THE SHORT AND SWEET GUIDE TO GETTING STRONGER & BIGGER BY ELITE COACH BORGE FAGERLI WWW.BORGEFAGERLI.COM I have been very vocal about my views on volume and frequency throughout the years, and it is about time to provide a short summary. As research evolves, we are getting more information about what works for an average of subjects to build a muscle bigger and stronger. On an individual level, 25 years of experience with close to 5000 clients has enabled me to acquire a few insights on what will also work on an individual level, when the general guidelines fall short or don’t work at all. I don’t think it is very productive to get lost in the math of lifting, where some start looking at totals (i.e. tonnage or volume-load as a function of reps x sets x load). Tonnage or volume load doesn’t necessarily equate to hypertrophy. So what does? How Muscles Grow Hypertrophy, the technical term for muscle growth, is when your muscles get bigger from exercise. It's driven mainly by a force called mechanical tension. When applying a load or resistance which tries to stretch your muscle fibers while you are contracting against it to lift it or to lower it under control, you are applying mechanical tension to the tissue. The more resistance you apply, the more your muscles *should* feel this mechanical tension - but not necessarily on a fiber level. The force the muscle is able to exert depends on how fast or slow it contracts, known as the force-velocity relationship. Slow contractions make your muscles exert more force compared to quick ones, because actin and myosin, the contractile proteins inside the muscle – which look almost like Velcro – “latch” onto and pull on each other, and slow movement velocities ensure that the “Velcro” has sufficient time to do that. Another important factor is the length-tension relationship, which means your muscles are stronger at longer lengths and weaker at shorter lengths, with a few exceptions. One example is the gluteus which is also very strong when contracted, designed by nature to propel you forward by applying a strong force when the foot is just underneath your hips and slightly behind you - as in running or sprinting. There is currently interesting research showing an added stimulus for hypertrophy when stretching a muscle under load as in the eccentric/lowering part of the repetition, or when using exercises which puts sufficient force on the muscle at the end of the range of motion. This is called “stretch-mediated hypertrophy”, and is most likely stimulated by titin – another filament inside the muscle fiber which can act as a spring being stretched – as well as channels that open and allow calcium ions to enter. The latter is a stimulus but also a fatigue mechanism. The debate is raging to what extent this mechanism occurs in the long-term, since one of the adaptation is an increase in fiber and fascicle length which will diminish the stretch. Even if the jury is still out, we’re still going to be doing a variety of exercises where some focus on the mid-range of the movement, and some focus on the end-range or stretched part of a movement. An example is barbell curls vs preacher curls. The biceps curl has the most resistance when the elbow is bent 90 degrees and pretty much zero resistance at the bottom when the biceps is stretched the most: Compare this to the preacher curl where there is resistance at the bottom of the movement when the biceps is stretched: Both have their place in a training program, and even if we can claim that biasing longer length movements should provide a better stimulus for muscle growth, it is also more fatiguing (due to calcium ion influx which causes muscle damage) – and this added fatigue needs more recovery before you can train that muscle effectively again. The Role of Fatigue and “Failure” As mentioned previously, when you get closer to the end of a set and your muscles start to fatigue, your contractions naturally slow down. This slowdown helps actin and myosin, special proteins in your muscle cells, to latch onto each other and produce more force. To reach the highest level of mechanical tension, which is crucial for muscle growth (hypertrophy), you need to either lift sufficiently heavy loads or approach the failure/fatigue point by doing more repetitions with medium and light loads. This also aligns with the size principle, which dictates that smaller motor units are used first, and larger ones are recruited as you work harder. It is generally advised to lift loads that you can do a minimum of 5 repetitions with and a maximum of 20-25 repetitions with. Even though some research has indicated up to 30 repetitions to be effective for stimulating muscle growth, in a practical sense this will move you more towards the strength-endurance part of the spectrum, be very uncomfortable to do on a regular basis, and you will be better off lifting moderately heavy weights with low to moderate repetitions. So, pushing yourself to failure or close to it, is important because that's when your muscles experience the most mechanical tension, especially towards the end of tough sets. Deliberately slowing down your lifting cadence will not necessarily cause hypertrophy, as the body will then avoid recruiting all muscle fibers. The Chicken-or-Egg Paradox of Progressive Overload Progressive overload is simply making your workouts harder over time, and most have gotten this relationship backward. It’s not that you need to push yourself harder and harder, it’s the fact that as you get stronger you need to stay at the SAME level of effort by lifting heavier weights, doing more repetitions, or balancing both in comparison to your previous sessions. So the true relationship: Being able to progress in load or reps or both in your strength training is a sign that your workouts are effective. It's important to note that progressive overload doesn't mean doing more sets or exercises, and shortening rest periods just makes it more challenging on the cardiorespiratory system. Progressive overload is about consistently getting stronger over time by either lifting heavier loads for the same number of reps, or lifting more reps with the same load (up to a certain point where the load is eventually so light that you’re doing more than 25 reps with it). This progress might not happen every week or month, depending on how long you've been training. 