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In the study, the quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh) were trained with different numbers of sets. © IMAGO / Depositphotos
A study from Brazil examined the relationship between training volume and muscle growth in older people. The results could change the fitness routines of many who have not made progress despite training.
The assumption that more is better is not always true. This also applies to training, whether it is endurance or strength training. Depending on the individual training goal and personal requirements, it is not necessarily more effective to increase the running distance or the number of training sessions in strength training, for example, in order to achieve optimal results. A research team from Brazil has taken a closer look at a special case: Does an increased training volume lead to older people to improve muscle building?
Conducting the study
The researchers recruited for their Studypublished in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 85 people (44 women and 41 men) with an average age of 68 years were included in the study. They completed a strength training program for the leg extensor (M. quadriceps femoris) over a period of 10 weeks.
The interesting thing is that each participant trained their legs in a different way:
- With one leg, the subjects completed one set per training session for the leg extension. With two training sessions per week, that means two sets per week.
- On the other leg, the leg extensor was four sets per training session trained. This resulted in a training volume of eight sets in two training sessions per week.
Training was carried out with so much resistance or weight that the subjects 8 to 15 repetitions There was a break of 60 to 90 seconds between sets. Which leg had to handle which volume was randomly determined.
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The results: More sets of strength training led to less non-response
Before and after the training period, the cross-section of the quadriceps muscles in the thigh of the study participants was analyzed using MRI. In addition, the “One Repetition Maximum“ (1RM) of the leg extension is determined as the strength value. The 1RM defines the maximum load with which one repetition of an exercise can be performed.
Based on the before and after comparison under the 1-set condition, it was first determined which participants were so-called non-responders. In sports science, non-responders are people who do not respond (or even respond negatively) to training stimuli, i.e. who do not experience an increase in fitness despite training. This was the case for the majority of participants: 51 of the 85 participants showed no response in terms of muscle and strength building during the 1-set training.
The key findings of the study are:
- The subjects who were unable to achieve any training effects with the 1-set training (non-responders) were able to increase the cross-sectional area of the quadriceps by training with four sets per training session.
- In addition to the hypertrophy of the entire muscle tissue, the higher strength training volume could also promote the increase in strength in non-responders.
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conclusion
Fitness professor Dr. Stephan Geisler, President of NSCA Germany, underlines the importance of the study results: “Increasing training volume can therefore be a strategy to turn non-responders into responders, especially in older people – that is, to make the muscles grow better.” This could help to mitigate age-related morphological and functional losses and promote a healthier life expectancy. said Geisler.
In this case, more is actually more. Especially for older people, it might be worth increasing the training volume (more sets per training session) to achieve the desired results in muscle building and strength gains.
Meanwhile, another study on optimal strength training for adults came to a similar conclusion: for muscle growth (hypertrophy), the researchers recommend at least 2 to 3 sets of each exercise twice a week. Strength was increased particularly effectively when heavy loads (3-5 repetitions per set with at least 80 percent of the 1RM) were moved.
More Tips for effective strength training over 40 Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gießeing in an interview with Ippen.Media given.
The author of the article is a former competitive athlete, certified ski instructor and fitness trainer (B license).
