[@RenaissancePeriodization] Not Growing? You Aren’t Training Enough

Link: https://youtu.be/-N18byHLSF8

Duration: 24 min

Transcript: Download plain text

Short Summary

Jacked Runner, a coach who coined the term "Maximum Recoverable Volume" (MRV) over a decade ago, explains why higher training volume is the primary driver of muscle growth and how systemic fatigue limits practical MRV to roughly 20–30 sets per muscle per week in full-body training. The episode presents evidence that 30–50+ weekly sets per muscle produce superior growth compared to low-volume protocols, while offering three practical methods—increased frequency, myorep sets, and agonist supersets—to accumulate high volume efficiently.

Key Quotes

1. "Most people thrive on higher volumes than they think, but not everybody."
2. "If you're at least as strong as you were and ideally just a little bit stronger, then the more volume you do and still preserve that relationship of getting a little bit stronger every time, usually the more muscle growth gains you will experience."
3. "Systemic fatigue is real."

Detailed Summary

Episode Overview

This episode discusses Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV) and Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) in strength training, with emphasis on how higher volume protocols drive muscle growth and how to practically implement high-volume training.

Key Volume Concepts

• MEV (Minimum Effective Volume): The smallest number of working sets per muscle per week that produces detectable gains.
• MRV (Maximum Recoverable Volume): The highest volume the body can recover from before overtraining prevents growth.
• The speaker claims to have invented the term "Maximum Recoverable Volume" approximately 10-15 years ago in the evidence-based fitness community.
• Historically, 18 sets per week per muscle (e.g., 6 sets × 3 days for biceps) was considered high-volume; the speaker was labeled a "volume spammer" for this approach.
• University studies consistently show that 30–50+ working sets per muscle per week produce better muscle growth than 5, 10, or 20 sets.
• One landmark study reached 52 working sets per muscle per week as the highest volume condition tested.
• Low-volume advocates eagerly meme'd the 52-set study hoping it was a joke because they wanted to believe they could maximize gains with minimal training.

Systemic Fatigue and Practical MRV

• When training the full body, systemic fatigue limits practical MRV to roughly 20–30 working sets per muscle per week sustained over weeks.
• If training only one muscle group (e.g., quads alone), low systemic fatigue may allow 45 sets per week (15 sets × 3 days) for 12 weeks with good results.
• Most people can only train 3–6 hours per week, though maximizing muscle growth could require 12 hours per week.

Individual Differences

• People have different volume tolerances per muscle group; some grow better on higher volume, others on lower volume, and this varies across muscle groups within the same individual.
• Muscles that recover quickly and feel ready to train again the next day (e.g., deltoids) typically respond better to higher volumes, sometimes 20+ sets per week.
• Muscles slow to recover may tolerate lower volumes better.
• Recovery is defined as returning to or exceeding past performance; if strength improves between sessions, volume is likely still below MRV and causing growth.

The "Club of Sevens" Approach

• Prescribes 5–10 reps per set, 5–10 sets per session, done twice per week per muscle group.
• Works well for beginners, intermediates with limited bandwidth, those seeking a strength-size combo, and fast-twitch dominant muscles like chest and hamstrings.

Volume for Stubborn Muscles

• Research shows high-volume groups consistently outperform low-volume groups for stubborn muscles that won't grow.
• When muscles (biceps, triceps, calves, hamstrings, quads, back) do not progress from low volumes but do progress with higher volumes, higher volume is necessary for growth.
• Higher volume is the primary solution for bringing up lagging muscle groups.

The Case for Higher Volume

• Minimalist low-volume training is appealing because it is more fun (heavier weight), less painful (fewer reps), less work overall, and produces faster short-term strength gains that boost ego.
• Low-volume training allows heavier loading and lower overall systemic fatigue, enabling faster strength progression between sessions.
• However, higher volume training is more effective for long-term muscle growth.

Three Methods to Increase Volume Efficiently

1. Increase Frequency: e.g., curls twice a week to three times a week, raising total weekly sets from 10 to 15.
2. Myorep Sets: After an initial working set of 15–20 reps close to failure, perform additional back-off sets totaling the same reps per set, using brief 5–10 second rests to accumulate high volume efficiently. Myorep sets of 4 can provide equivalent volume to 7–8 traditional sets.
3. Agonist Supersets: Pair isolation and compound movements for the same muscle group (e.g., cable tricep push-downs immediately followed by dips or deficit push-ups) with 5–10 second rest to pack massive volume in less time.

Practical Recommendation

• Apply higher volume techniques only to muscles that recover fast but do not appear to be growing well; keep lower volumes for the rest of the body to manage systemic fatigue.
• When a certain amount of volume fails to produce muscle growth, higher volume almost certainly will more times than not.