1kg per week is 52kg per year(!) Maybe possible for a beginner on some exercises, but not for someone close to their genetic and hormonal ceiling, or on smaller isolation exercises. Finding the Right Repetition Range for Hypertrophy As previously mentioned, hypertrophy can be triggered with various repetition ranges, but the best results usually come from doing 5 to 25 repetitions per set, especially when you push yourself to the limit. In practice, most people will notice that they get more growth out of certain rep ranges, most likely due to perceptions and preference and not necessarily physiology. Since higher reps (15-20+) generate more fatigue and lower reps (1-5) will put more strain on joints and connective tissue, the 512 rep range is a good compromise, and my recommendation is 5-8 reps as a "sweet spot" where you should spend the most of your training time. This range minimizes calcium-ion buildup and thus fatigue in your central nervous system, while getting all those “effective reps” where you activate all muscle fibers from the very first rep. Some may find that they prefer slightly more repetitions, and some exercises also subjectively feel “safer” that way, so doing up to 8-15 repetitions is also perfectly viable as long as you manage the added fatigue properly. The Optimal Rest Periods Taking longer breaks between sets is better for hypertrophy. Research shows that shorter rest periods lead to less muscle growth because of the buildup of metabolites that inhibit signals to your muscles. Even if you subjectively “feel” it is working your muscles better – the actual physiology shows that you are now getting more metabolic and cardiovascular stress, and less muscular stress with less muscle growth. In fact, a 1min rest period probably requires you to do twice as many sets for the same muscle growth due to the drop in overall quality. To optimize your hypertrophy-focused workouts, rest for at least 2-3 minutes and even up to 5mins between your working sets. Finding the Right Number of Sets for Hypertrophy The number of sets you perform in a training session is equally as crucial as the repetition range. Maximum hypertrophy results from performing 3 to 6 sets per muscle group per training sessions, divided into 1-3 exercises depending on the muscle group and goals - with a few caveats that I will discuss soon. This range ensures muscle stimulation without pushing the body into overtraining territory. Doing more sets than this generally requires that you stay further away from failure on each set, keeping a minimum of 2 repetitions in reserve. Starting with a Single Working Set For those new to hypertrophy training, unsure of their current limits, or if you have been training with excessive training volumes for a long time and need a “reset”, I recommend starting with just one working set. This has the added benefit of finding your fatigue or failure point. Understanding where that failure point lies is crucial in training effectively and safely, since we can’t really discuss training volume without also taking into account proximity to failure. Always recalibrate your point of muscular failure by choosing exercises that are safe to do so on. A barbell bench press or squat without a spotter are not good choices, whereas a dumbbell bench press or doing squats in a power rack with safety bars are better – and machine exercises are generally the safest for trying that last repetition you think you won’t be able to make. Many are surprised to find that they have actually been training 3 or more reps from failure when they thought they were 0-1 reps from failure, and correcting this will provide immediate progress - with fewer sets that now have higher quality. Going to failure has a recovery cost, so I generally advise to use it sparingly and only on a single set - or on the final set when doing multiple sets. As you can see, 1 rep in reserve (1RIR) provides the best stimulus:fatigue ratio, as that final rep can require up to 2448hrs extra recovery! (Ilustration from: Refalo MC et al., Influence of Resistance Training Proximity-to-Failure on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2023 Mar;53(3):649-665. Epub 2022 Nov 5) After mastering this, you can gradually introduce an additional set, but now staying 1-2 repetitions away from failure (1-2RIR) on most sets. This methodical approach helps determine the failure point without risking overtraining or injury. The most *sustainable* range is between 2 to 4 sets per muscle group in a workout, depending on how often you train that muscle group. This not only guarantees adequate muscle stimulation but also gives the body ample time for recovery, reducing the risk of overtraining and potential injuries. However, individual differences in recovery capacity and training experience may lead some to benefit from higher or lower training volumes, so it might be worth experimenting with. Advanced trainees might occasionally perform up to 5-6 sets (when training at 0-2 reps in reserve) for a particular muscle group to elicit growth, or up to 8 sets if splitting that volume over at least 2 exercises and doing most of the sets with 2-3+ reps in reserve. Powerlifters often do several submaximal sets at higher loads to get in sufficient volume