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Is one good set enough?
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Posted by: Lama
I've been reading up on HIT. The late Mike Mentzer and 6 time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates advocate it. I know that they are blessed with great genetics, that nobody but their exact DNA twins can look exactly like them, and that they may have used steroids to get at their superhuman physiques.
All I am asking for is if one good set is enough for building muscle and, obviously, gaining strength. By one good set, I mean done with a weight that will allow the lifter to perform 4 to 12 repetitions in perfect form and two movements (one compound and one isolation) for small muscle groups (biceps, triceps, shoulders) and three movements (one or two compound and one or two isolation) for larger muscle groups (chest, back, legs, abs).
Master Trainer, an anti-HIT site, even says that out of 55 studies, only 3 show slight benefits from multiple sets.
If anyone here has trained for months or years with one set and a couple of movements (read: has real world experience with this), please reply and tell me what results you got.
Posted by: vanity
I like the low set/high intensity approach.
The more sets you do the more your intensity level falls so you don't really gain that much from high volume in the end.
You will have only slighly better gains if you do more sets. Is it really worth the extra time and effort? That's up to each individual to decide.
Still though , I think it's good to throw in some high volume training into your routine every once in a while just to keep you body guessing.
Posted by: beefydude
I find that I can do better, heavier sets after the initial, or second set. So if I were to limit myself to one set, I don't think I'd lift as much. Plus, I tend to want to warm up a bit on my first set to prevent injury. So in my books 2-4 sets is better.
Posted by: Mudge
It doesn't take me months or years to see that I need more than one set.
Yates did multiple sets, but his "warmups" still consisted of heavy weights, he did not just do "one set," he called everything else a "warmup" if it was not his high working weight.
Posted by: beefydude
I didn't mean that one should warm up with little or no weight. I still go quite high on my first set, but I go higher after. I tend to go up, and down a bit, then up more, etc. I kind of "zig zag" But if I only did one set, I don't think I'd be able to ever go as high as I end up doing.
Posted by: vanity
I didn't mean doing only one set.
The warm up set should be understood.
You warm up with a decent weight and then you follow that with
a heavy work set.
Non-believers should give it a shot for 6 weeks. You may surprise yourselves.
Posted by: Lama
Chad Waterbury, a T-mag contributor, believes that high rep warmups are useless. "The key to injury prevention is to wean yourself off warm-ups," he said. The human body should be taught to take action without having to be warmed up. (Waterbury has trained members of the military's special force units, guys who don't have time to "warm-up" before calling their muscles into action.)
Pretty convincing, I mean, when somebody asks you to help move the couch or the refrigerator you can't just say, "let me warm up first."
But it's true that you can lift heavier weight with a progressive low rep warm-up so warm-ups are not useless, just impractical for real world strength.
Posted by: nectron101
heheh... one good set... why don't you stay @ home drinking beer and eating potat-chips in front of the TV...
you can get lean muscle by thinking deeply and convincing yourself that your excercising!!!!! cool huh?
Posted by: vanity
try both methods and then maybe you will be in a position to make an informed comment.
Posted by: HoldDaMayo
typically after a warmup... lets just say for example... decline bench... what % of your max weight and how many reps you would say is optimal to get the best results from a single set?
Posted by: gr81
I don't think that using this one set approach is a good thing for a beginner. it instills the idea that you don't need to do as much work, you need to be extremely intense, not just on one set, but on every set. maybe when you have worked your weight up after 6-7 years of training when hypertrophy is proven to be reached with lower reps, or you start doing methamphetamines like Mike Mentzer then you can use that method. Bottom line is that it may be a tool to use sometimes, low sets and things like that, but IMO it will nto be beneficial to a genetically average person looking to gain mass. you need to put in the work, not cut it short. As far as warming up, cardio vascular work is better thanb high rep weight sets for getting the muscles warmed up.
Posted by: HoldDaMayo
well, Im not a beginner... but I'm not an expert either...
I see the truth, and the truth is your body adapts...
Being able to use different types of sets... drop sets, super sets, etc... helps you to get more out of your body...
that's why I am interested in the one set concept...
Posted by: gr81
it isn;t enough though over long periods of training time. you aren't lifting the heavy weight that Dorian Yates or Mike Mentzer was so by definition your set cannot be as intense as theirs which is why the one set theory is so successful. make sense?
Posted by: HoldDaMayo
the point is, not to make it the norm, but if I want to mix in some 1 set lifts to my workout, i want to know that most effective way to do it... I never mentioned anything about long period of training... if that's your point, I agree, it can't be "the way a person trains" but it can be a "tool that diversifies your workout"
that make sense?
Posted by: vanity
I think the best thing to do is to get to "know" your body inside out and then custom design routines for it, always progressing, always tweaking things. Keep things organized, Plan your workouts beforehand, keep training logs etc...
and eat, eat , eat.
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I agree GR81: for beginners it's better to do more sets and lighter reps. This will help them learn proper form and reduce injuries.
Posted by: vanity
HoldDaMayo: don't worry about percentages.
Just make sure that your final rep ( rep 6) is very hard but not impossible do.
Posted by: patbuck
Hey,
What do you guys think of that?
Warm up Bench Press, 2 sets 50% max, 70% max. and then:
Bench press 2 set 8-10
Incline DB press 2 set 8-10
Fly flat 1 set 8-10
Each set would be done to failure.
This would be part of a 4 days a week training.
The purpose is to gain mass...
Is that enough sets for pec?
Posted by: tenxyearsxgone
The amount of sets you are going to do should be prescribed based on the total amount of sets you are looking for int he workout and the amount of exercises comprising that workout. For example if you are doing 75-80% of ur 1RM for working sets for hypertrophy and doing 8-12 reps you can up to 4 sets of a particular exercise as long as it fits into your set scheme for the day. However, if you are working 85% plus of ur 1RM then I'd say no more than two sets in the 4-6 set range for a particular lift. Then again, this all depends on your variables...your recuperability, how u feel that day, your supplements, are you taking steroids or not etc etc etc. Personally less sets and reps for higher % of 1RM and more sets/reps for lower % of your 1RM ...
Posted by: patbuck
What is the 1RM?
Posted by: tenxyearsxgone
1rm = your one rep max ... what you can do for only one rep
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