomez9145 And if I was gonna remake someone's content I surely wouldn't be stupid enough to post it 1 week after the original was posted. And thanks, glad you like my videos.
On compound lifts with heavier weights I tend to keep failure to the last set/2 sets(on a bad day) of said exercise. With isolations I tend to go to failure on all but 1 sets(usually 4 sets with isolations)
Steve Wise I specifically said that I don’t recommend that type of training and that it would increase the chances for injury. I was only using it to demonstrate the fact that intensity is primary over volume. I very clearly stated that I recommend training 1-3 reps short of failure on a moderate volume approach.
I increased volume and now I'm partially deaf.
Damn, I increased volume and now I have stage IV hypertension
What did you say? I can't hear you...😛
ah, my friends Great Great Great Gran Father died in the year 1753 and he just voted for Joe Biden.....so sad
lol
😂
Incomplete advice is what most people are giving out . This guy actually completes the advice and specified what’s needed for the audience to really capture the training method . Great info as always .
Thank you
It isn’t rocket science and that’s exactly what Sean Nalewanyj emulates in his videos.
I swear I thought that was a pigeon in the background just shakin' its ass.
Haha I didn't even notice it there until afterwards
what is that?
@@ok92computer your mom
Did we get an answer?..😮
@@boomer2095
Yes. It was a pigeon shakin' its ass
I think lack of intensity is the most common cause for people to quit because of no/poor gains. Without them even realizing it.
People want things quickly and as easily as possible
Yeah thats because everyone keeps preaching this 8-12 reps thing without underlying the fact you need to move weights that actually cause muscular failure within this range.
@@theiriscen yeah I don't think a lot of people realise that, those last 2 reps should be near or on failure
Benjamin Prince indeed
@@benjaminprince6424 whenever i bench heavy i do about 10 reps but from the first rep i struggle to get the weight up, so basically my near failure is like half my reps which i dont understand why
You can workout hard or workout long, you can't do both. I prefer quality, not quantity. Good stuff as always Sean
Or you can do both if you are in your 20s lmao
@@ludapecurka102 If I was in my 20s now, half of that time would be spent taking selfies in the mirror lol
I see 50-60 year olds working out hard as shit in the gym every day
As an advanced trainee I can do both
thanks for the tip JEFF
"Musccles don't count, they FEEEL"
They are like a finga pointing the way to the moon...
😂😂😂
"Be Buff my friend"
thank you, Sean -- this makes so much sense
I've been a Mike Mentzer/Arthur Jones 1-set/last rep-is-a-screamer devotee for forty years. Recently, thanks to you and some other coaches, I've come to realize that at age 71, I'm better off aiming for two (or more) sets with the recommended 1 or 2 sub-max rep range.
As I've gotten older, I simply take too long to recover from a work-out when it's grind all the way. The easy part of push-to-you-drop is that there's no doubt of what's enough -- duh, you can't do any more. The tricky part for me now is learning what is an honest 1-2 sub max effort. Again, thank you -- appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge.
I love how articulate Sean is. He explains with science and then ‘dumbs it down’ in case we don’t understand some terms, words etc.
My test just went up from this video alone! Thanks for finally staying what ive been waiting for! The dogma of volume permeates fitness lately, and the details of intensity, rest time, tut, etc are never explained. Just hype for a study no one ever reads, well done sir.
Sean always on point, debunking the common myths. Progressive tension overload trumps all else 👌💯.
Great video Sean, informative and straight to the point as always. Intensity is the key to growth, you see many people who don’t even exceed RPE 6 and wonder why they don’t grow.
Yep. I'm not denying that more volume produces more growth up to a certain point, but it all hinges on the fact that you're training hard enough in the first place.
Great well-thought out video, as always. It's great to see you back uploading.
It's good to be back
Rarely do I come across such quality advice from people in the Body Building and Fitness scene, and therefore, I couldn't resist praising this video (as well as many others that Sean puts out). Considering I started exercising back in 1994 when we didn't have the internet or a large number of appropriate books or workout guidelines, I regretfully acknowledge that many of us wasted a significant number of years in the gym without realizing the importance of intensity and overly emphasizing the significance of volume.
Easily the best channel for the regular guy. Your advice is always top shelf. Thanks a bunch, Sean.
Thank you, Sean. Your straight and direct content is really helpful.
You’re so right bro!