and practice with an exercise, without putting excess strain on recovery, so that they can work at higher frequencies (strength display has a strong skill component). Conversely, beginners or those with limited recovery will find that 1-3 sets suffice, and instead spending more time on their warm-up sets to get more practice with the chosen exercise. Summary of Volume Recommendations: 1-3 sets, up to 4-6 sets As each workout generates a certain amount of fatigue (both local and central, or peripheral and CNS as they are usually referred to as), there will be a dose-response relationship that looks like a bell curve vs. a straight line that just tapers off - i.e. as you go beyond the 4-6 set per muscle group range you may incur a host of negative effects. Always remember to listen to your body and adjust accordingly, while maintaining the balance between stimulus and recovery. This leads us to the next important variable – training frequency. Training Frequency Relative to Sets and Proximity to Failure Training frequency, or how often you train a specific muscle group (and not just how many workouts in a week), is intertwined with the number of sets you perform and how close you train to muscular failure. When determining the right frequency, it's vital to understand recovery. Training a muscle group intensely, especially closer to failure and with higher reps, necessitates a longer recovery period. For instance, if you’re consistently training with a high number of sets in the upper range of the recommendations, and to failure (or 0-1 reps in reserve), your muscles and nervous system might require 72-96 hours/3-4 days or more to recover fully before the next session. A recommended frequency range is to train each muscle group 2-3 times per week. However, if you’re hitting the higher end of the set range and consistently working close to failure, twice a week or even every 4-5 days is probably closer to optimal. Conversely, if you’re still finding your sweet spot and training with fewer sets, or not pushing as close to failure, you might find that 3x/week frequency, such as in a fullbody program, allows for adequate recovery and growth stimulus. The infamous Norwegian Powerlifting Frequency Project showed the best gains in both strength and hypertrophy from training each lift 6x/week - but this was also a high volume study where the 3x/week group spent 3hrs per workout in the gym AND they were elite lifters - so the benefit seen in the 6x/week group was due to better fatigue management. I don’t think anyone reached failure on any set during the 12 week study, so we should keep that in mind when interpreting the results. Listening to Your Body Over time, your body will send signals. Persistent soreness, reduced strength, or stalled progress might mean you’re either training too frequently with insufficient recovery or pushing too hard in each session. Conversely, if you feel underworked and see minimal progression, consider upping the volume or frequency. The simple fact that training correctly should allow you to consistently add a rep here and a little load there, means that you have the best indicator of whether your chosen volume-RIRfrequency combination is working. Also remember that you can get away with temporary overreaching, or doing too many sets too close to failure, for a period of 4-6 weeks – but if you begin stagnating or regressing without any obvious changes to your sleep, nutrition or stress levels you have been overdoing it and should scale back. Tying It All Together The synergy between the number of sets, proximity to failure, and training frequency is nuanced. Adjust one, and it might necessitate adjustments in the others. The art of hypertrophy training lies in this balancing act. By starting cautiously, listening to your body, logging your progress in a notebook or app, and being willing to adapt, you'll find the formula that drives your maximum muscle growth while ensuring recovery and long-term progress. Choosing the Right Exercises for Hypertrophy In hypertrophy-focused workouts, pick exercises that require less body stabilization. This lets you concentrate more on the target muscle, reducing the involvement of other muscles in stability. This sounds counterintuitive since many recommend freeweight, complex and more unstable exercises to build more “functional” strength that also involves stabilizers, but stable exercises put more tension on the target muscle, which is crucial for growth. So, selecting exercises that mainly engage the muscle group you want to develop is vital. The more muscle groups that are involved in an exercise, such as in compound movements, the more divided the stimulus will be. A muscle that is the limiting factor in a given exercise is also the one that achieves the most stimulus. If your lower back is the limiting factor in a barbell squat, you won’t properly challenge your glutes and quads. If your triceps are the limiting factor in your overhead press or bench press, your shoulders and pectorals won’t receive the proper stimulus. One could argue that if you keep doing that exercise, the limiting muscle will become stronger and thus less of a limiting factor, and that over time this should allow you to train the other muscle groups more effectively. But you are also spending a lot of time improving a limiting muscle group without improving the target muscle group, so include one isolation exercise for that muscle group in your program to ensure complete development. For quads that would be leg extensions, for glutes: hip thrust or glute bridge, for shoulders: a cable or dumbbell lateral raise. Also, adapt exercises to your unique body structure. Some movements may work well for one person but not for another due to differences in individual structures. This also goes for machines, there is no “best” brand or machine, try them out and make sure to adjust seats, handles, platforms and foot/hand position to see if it works better – but if it doesn’t feel right, choose something else. There is even research to show that self-selecting exercises works better for muscle growth. Training should be enjoyable, even if you’re straining and lifting heavy weights! Summary To sum it up, achieving hypertrophy involves understanding mechanical tension, progressive overload, the right repetition and set ranges, proximity to failure, strategic rest times, training frequency, and exercise selection that suits your physique. By grasping these elements, you can effectively and strategically optimize your way to muscle growth and strength. For most lifters, each movement or muscle group can be worked around 2-3x/week at a maximum of 2-4 hard, or 4-6 moderately hard (1-2RIR), or 5-8 submaximal (2-3+RIR) sets each workout, in the rep range you prefer. My most preferred rep range is 5-8, but up to 8-12 reps is perfectly viable – and probably preferable on certain muscle groups or exercises. I suggest starting with 1 set to failure, and then add 1 more set every 3-4 weeks to see if you get better gains – but if you can get more out of less stay there as the most sustainable approach. I’ve had clients make incredible gains on 1 set fullbody routines 2x/week during life stages where they just wanted to maximize their ROI while taking care of various life challenges. I think spending some time at both higher than 8-12 and lower than 5 reps is wise on occasion, e.g. for 1-6 week cycles - unless your goal is to specifically improve strength-endurance or absolute strength, respectively. Let your instincts guide you. Lifting closer to a 1RM with low reps will usually yield the best gains in 1RM due to the principle of specificity, and skill (practicing the test more often) plays a big role in the ability to display true 1RM strength. If you for various reasons want or need to get in a higher weekly volume you would probably be better off increasing frequency instead of volume per workout - unless you are already training 3x/week - but experiment to see what works better for you. If you’re not consistently getting stronger (improving reps or adding weight) AND generally feeling under-recovered, you should reduce volume, frequency or both. This goes for all of you who for whatever reason are suffering from compromised recovery, whether it be: Sleep deprivation (personal experience from when my son was a year old and would wake up every hour, every night) calorie deficits (planned diets or unintentional undereating) poor stress management (create awareness around your work/study habits, boundaries and what you say Yes or No to, work on mental resilience and fortitude). EXAMPLE TRAINING PROGRAM I have provided an example program to demonstrate how you can put theory into practice. This fullbody template done 3x/week is the most universally applicable for everyone with at least a year of training experience, normal jobs/studies, family/social commitments and average stress levels. Programming for youth/elderly, people with extreme stress levels, for natural bodybuilding/fitness competitors or athletes is beyond the scope of this guide. The exercises are just suggestions, and can be substituted with whatever you prefer or equipment you have available. I suggest 1-2 days of rest between workouts, so e.g. Mon-WedFri is one format that works great for those who wants their weekends off. Saturday+Sunday and then another workout some time during the week is also workable for the Weekend Warriors. I also suggest 2-3+mins of rest between each working set. For warm-ups, unless you’re walking or riding a bike to the gym, 3-5mins on the treadmill is a good idea. Dynamic movements such as shown here can also be a great way to warm up. EXAMPLE TRAINING PROGRAM - CONTINUED... You can pair up exercises with opposing muscle groups or upper/lower and reduce rest periods slightly, so instead of waiting 3 minutes between each set of bench press on Day 1, you can rest for 60-90secs, do a set of pulldowns, rest 60-90secs and then do the next set on bench press, and so on. After the general warm-up, do at least 1 warm-up set per exercise, 2-3 if you’re going to lift heavier weights. Don’t wear yourself out on these warm-up sets. My recommendation: 50% of working set weight x 5-8 reps 70-80% of working set weight x 3-5 reps (optional) 90-100% of working set weight for 1-2 reps If you’ve already done an exercise for a muscle group, 1 warmup set should be enough. Example: If you did bench press earlier in the warm-up and you’re going to do a pectoral fly or triceps pushdown, 1 set at 70-80% of the working set weight is sufficient. EXAMPLE TRAINING PROGRAM - CONTINUED... For volume, I recommend starting with 1 set to failure (where safe) the first 2-4 weeks, even if you’re used to training with higher volumes. This will ensure that you have recalibrated your ability to train to failure, so that you can truly train at 1-2RIR going forward. Then, add 1 more set to all exercises, or just the ones you want to prioritise, and stay with 2 sets for another 3-4 weeks, evaluating your progress. If you’re happy, stay there. If you want to explore your volume limits, add 1 more set every 3-4 weeks until you reach a maximum of 5-6 sets OR begin to stagnate or regress. The next step would be to experiment with different frequencies and repeat the volume exploration, but that is beyond the scope of this guide. Hope this was valuable, and if you have any questions - don’t hesitate to contact me at: coach@borgefagerli.com Finally, let’s look at my suggested program template. EXAMPLE TRAINING PROGRAM Resources: www.BorgeFagerli.com - English Homepage www.BorgeFagerli.no - Norwegian Homepage Connect with me:
