This came up in another thread, and comes up from time to time here and elsewhere: Is there truly a benefit to doing more sets of a given exercise? Is 2 sets better than 1, 3 sets better than 2, and so on (within reason)? Has this question ever been adequately resolved?
Let's take my own workout for instance: I lift weights every 72 hours (in addition to aerobic type stuff on other days), and my goal is look fairly fit, fight fat, and have some decent looking muscles for an average 48 year old man. I currently do about 7 different exercises, for 2 sets each of between 6-10 reps, working to failure each set. At this point, I'm pretty much just maintaining what I have, and not trying to constantly increase my loads more than slightly, if at all.
I'm essentially happy enough with this routine, but I do wonder: what benefit am I currently getting from that second set? Would I get the exact same or a nearly identical benefit if I cut out the second set of each exercise and just did 1 set to failure? If so, that would be terrific obviously.
Alternatively, if I did 3 sets of each exercise instead of my current 2, would I see an obvious benefit of some sort?
Please share your thoughts, experiences, and latest studies on the issue on the number of sets.
Let's take my own workout for instance: I lift weights every 72 hours (in addition to aerobic type stuff on other days), and my goal is look fairly fit, fight fat, and have some decent looking muscles for an average 48 year old man. I currently do about 7 different exercises, for 2 sets each of between 6-10 reps, working to failure each set. At this point, I'm pretty much just maintaining what I have, and not trying to constantly increase my loads more than slightly, if at all.
I'm essentially happy enough with this routine, but I do wonder: what benefit am I currently getting from that second set? Would I get the exact same or a nearly identical benefit if I cut out the second set of each exercise and just did 1 set to failure? If so, that would be terrific obviously.
Alternatively, if I did 3 sets of each exercise instead of my current 2, would I see an obvious benefit of some sort?
Please share your thoughts, experiences, and latest studies on the issue on the number of sets.