I always thought of it as intensity = a multiplier, and if volume is multiplied by 0 (shit intensity) then:
100reps x 0intensity = 0hypertrophy
Nicely put 😅
@prvnce kari Yea, when both are properly planned out in a program, leads to amazing strength and hypertrophic benefits.
@@adilmuscle I'm glad you appreciate the analogy bro :) sean always puts things so well!
@prvnce kari amen bro preach it!
I mean that's just stupid the way you said it. That's just you being a smart aleck kid. Literally, even the worst youtuber won't tell you to bench press a bar with 0 plates for 2500 reps.
My man with the knowledge as always, good to find you again haven't seen you in a couple of years.
So a good potential strategy is combining both. So a sort of almost amrap style but instead 2-3 reps short, per each set, but adding a lot of sets.
When it is said that "volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy", this needs to be understood as "volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy GIVEN you are taking sets near (or to) failure", and it most certainly is.
Intensity in and of itself is the primary driver within ONE given set, but when we look at training programs as a whole, it's a nuanced balance between intensity, volume, and frequency.
The more volume you do, the more gains you will get (so long as you can recover), but the same is not true of intensity. In fact, I would argue against putting intensity too high because it will put he volume and frequency (used to accumulate more volume) in jeopardy. Intensity is more of a threshold factor, where the sets needs to be difficult ENOUGH to allow for a hypertrophic response, but this idea of intensity being the primary driver within the context of a training program is misguided.
All of the factors are important, but once intensity is set at a proper level, the way you get more gains is focusing on how you can fit more recoverable volume in, and that's why it's the "primary driver".
I agree completely with what you said.
Some people are misinterpreting me and thinking I’m saying “more intensity is better” which I clearly didn’t. I was merely pointing out that sufficient intensity has to be there first and foremost before volume has any effect. So therefore it’s the absolute primary baseline factor in stimulating growth. But of course in the practical sense you need both intensity and volume, which I outlined.
The only purpose here is to help novices understand that set quality needs to be there before quantity has any usefulness, and that more volume is only beneficial up to a certain point.
@@Sean_Nalewanyj thanks for the clarification, Sean. In that context, I'm with you all the way.
The true problem is black/white thinking about the variables, and I think whereas you were combatting the notion that you can pump away in the gym well away from failure and make great gains, I was hesitant for novices to train balls to the wall with intensity and become enamored with the urge to try HIT/DC style training due to this innate human desire for suffering to achieve our goals when the evidence is pretty clear that for most people, this is not the path for the best growth and sustainability.
For novices, quality form, proper intensity of effort at lower volumes, then add weekly sets from there as tolerated (or desired) for max growth.
Saw my best gains for sure from low volume, 4-7 reps per set, 4-5 min rests between sets.
Same here
You did not really address volume at all, only the rep range; how many sets per body part, how many rest days between like workouts?
Sean Navexehsidbldjbsndlyj is my favorite natty.
I’m so confused but this is funny lol
Mike Menzter was always right.
Fantastic video, thanks Sean!
Perfect Sean. Intensity builds immensity. Fantastic videos bro
So much valuable information,thank you so much!
Ever since I bought your diet program and weights program I have succeeded beyond my expectations and continue to progress. Thanks for continuing to release great content.
Glad to hear Jose!
Great video! I can personally vouch for this, I used to chase volume and have minimal results... I saw biggest changes when I dropped my volume and frequency and really uped the intensity.
I hardly hear anyone talking about this... Lot's of volume Bros out there!
Volume feels better, you feel like you accomplished more. Volume is also less prone to get you injured. Meanwhile intensity is really vague due to cheating, differences in definition, crappy exercises and diet.
This makes total sense.other youtubers have touched on this subject but spend more time arguing with other lifters than they do giving clear advice. Thanks for the video
Agree with you Sean 💪 , would like to see a video about Insulin Resistance , it's a topic that might be underrated
Check Dr Berg.com. He’s one of the experts
@@robblanks2141 i agree brother
Straightforward and Simple as Always. Thank you
I remember when I did 5/3/1 and made great strength gains. I'm going to try it again and change my routine up
GREAT CONTENT Sean!!!
Training intensity coupled with percentages of your 1RM has worked for me over the years. I usually split my routines up with 1)Main Movers 2)Accessory Work 3) Finishers. I then vary intensity with Heavy, Light, Medium with them throughout the week. You vary the intensity and volume. It takes both!
