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William_Steinset
William_Steinset p William Steinset
1K Post(s)
1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: December 12, 1969
Posted

Hi guys !


I am curious on how much volume you all use for gaining size !? Obviously people  are different and some need more volume than others. But in general it is of course easier to gain mass on a volume between 6 sets (for smaller muscles) and 12 - 14 max (for bigger muscles). This is because you are not burning that much calories compared to higher volume i.e 20-30 sets. It is therefore easier to eat enough to gain mass on something like 6-12 sets. Obviously time under tension is important if the volume is going to be in this range. The weight has to be a bit heavier and the tempo needs to be slower, compared to doing higher volume.

 

The calories is also the most important factor for gaining or losing weight. If you are not eating enough to support 12 sets alot of people think its the workout thats the cause of not gaining muscle. Thus, alot of people increase the number of sets in the hope that this will tear down more muscle and therefore build more. Of course this is not true since if you are not eating enough to begin with and now burning even more calories, chances are you are actually going to get smaller !

 

So how much volume do you use for gaining size ? How much calories do you eat to support this ?

MS Athelete / Super Hermanite / SHF
jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: William_Steinset

Hi guys !


I am curious on how much volume you all use for gaining size !? Obviously people  are different and some need more volume than others. But in general it is of course easier to gain mass on a volume between 6 sets (for smaller muscles) and 12 - 14 max (for bigger muscles). This is because you are not burning that much calories compared to higher volume i.e 20-30 sets. It is therefore easier to eat enough to gain mass on something like 6-12 sets. Obviously time under tension is important if the volume is going to be in this range. The weight has to be a bit heavier and the tempo needs to be slower, compared to doing higher volume.

 

The calories is also the most important factor for gaining or losing weight. If you are not eating enough to support 12 sets alot of people think its the workout thats the cause of not gaining muscle. Thus, alot of people increase the number of sets in the hope that this will tear down more muscle and therefore build more. Of course this is not true since if you are not eating enough to begin with and now burning even more calories, chances are you are actually going to get smaller !

 

So how much volume do you use for gaining size ? How much calories do you eat to support this ?

William,

 

As you know, I have been doing exclusively high volume training for the last 5 years as that is what I respond best to and my FitnessGenes report confirmed this method for me. I always do supersets or compound sets as well as drop sets with short rest periods. For small muscles, I do 5 sets of compound sets of 10 reps each for 20 reps total per compound set. This adds up to 100 total reps (not counting warm-ups) for a small muscle. For larger muscles, I do one extra high volume exercise - usually 4 or 5 sets of 12-15 reps total. Therefore, large muscles get about 150 - 175 total reps. Each workout is Push (4 muscles and abs) and Pull (4 muscles and abs) 4 days per week. Total reps per workout are around 500 to 650 reps in 60 minutes. I also do 2-3 sessions/week of HIIT sprints for 10 minutes post workout.

 

As for calories, I run a slight deficit with a day or 2 above maintenance. So far, I have gained about 5 Lbs of new muscle while maintaining the same body fat levels.

It has taken me 3 years to build up to this intensity, combined with Intermittent Fasting, to get where I am now but I have found this is what works best for me.

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: William_Steinset

Hi guys !


I am curious on how much volume you all use for gaining size !? Obviously people  are different and some need more volume than others. But in general it is of course easier to gain mass on a volume between 6 sets (for smaller muscles) and 12 - 14 max (for bigger muscles). This is because you are not burning that much calories compared to higher volume i.e 20-30 sets. It is therefore easier to eat enough to gain mass on something like 6-12 sets. Obviously time under tension is important if the volume is going to be in this range. The weight has to be a bit heavier and the tempo needs to be slower, compared to doing higher volume.

 

The calories is also the most important factor for gaining or losing weight. If you are not eating enough to support 12 sets alot of people think its the workout thats the cause of not gaining muscle. Thus, alot of people increase the number of sets in the hope that this will tear down more muscle and therefore build more. Of course this is not true since if you are not eating enough to begin with and now burning even more calories, chances are you are actually going to get smaller !

 

So how much volume do you use for gaining size ? How much calories do you eat to support this ?

All depends on the person really - I'm like John and respond better to high volume, with lots of sets.

 

And calories? I just eat ALL OF THEM! hahahaha :-D

 

Did you see my video on reps and sets a while back @William_Steinset?

 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
William_Steinset
William_Steinset p William Steinset
1K Post(s)
1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: December 12, 1969
Posted
Posted By: jmboiardi

William,

 

As you know, I have been doing exclusively high volume training for the last 5 years as that is what I respond best to and my FitnessGenes report confirmed this method for me. I always do supersets or compound sets as well as drop sets with short rest periods. For small muscles, I do 5 sets of compound sets of 10 reps each for 20 reps total per compound set. This adds up to 100 total reps (not counting warm-ups) for a small muscle. For larger muscles, I do one extra high volume exercise - usually 4 or 5 sets of 12-15 reps total. Therefore, large muscles get about 150 - 175 total reps. Each workout is Push (4 muscles and abs) and Pull (4 muscles and abs) 4 days per week. Total reps per workout are around 500 to 650 reps in 60 minutes. I also do 2-3 sessions/week of HIIT sprints for 10 minutes post workout.

 

As for calories, I run a slight deficit with a day or 2 above maintenance. So far, I have gained about 5 Lbs of new muscle while maintaining the same body fat levels.

It has taken me 3 years to build up to this intensity, combined with Intermittent Fasting, to get where I am now but I have found this is what works best for me.

 

John

I love using high volume, my issue is that it can be hard to eat enough at that point. I already eat 3000-4000 calories a day which not only costs a lot of money in the end but takes up a lot of time. So for me I cant really start eating more because I am prioritizing other aspects of life at the moment. Plus when I did high volume I would go to 60 sets in a workout (not kidding, literally 60), supersetting like crazy... which im sure is a bit to much.

MS Athelete / Super Hermanite / SHF
muscular strength
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