One strength training concept that I favor is to repeat sets for a muscle group as long as it is at full strength, and to stop doing sets for the muscle group when it begins to weaken. I once believed that training more would not increase the amount of sets that a lifter could repeat before weakening. I still believe this to some extent, but I don’t believe it is true in every situation as it depends on the intensity of each set.
Not Much Improvement
I still believe that training will not cause much change in regard to how many high intensity sets a lifter can repeat before he weakens. For example, if a beginning lifter can do one or two sets to failure before he weakens, he may be able to train and improve to the point where he can do two or three sets to failure before he weakens. The lifter may improve a little, but not very much, and many won’t improve at all.
There are exceptions to what I am about to say, but I believe that those who are able to produce a large amount of force and intensity relative to their size are the most likely to grow weaker after just one or two sets to failure. In other words, if you see someone who is very strong for their size, and they can do a lot more reps than normal with heavy weights before hitting failure, that person will probably have a hard time repeating the same number of reps when doing a second set. In contrast, lifters who can’t produce as much force and power relative to their muscle size are more likely to have the ability to repeat more sets to failure before they begin to weaken.
Improving Capacity For More Sets
There is a different set of circumstances in which most lifters can increase their capacity to repeat sets without weakening, the main circumstance being the gradual addition of submaximal sets to one’s workouts. The submaximal sets that cause this to happen are generally done with lighter weights that are stopped well short of failure. For example, a lifter who is repeating sets of 5 to 6 reps with 40% to 60% of his single rep max will usually have the ability to improve his capacity to repeat this type of set before weakening. Even if a lifter doesn’t have the ability to improve this capacity to a substantial degree, he can probably improve his workload tolerance in terms of the number of submaximal sets that he can recover from.
Serge Nubret is an example of a bodybuilder who developed a huge capacity to repeat sets. His workouts were notoriously long consisting of up to 50 sets of 12 to 15 reps for each muscle group. However, the important thing to understand about this is that the vast majority of his training was done with less than 50% of his single rep max and as little as 30%. Most people scoff at this type of training, but Serge developed extraordinary size, shape, and strength with this training method.
Serge Training when he was 50 years old
Habits of High Volume Bodybuilders
Many bodybuilders who do high volume workouts avoid training to failure. They often do several sets of the same exercise by starting out with a light weight for the first set and follow it with an increase in weight from set to set. The first and second sets are nowhere near failure. Even when they reach their heaviest set, they still stop a rep or two short of failure. If you want to build up your total workload capacity, consider starting out with a light weight and work your way up in weight until you reach your heaviest set on your 4th or 5th set. Make sure to leave a couple reps in the tank on your heaviest set (stop at your limit rep or your marker rep). Use the same amount of reps for every set. Your first set should be easy, and each set will grow progressively harder, but don’t kill yourself on your last set. This is especially important, if your main priority is to increase your workload capacity in order to tolerate high volume workouts consisting of 10 to 20 sets for a major muscle group such as chest, back, or legs.
Watch Lee Haney, Phil Heath, or Jay Cutler
If you want to watch bodybuilders who have a great feel for high volume workouts, I suggest going to youtube and watching Lee Haney, Phil Heath, or Jay Cutler workout. They usually increase the intensity from set to set and they know how to train hard enough without training so hard that they kill themselves.
How Hard to Push for High Volume Training
High Lactate Capacity
There is a final type of workload capacity that can be vastly increased if you care to go through the pain of developing it, which is high lactate training when pushing to failure with light weights. If you select a light weight that you can do for about 100 reps when pushing to failure, don’t be surprised if consistent training in this rep range helps you to improve by up to 50% in terms of the amount of reps you can perform within a set. However, I suggest you only do this type of training once every 10 to 14 days for a given muscle group. If you do it more often, you risk doing so at the expense of size and strength.
Improving Your Size, Strength, and Workload Capacity
If you want to build strength, focus on heavy weights with sufficient intensity. If you want to build your workload capacity, gradually add more submaximal sets to your workouts. If you want a full combination of size, strength, and a higher workload capacity, include plenty of submaximal sets along with some heavy lifting that is done with sufficient intensity. It’s a combination that has worked for a lot of lifters, and it may be a combination that works well for you. Best of training to you.