The Ideal Number of Sets & Length of Time Per Workout

In this QUAH Sal, Adam, & Justin answer the question “Do you think it’s necessary to keep workouts under a certain length of time or number of sets? Some trainers say workouts should last no more than an hour or that you should do no more than 12-15 sets per workout. Does it really matter? Or is the total weekly volume per muscle group the most important thing to consider?”

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“The Ideal Number of Sets Per Workout ”

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[tazojj]

I started lifting at 76, currently 89. Do strong and solid 4 hour workout per week mostly dead hangs and olympic lifting. Also walk 5KM everyday. LOVE YOUR BODY PEOPLE!

[goonzsquad]

93 sets per body part with 9 min time under tension....works for me

[unpopularopinion]

I’ve found the most ideal growth for my muscles is 2 different movements per body part with 4 sets of each movement with 8-10 reps per set. Time under tension is about 35-40 second per set and my rest is 3.5x’s my time under tension per set

So a chest workout for me would be bench and incline dumbbell press..4 sets of both lifts and about 15-17 minutes for the four sets of each movement. So about 30-35 minutes for chest. Same with other body parts.

[LAMARC]

These guys give absolute gems! 7yrs of fuckin around watching other yada yada from other trainers! 15 programs bought! & I figured out.. ‘minimum amount of give for maximum return’ I.e quality over quantity.. frequency over destroying your CNS (intensity), they debunk a lot of shit and give you truth! Great chats brothers!

[bryant]

i started lifting at 53 yrs old ... did full body 3 times per week lasting approx. 1.5hrs ... grew like mad ... of course ... newbie gains ... at 54 started experimenting with splits .. started growing again on chest/back ... legs ... shoulder/arms ... 3 day split which lasts 2+ hrs with rests of 4min between compounds and 3min between isolations ... sometimes 2 min for burnout ... now 56 yrs old and looking best of life

[petercalicchio]

Full body I range between 60-75 minutes. 15-20 minutes of mobility. 3x a week

[joeee]

I do full body work outs twice a week
It’s hard for me to make it under 2hrs hitting every body part at least 4 sets

[aspen]

I do 3 full body workouts per week takes me about an hour and 10 min counting warmup I do a variation of bench deadlift squat pull up loaded carry a core lift and then I hit my lagging body parts which is bis and tris

[edschobs]

I do 3 on 1 off 3 on 1 off again
Strength Lower, Dynamic Upper, Conditioning(lower bias)
Strength Upper, Dynamic Lower, Conditioning(upper bias)

Workouts hover around 60-75 minutes.
I don’t track sets though!

Off days usually active recovery because just Days off with zero activity has proven to be super ineffective for my recovery and i just end up being sore an extra day

I’ve never been stronger and athletic in 14 years of lifting.
Now if I could only get my nutrition dialed in!

[RocCityUSA]

My opinion from 10 years+ experience and experimenting until I got it right. Approximately 10-20 sets per isolated muscle group per week. Closer to 10 for beginners closer to 20 for advanced. 2-4 times a week frequency per isolated muscle group a week and 3-5 sets per isolated muscle group per each workout . 40-80 minute weight lifting with 1-3 minute rest times and stretch the muscle after the last set for the isolated muscle group for 30 seconds. ALL SETS TO FAILURE OR 1-2 RIR. Also 10 minutes of cardio after or before each session, I suggest after, not necessarily for hypertrophy but for over all health. Sticking to these guidelines the past year or 2 has giving me the best results of all my years hypertrophy training.

[homeslice]

1. Structure your routine.
2. Start out at one set.
3. Increase each exercise by one set every week until you find your "sweet spot."
4. Use a weight that you fail in the 10-15 rep range for every set.

Works like a fkn charm!

[flipmanonline]

Atm im doing 3 days a week full body:
Back Squat, 3 sets
Bench Press, 3 sets
Deadlift, 3 sets
Bent over Row, 3 sets
Overhead Press, 3 sets

Rest days is cardio, abs and mobility excercises

[erinlove]

This is working for me. Two 20 minute workouts with 12 sets per workout each day. Upper day Monday Thursday, lower day Tuesday Friday core worked in on both days. 25 min elliptical after 2nd lifting workout. Stretch day Wed and Sat. Sunday watch football.

[MrTraveller.]

Great conversations & information. I’m so glad I recently found this Chanel. Thank you 💪🏽🔥💯

[Hudson]

With warm up, rotator cuff exercises, then training, it takes me 1.5-2 hrs depending on the day and kid interruptions

[thomasjerrison]

I do 3 different Exercises for a same muscle on different days. Each exercise with 3 sets of 8-12-10. That's works for me.

[robertlyle]

I go with the mindset of how am I currently recovering. Before having Covid, I was following push/pull/legs for about 18-20 sets per session 6 days a week because I was recovering well. Now I am having lingering neurological effects from covid making my recovery slower, so I am doing a 4 day power building split where I hit each major muscle group once a week for 12-15 high quality sets. Both ways I have seen growth.

[futurexgaming]

One thing I learned is to stop trying to be perfect. You don’t have to be most optimal according to science just continue to grow and stay consistent. If you do better focusing on one muscle group per day then do that if you can do push pull legs then go for it as long as you’re seeing progress that’s all that matters

[aqaleila]

My upper body workout is a bit longer than an hour as it’s 5 different muscles but my lower body is only about 30 minutes

[wowbud]

When you just realized you’ve been doing 30+ sets a work out for 2+ hours a day and thinking your not getting enough “sets” in 🤡.