Mixed
Single-joint (SJ) exercises produce greater hypertrophy of specific limb muscles (e.g., hamstrings, rectus femoris, long head of triceps) than multi-joint (MJ) exercises, necessitating a fractional set-count (less than 1:1) for MJ exercises when prescribing volume for those specific muscles.
When programming for specific muscles, recognize that multi-joint exercises (like squats or bench press) may not fully fatigue all target muscles (like hamstrings or triceps long head). If hypertrophy of these specific muscles is a priority, consider adding single-joint isolation exercises or counting the multi-joint sets as less than one full set for that specific muscle. For general strength or overall mass, the standard 1:1 count is likely sufficient.
a logical rationale can be made for SJ exercises producing greater hypertrophy of the limb muscles than MJ exercises (at least from specific exercises and under certain conditions). This would mean that sets for a MJ exercise should be counted fractionally for select muscles compared to an SJ exercise (i.e., less than a 1:1 ratio) when prescribing set-volumes for given muscles.
Why this rating
The paper is a perspective/review synthesizing acute EMG data and conflicting longitudinal studies; it does not present new primary longitudinal data.
Source
Calculating Set-Volume for the Limb Muscles with the Performance of Multi-Joint Exercises: Implications for Resistance Training Prescription
Brad J. Schöenfeld et al. · Sports · 2019
DOI 10.3390/sports7070177
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