Brilliant video answered every question I've had in my head for months
Love your topic! I as well train one set per muscle group daily and I'm seeing overall gains. Makes perfect sense and Holly cow I had no idea you used to body build crazy like that that's cool
Best video I have ever seen for this type of content. Great channel, keep it up
yes, great chnII
Omg this is what my trainer advised me for this month workout routine. Intensity over volume, I’m focusing on increasing my lifting with the low rep sets.
Fantastic video as usual, simply perfect. Thanks Sean!!!
Thanks David
Key word INTENSITY! Thank you 🙏🏼
Very helpful info. Your knowledge combined with teaching ability and presentation are one of the best available in TH-cam fitness in my opinion 👍
Appreciate it man thanks.
Good info. Thanks for posting.
You are the Dave2D of fitness. Straight up no bullshit content. Keep it up!
This was just what I needed. Thanks!
Thank for the video bro u the best at what u do keep up the good work and thank u for keeping it a hundred percent real with us I am forever a fan.
Thanks!
Would have been awesome if you could have made an informative video about how much volume you should train with (how many sets every week on the different body-parts), where you talk about the volume measured by: weight x reps x sets. Would love to see a video about this topic! :-)
Keep up all the good work! :-D
The most success I’ve had weight lifting has been 4-5 sets a week for muscle group, all the way to failure. I use a 4 week cycle starting with 12 reps for each exercise the first week, progressively increasing weight and decreasing reps each week from 12 to 9, and 9 to 6, ending the final week with 3 reps with the heaviest working sets. I just tracked my weights each week and every time I started the cycle over I just tried to add at least 5 lbs if not more to each lift. I broke month long plateaus with this method and went from benching 2 plates for 4 sets of three to 4 sets of six. For me that was really good. Life got in the way since then but I’m working to get back to that strength now and fortunately now I know how to do it
You did 1 set per excersise?
@@EduardoSanchez-hg3oc oh no sorry I worded that wrong. 4-5 sets per exercise usually about six different exercises
This is true I get the best results doing full body workouts 2 sets to failure and I have enough energy to get through my workout and adding weight or reps every workout
This is gold! Thanks Shawn.
Great video Sean!
Great info! Exactly been my thoughts. However what about how intensity affects ability to recover in time? Is it possible to go at a too high intensity for your body to recover properly in time? (Depending on the individual) As I feel like intensity is the only factor that may also affect recovery of your body (e.g. central nervous system) rather than of just your muscles. So differently put: is it possible to train at such a high intensity that your body doesn't recover before your muscles do? As I always feel like my body isn't recovered fully after, say, 3 days whereas my muscles should be as protein synthesis is only elevated for max. 48-72h (right?). Would highly appreciate your thoughts on this!
Well explained, no bullshit, really one of the top 3 guys on TH-cam, great work buddy.
Who are the other 2? Just curious.
Amazing advice as usual, being very old school and following the Arnold’s workout. This really helps me now in the end of my life I guess or the mid point lol
U just changed my way of weight lifting. I use do wht ur saying but only on my bench. 4 I got hurt now starting back over I've been doin way to many reps and not enough lbs..great vid!! MAN.
Thank you. I've been spending 2 hours in the gym doing 3 sets to failure. I think I will cut my sets down to 2 sets to failure. I've been keeping track just like you've said. I've been gaining muscle but I think that extra set isn't needed since I'm going to true failure every set.
2 hours is too much, by about 45 minutes. Also, go to just UNDER failure.
Great advises. Thank you
This deserves 10 x its views very very important Info.
This is absolute GOLD mate!!!
You’re awesome. Learned so much from you.
Very informative video thank you so much
Key wisdom thanks Sean!
Quality advice cheers fella .
Followed you on IG. Thanks for the viddys!
Thank you for explaining it.
Ah, makes sense!! Thank you!!!
Thanks man im stuck at 90 kgs in bench press as my one max. Used to do 8 sets on bench press cause i wanted volume.. so i did 16 sets a week on chest.. gonna reduce it down to 10 sets per week and focusing on adding weights and reps instead of adding more sets. Thank you very much you are the best fitness TH-camr man
Great video bro. Truly appreciated
Thanks James
@@Sean_Nalewanyj my pleasure. The least we can do to show appreciation
So in short - "No pain no gain".
Sometimes we hear clichés and they go right over our heads either because they've been rinsed or they're considered outdated, but that one still holds relevance.
Not really, pain is almost always bad and indicates that you're hurting yourself. It should be called "discomfort", that is pretty much necessary.
@@ernoeskeli1139 There should be no pain during a workout, but there should be a burn that you feel to failure as lactic acid builds up.
The pain really comes a day or so after your workout and you can't really avoid it, as it's supposed to happen.
If you're not tearing muscle fibres, you're not going to build newer and bigger ones.
@@Longlostpuss doms (delayed onset muscle soreness) isn't really pain, it's just soreness. If the soreness is literally painful, then you did too much and aren't building muscle effectively. There should be mild soreness after a lot of work but if you're doing the same exercise many times, you won't get very sore even though you're progressing and building new muscle tissue.
Excellent video!
In my personal Excel sheet, I have a column that I call "quadratic volume". I first square the weight that I use and then multiply it by reps and sets. This way, doubling the reps or sets doubles the volume. But doubling the weight increases the volume by a factor of 4. I am therefore more motivated increasing weight, even if it pushes me back on reps.
Awesome job Sean
Great video.
Its like you said. Volume and intensity go hand in hand.
If you just focus on volume without actually pushing to failure, you will not see hypertrophic gains as the body has no incentives to grow.
On the other hand, if you focus on intensity (AKA sets to failure) keeping cumulative volume to a minimum (AKA low consistency), you will see gains but very slow gains compared to someone who kept good volume and intensity.
Thanks Sean , my name too!😮, I was doing high volume for 6 years , grew very little , in retrospect I was constantly overtraining , now I do hardly any sets , but extreme intensity and focus. Getting bigger and stronger now finally
Sean could you do a video on periodization, i.e varying the volume/intensity, the different ways to do that (concurrent, block, etc) and especially whether it's advantageous for the beginner or intermediate to be concerned about it or just stick to the same set/rep range and focus on just adding weight. Thanks.
Christian Langfield I’ll see what I can do
Thanks dude. I know it's a big topic, personally I'm just interested in whether to vary the rep range by doing 6-8 reps most of the time but every few weeks changing to 3-5 reps to try and spur some strength gain before going back to 6-8 reps for a few weeks. So switching back and forth every few weeks or maybe every month. Or alternatively vary in the same week, so for example if I'm squatting twice a week then do a 'heavy' day and 'lighter' day. All of this is for compound exercises; I do a bit of isolation stuff for the shoulders and arms but will always stick to 8-12 reps for those. What I'm talking about with periodization is the big lifts that I want to progress on. If I stick to the same rep range then I'm finding that I tend to stall eventually. Cheers.
Useful video! I just have 2 questions. Why do we talk about numbers of reps short of failure when that doesn't necessarily mean intensity? If we can do 100 reps with a given weight and stop at the 98-th, that doesn't seem too intensive because the weight would be too light.
Also, when recommending 4-8 weekly sets for small muscle groups, what does that mean for shoulders and its subdivisions?
In other words are these sets for the whole muscle or each of the subdivisions? Because it seems hard to get a good full shoulder stimulation with just 4-8 sets per week?
I started doing slow controlled reps on most of my stuff and a weight heavy enough to still do the exercise correctly and I feel it’s been working way better than doing a ton of low weight reps or doing super heavy reps
Super slow especially in the concentric motion is what triggers muscle stress the most.
Great explanation!
Love you Sean
Great info man, I’ve been working out on and off and now that I can only workout at home I want to know that I can build muscle workout a gym. I do have some weights at home.
Sean you're the best 🔥👍 your explanation is a gift for us !!! Love from India ..... a request is to Please make a video on "Why I'm getting stronger but not getting big " ?? Pls make a video on this as most of the intermediate lifters face this !
You need more protein. Also, stick to an 8-12 rep range and slow down a bit.
I just watch this guy now, not worth bothering with the others 😂
One of your best videos to date, im a bit of a high volume high intensity junkie and afraid that if i do less sets il lose gainz or not gain as much :(
I bet part of your workout is junk volume. Don't overtrain.
I loved the fact that you mentioned my favorite bodybuilder Mike Mentzer.
Sean, what do you think of 10x10 GVT? From what I understand, the idea is to use the same weight for all sets, reaching failure at the end. For this to be possible, the first several sets have to be lower intensity. Do you think it can still be effective?
