Research

Mixed

Trained individuals performing resistance training for hypertrophy often exceed recommended weekly set volumes for specific muscle groups, particularly upper body muscles in men and lower body muscles in women, leading to disproportionate training loads.

If you are training for muscle growth, check your weekly set counts. Men often overtrain upper body (chest/arms) while women overtrain lower body (glutes/legs). Aim for balance between muscle groups rather than maximizing volume on 'aesthetic' muscles, as excessive volume may not yield extra muscle and could increase injury risk. Follow evidence-based ranges (e.g., 10-20 sets per muscle per week) rather than arbitrary high numbers.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
For some muscle groups, the WSV is higher than recommended in the literature for muscle hypertrophy. Men emphasize the UB training, while women emphasize training the LB. Moreover, the WSV performed by subjects of both genders is disproportionate between different muscle groups.
Cauê Vazquez La Scala Teixeira et al. · Motriz Revista de Educação Física · 2018

Why this rating

Cross-sectional observational study of self-reported training logs; lacks controlled intervention data to prove causality of excess volume on outcomes.

Source

Is the weekly sets volume training performed by trained subjects in accordance with training recommendations guidelines for muscle hypertrophy?

Cauê Vazquez La Scala Teixeira et al. · Motriz Revista de Educação Física · 2018

DOI 10.1590/s1980-6574201800020011

cross_sectional · n=105Cited 7×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →