Counter intuitive: more sets for stronger body parts, less sets for weaker parts

[Biggerp73]

I've noticed lately that my genetically stronger body parts, like shoulders for example, can benefit from more sets. Basically the more the better, within limits. But with genetically weak parts, like my chest, I really have to limit myself to just a couple exercises with a couple hard sets, and maybe a little bit of pump work at the end, but no more.

 

[Ferenor]

Probably because your chest can recover only from that number of sets but your shoulders need more to get to that point

 

[qbkilla]

Good thread I don't have an answer. I do think it's common practice to jack up volume and frequency for lagging parts, maybe even very high over time to see if they respond. But open to hear what people think.

For me delts are weak. I hit everything with 8 sets. Going to work my way up to 20 sets for them just to see if it has an effect.

All this is assuming someone isn't over training and bad form isn't the reason those parts are lagging.

From what I've read from the evidence based guys 2x per week is sufficient to hit a muscle any more is just to accumulate more volume.

 

[Wintermaul]

Cant say much on the topic without talking about the complete training split. Shoulders and chest, and triceps usually work together when trained. I would look at how you set up your workout to see whats going on, what can improve etc. Maybe you work your chest on shoulder-movements, or triceps-movements? Then you tear your chest before shoulders/triceps, and it seems like you could benefit from more shoulder-/triceps-work.
I know Dave Palumbo usually go down in volume for lagging body parts, he claims its the lack of rest they are lagging, not because of volume. Others say like qbkilla that they ramp up volume to get up lagging bodyparts.
My self i like to train very intense, so i cant do more volume on the same workout, if i do more volume i need another extra workout a week.
Im curious, how did you notice that your shoulders benefit from more sets? Did they grow very much in a short time when you added sets? And you tried the same for chest and it didnt follow?
Again, its hard to say something without knowing the workout-plan. Its the sets or work over a week, or 2weeks that says if your recovering enough or doing enough, what exercises etc.

 

[Simon90]

My arms are weakest bodypart. I've tried less sets/less volume and they didn't improve atall. For me I need more volume for the weaker parts

 

[jeroendebleser]

There's differences between the recovery rates of different muscle groups, there's your explanation. You can only find this out through trial and error. Finding what works for you (and what doesn't) training wise is a big part of being a successful BB'er.

Anyone who claims to have the answers for everyone is full of shit imo.

 

[fisther69]

Well, it depends on training types..bodybuilders may do endless sets and reps on a given body part

Powerlifter and strongmen go train a lift for a shitload of reps and sets and just hit minor-moderate work on assistance work afterwards to benefit the main lift..not necessarily aesthetics

And in your getbig days you always said how big muscles only came from getting stronger..therefore I imagine you used your shoulders and back quite a bit more on chest movements to heave the weight.

Just lighten the load for a while and go crazy sets and reps on 2 exercises for chest until you build that mind muscle connection to that area better

 

[headtrainer]

I've noticed lately that my genetically stronger body parts, like shoulders for example, can benefit from more sets. Basically the more the better, within limits. But with genetically weak parts, like my chest, I really have to limit myself to just a couple exercises with a couple hard sets, and maybe a little bit of pump work at the end, but no more.

One Size Does Not Fit All.​

Go with what works best for you!

 

[headtrainer]

Good thread I don't have an answer. I do think it's common practice to jack up volume and frequency for lagging parts, maybe even very high over time to see if they respond. But open to hear what people think.

For me delts are weak. I hit everything with 8 sets. Going to work my way up to 20 sets for them just to see if it has an effect.

All this is assuming someone isn't over training and bad form isn't the reason those parts are lagging.

From what I've read from the evidence based guys 2x per week is sufficient to hit a muscle any more is just to accumulate more volume.

Shoulders and back are the largest muscle groups in the upper body. Therefore, they can handle a lot of volume. I have good genetics in my shoulders. When I increased my training volume for shoulder from 9 sets once a week to 21 sets once a week—my shoulders got bigger! However, they did not get any stronger. On the contrary, they seemed to get a little weaker and wasn’t able to get as many reps per set with the higher volume approach. My chest is a weak point and I gained only a tiny bit of muscle by increasing volume from 9 sets per week to 20 per week. This tells me that genetics are the primary factor in how big a muscle will grow!

I’ve also learned that bodybuilding isn’t about how much weight you can lift. It’s about using the proper exercises and form—and then breaking down the muscles so that they grow back bigger over the long haul. I think for powerlifting the work sets need to be reduced by at least half of what’s works for bodybuilding. Powerlifting is just about gaining more strength to move a weight from point A to point B. Bodybuilding isn’t about continually gaining strength once you’ve reached the intermediate stage of training training, rather it’s about tearing down the muscle with volume and good form. Even if you do everything to perfection, lagging body parts will NEVER catch up with genetically gifted body parts if you continue to train the stronger body parts optimally.

 

[headtrainer]

Good thread I don't have an answer. I do think it's common practice to jack up volume and frequency for lagging parts, maybe even very high over time to see if they respond. But open to hear what people think.

For me delts are weak. I hit everything with 8 sets. Going to work my way up to 20 sets for them just to see if it has an effect.

All this is assuming someone isn't over training and bad form isn't the reason those parts are lagging.

From what I've read from the evidence based guys 2x per week is sufficient to hit a muscle any more is just to accumulate more volume.

Shoulders are arguably the largest muscle group in the upper body. When I increased my training volume for shoulder from 9 sets once a week to 21 sets a week—my shoulders got bigger. However, they did not get any stronger.

I've noticed lately that my genetically stronger body parts, like shoulders for example, can benefit from more sets. Basically the more the better, within limits. But with genetically weak parts, like my chest, I really have to limit myself to just a couple exercises with a couple hard sets, and maybe a little bit of pump work at the end, but no more.

I have found that I can maintain more of my strength for each work set when doing more sets for stronger body parts .My genetically weaker body parts lose strength faster during each consecutive work set when doing more volume. However, bodybuilding is not power lifter. Therefore, performing more sets for weaker body parts (up to a point), even if you lose a some strength during work sets, causes more muscle damage— and a little more muscle growth over time. I believe recovery comes down to tendon/joint/CNS recovery more than actual muscle recovery. But there is a point of diminishing returns for each muscle group. For arms, 14-20 weekly intense work sets is as good as it gets when it comes to bodybuilding. But that would be too many sets for powerlifters trying to gain maximum strength gains.