That bag on the meter flopping in the wind was so damn distracting lol. Great videos and truthful information for us beginners. Thank you.
1:46 I think it is more accurate to say that repair of the various types of tissues involved in locomotion, i.e., the musculoskeletal system, which gets short-handed as "muscle growth," is a response to strain, or tension than it is to say it is a response to stress. Stress is when you find out your wife is divorcing you or you get fired or your kid gets run over by a locomotive. Strain or tension is when you push/pull a mass that is high on a particular musculoskeletal organ's maximum force generation capacity. Maximum force generation capacity is not a static trait, and it changes over the life course, from day to day, throughout a day and with each exertion. If I perform a motion with 25% of my one-rep max mass resistance, the actual force generation capacity of the musculoskeletal system performing that motion is lower after 10 reps than it was after 1, and the effect is likely non-linear as the number of exertions increases. This is why it is possible to train to failure with almost any degree of imposed resistance. It is worth noting there that the reasons for this "failure" are not mechanical or structural, i.e., the "damage" being done to the tissues is not necessarily at the level of "injury." Failure resulting from a "As Many Reps As Possible" regimen is more a result of intra- and inter-cellular transport, metabolism, waste management and energy availability. This type of "failure" is ostensibly distinct from the "failure" which occurs when a system is exposed to a level of resistance under exertion that is at the systems current "one rep max" and then a second rep is attempted, though to the best of my knowledge, the exact details of HOW these two types of failure differ are still only partially understood. If you can elucidate that question I would appreciate it.
Thank youuu
Mike Mentzer tried his damndest to get this thru peoples skulls all throughout the 80’s and 90’s.
Damn right, it's time under tension and intensity. If you're a beginner to weight lifting, do Starting Strength before anything else! Getting strong first facilitates much greater hypertrophy gains later
Hmm i understand, how long should a newbie focus on strength roughly?
yessir alot of these newbs see these ig pages and go straight to a 5 day split and most of them quit when their tendons or ligaments give out first.
World's most underrated bodybuilding channel
Decent advice as usual.
I totally agree about the margin for error being very small with Mentzer style training. However, I disagree about it being more likely to cause injury.
David Jerome Yeah in the case of Mentzer style training where both the positive and negative are done 4 seconds each with very strict form then you could be right
Sean just out of sheer curiosity what was your full H. I. T split routine for bulking and exercises from back in the day and why did you stop doing it?
Great video Sean! Can we assume that if we are getting stronger and are able to easily lift progressively heavier weight with each exercise, that we are having muscle growth? I am new to lifting. Female, 54, petite, but want to build more muscle as I get older. Progressively getting stronger and maybe seeing a little difference after about a month but not sure. Want to know if what I’m doing is working or if I need to change what I’m doing. Thank you! I hope you’re healing well after your arm surgery!
Progressive overload applies to both strength building and hypertrophy. If you are progressing, and slowly is best, then you are doing it right. If, in time, you have grown stronger but not got noticeably bigger, then you are probably training more for strength than hypertrophy (I know that seems obvious 🙂) but the point is that maybe you'll want to change your training around. However, if you want to gain muscle as you get older, there's nothing wrong with just getting stronger 💪
Whatever you do, enjoy.... there's not a lot more satisfying than a good session in the gym 👍
Good info bro
I'm retiring 5x5 and 3x8. You make a lot of sense
So when you said the 4-8 weekly sets for small muscles for that mean if I did 4 sets for literally every excersise I do I should only do 2 excersises for let’s say arms and I work arms twice a week so I would only be doin one excersise for each of my arm days or do I got this all mixed up
Great video Sean I've been looking for this kind of video for years. You've finally debunked that too.
Good job!!!
Manu Yadav Thanks Manu Glad it was helpful
Hey Sean, I hope you’re doing well, I just saw a commercial for igf1 pop up during this video. I’m researching it now but would like to hear your thoughts.
With the Mentzer 1 set approach you really have to go beyond failure or what will happen is you’ll feel your muscles deflating over time. That 1 set has to be executed very well and it’s best to have a training partner so you don’t waste the workout. Since I can’t have a consistent training partner I find it’s best to do 2-3 sets per exercise to failure (dumbbells) or near failure (barbells). 12-18 sets per week