What’s up guys, and welcome back to ‘Training Basics’, where I cover all of the essential information you need to know to succeed on your lifting journey. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced lifter, this series will help you build muscle more efficiently and make quicker progress in the gym in order to reach all of your fitness goals! So sit back, strap up, and pay attention, because today’s episode will tell you everything you need to know about sets!

0:00 Intro

0:30 What are Sets?

A set is the act of performing multiple reps in succession before a period of rest. So for example, if you pick up a barbell and do 8 reps of bicep curls all in a row without resting, those 8 reps would make up 1 set of bicep curls.

0:48 2 Types of Sets

All sets fall into 1 of 2 groups: warm up sets or working sets. A warm up set is any set performed with the sole purpose of warming you up, whereas a working set is any set afterwards meant to build muscle. Warm up sets are typically done with lighter weight, lower reps, and far away from failure. Working sets are typically done with heavier weight, higher reps, and very close to failure.

1:37 Training Volume

Because warm up sets are low intensity and far away from failure, they do not generate much fatigue or have a large impact on recovery. Thus, they do not count towards your weekly volume. Working sets on the other hand do elicit muscle growth, will generate fatigue, and need to be counted towards your weekly volume.

2:56 Straight Sets

A straight set is when you do all of your reps with the same weight without taking any breaks in between, then resting when you’re done.

3:57 Fatigue

As you perform more challenging sets, your muscles build up more fatigue, and the more fatigue present in a muscle, the less force its fibers can produce. In other words, if you’re actually training hard, it’s only natural for your performance to decline. Think of it this way, if you did all 3 sets of bench press with the same weight and took all 3 of them to failure, would you be able to do the same amount of reps each time? Probably not, right?

Even if you rested 3-5 minutes between sets, utilized perfect technique, and made sure you were dialed in each time, it would be extremely difficult to match your performance 3 separate times in a row. So when you do perform an exercise for multiple sets with the same weight, expect your reps to go down or at least become more challenging than they were in your previous set.

5:10 Top/Back-off Sets

This method of training is where you incorporate 2 different weights at 2 different rep ranges, both for the same exercise. The set you do first with your heaviest weight is called your top set, and the set(s) you do afterwards with a lighter weight are called back-off sets.

6:15 Tips & Tricks

Number 1: Always do your top set first, after your necessary warm up sets. Your muscles build up fatigue throughout your session, and it’s just counterintuitive to try and increase the weight as your muscles get weaker.

Number 2: Make sure that your top set and back off set are performed in a different rep range. The main benefit of utilizing this method of training is taking advantage of hypertrophy’s principle of variation. And if you drop the weight just to do the same number of reps, you’re not really reaping that benefit.

That doesn’t necessarily make it worse, it just kinda defeats the purpose of a back off set. So, regardless of what weight and reps you use on your sets, as long as all of them are intense and taken close to failure, you will build muscle.

Number 3: Always utilize proper technique and tempo on both your top set and your back off sets. Top sets are not an excuse to go balls to the wall disregarding form entirely, and back off sets aren’t meant to be a walk in the park just for a quick pump. Both need to be close to failure, and require a consistent tempo, full range of motion, and adequate rest in between.

8:32 Key Takeaways

For the majority of people, this is what should make up 95% of your training routine. That’s because doing an exercise for any number of reps close to failure, then immediately resting afterwards, allows you to generate the most muscle hypertrophy for the least amount of accumulated fatigue.

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About Me: I'm a college student with a passion for fitness hoping to make it my career. I started training in early 2019 and have devoted a big portion of my life to it ever since. Now, with the help of this amazing community I've been blessed to be a part of, I will try my best to give back the information I've learned for those hoping to embark on a journey of their own.

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