Because it depends on the muscles being trained, could anyone give a basic outline of the number of sets to perform per exercise?
I normally start off with 4 sets for strength at 5-6 reps. and end up doing 2-3 sets with higher reps for hypertrophy. Nothing set in stone though. I just kinda go by feeling and experience…
I do 5x5 on monday, 3x3 on wed, and 1 set PR on friday. AKA the texas method. Thats strength training though.
When I do accessory work for the bis, tris, calves, I do 3 sets of higher reps. 2 Sets for the abs of higher reps.
Usually no more than 10, but sometimes I’ll go up to 15 or 16, and as low as 6. Depends on rep count, load, rest between sets, and frequency. I mix it up often, within general guidelines.
As many as it takes me to warm up for my top set… Or my 2 top sets at different rep ranges.
back & quads 12-15
chest 12
shoulders 10-12
hamstrings & triceps 9
biceps & calves 7
traps 4-6
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Usually no more than 10, but sometimes I’ll go up to 15 or 16, and as low as 6. Depends on rep count, load, rest between sets, and frequency. I mix it up often, within general guidelines. [/quote]
Now here is my question, when you say you do up to 16 sets, how many exercises are you referring to? Are you saying you do 16 sets on one exercise? Or are you saying you do 16 sets total, over all exercises? Like if you do the barbell curl, do you do 16 sets?
[quote]elano wrote:
I do 5x5 on monday, 3x3 on wed, and 1 set PR on friday. AKA the texas method. Thats strength training though.
[/quote]
Never heard of the Texas Method. How many reps is the PR set? And how’s it working out for you?
[quote]Bwick wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
Usually no more than 10, but sometimes I’ll go up to 15 or 16, and as low as 6. Depends on rep count, load, rest between sets, and frequency. I mix it up often, within general guidelines.
Now here is my question, when you say you do up to 16 sets, how many exercises are you referring to? Are you saying you do 16 sets on one exercise? Or are you saying you do 16 sets total, over all exercises? Like if you do the barbell curl, do you do 16 sets?[/quote]
Sorry for my vagueness.
That would be total sets per bodypart, usually split up between 2 or 3 exercises.
[quote]GDollars37 wrote:
elano wrote:
I do 5x5 on monday, 3x3 on wed, and 1 set PR on friday. AKA the texas method. Thats strength training though.
Never heard of the Texas Method. How many reps is the PR set? And how’s it working out for you?[/quote]
Right now I am doing 5RM but the weight is getting pretty heavy now and when I start missing reps, I will go down to 3RM, then the same with 2RM and then work on 1RM, then back to 5. This program is great. It has given me very good strength gains as well as about 10 lbs of mass so far. I am doing the stronglift’s version except that I do power cleans instead of rows(mark rippetoe also talks about it in practical programming).
Here’s a link.
stronglifts.com/the-texas-method-
strength-training-for-intermediate-lifters/
Download the template off that site if you want to know more. I am going to just stick with the program until it stops working and hopefully I will be at the advanced level by then. I recommend this program.
Whatever you do always make sure to use the same number of sets per body part every workout 
umm
11 for chest
like 13 for back lol
10 for quads
4 for hamstrings
6-8 for bis
around 9 for tris
i barely train shoulders but when i do
probaly 7-10
calves bout 5 (when i train them)
theres a huge decfrease over time in my strength too.
for example ill start my chest workout with 100 pound dumb bells for pressing.
but the end of my workout im using 30 pounders for flyes.
my quad strength never tapers too far down though. ill start off 4 plates on the ballistic leg press and finish with 3.
only significant drop is going onto the leg ext. i use like 25 pounders but i just shoot for high reps, i dont even count em.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Whatever you do always make sure to use the same number of sets per body part every workout :/[/quote]
why?
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
As many as it takes me to warm up for my top set… Or my 2 top sets at different rep ranges.
[/quote]
x2
Some days, if I’m feeling stiff or I’m training early in the morning, that might be more. Others, if I’m feeling especially warmed-up I’ll do less.
It also somewhat depends on the weight being used and the exercise. You probably need more warm-up sets to do a set of brutally heavy rack pulls than you do for a set of concentration curls. Or, you need more for a set of 405 on bench than a set of 135.
There really isn’t any magic number. Just do enough to where you feel sufficiently warmed up for your work set(s), but not too many so that you burn yourself out in the process.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
i barely train shoulders but when i do
probaly 7-10
calves bout 5 (when i train them)[/quote]
Why do you avoid shoulders and calves regularly, Live?
That’s such an odd question.
who knows. It is so dependent on the program. things like EDT have varying sets. When O-lifting the classics can have anywhere from 5 to 12 sets. same for ME work in power lifting progs.
Even BBing has all kinds of fucked up set variations in terms of things like rack-running and drop setting.
Hard to say sir,
-chris
A more helpful thing to calculate would be the number of meaningful reps performed per week, particularly with the barbell, which is a lot more systemically draining than dumbbell or machine work.
Whatever anyone else does is of little relevance to you and your situation. It can be helpful to log what you do so you can see what kind of volume works best for you…but that too will change based on how well fed you are, how well you are sleeping, stress, the season, your strength level, etc…
One per body part. It’s a wonderful life. :]
1 workset/bodypart like esk 