The debate over whether those engaging in resistance training should use one set or multiple sets has been going on for many years. The results are somewhat conflicting, though my opinion is that one set is normally sufficient to stimulate muscle growth.
This new study may help explain why there are often conflicting results. Researchers measured muscle growth separately in the upper body and lower body for either a single set or three sets per exercise. The authors found that for the upper body, there was no difference in strength and mass for either 1 or 3 sets.
For the lower body, the 3 set protocol produced greater strength and muscle mass than the 1 set routine. Therefore, it may pay to treat the upper and lower body differently in terms of sets.
