So, when we talk about building muscle, there’s a big debate about whether volume or intensity is the real MVP.

What is volume?

Volume = weight x sets x reps. The idea here is that focusing on progressive overload through increasing volume will lead to hypertrophy.

What is intensity?

On the other hand, intensity = weight, or how heavy you're lifting. So focusing on progressive overload through intensity means lifting heavier weights and getting stronger.

What does that look like in training?

You might be thinking: doesn't heavier weights increase volume? Yes it does, but maximizing volume is inefficient at heavy loads.

3x10 @ 135lbs = 4,050 lbs of volume, vs.

4x5 @ 185lbs = 3,700 lbs of volume.

So it's obviously easier to lift more overall volume using lighter loads than it is to do a ton of sets at heavier loads.

Beginner vs advanced

For beginner lifters, studies have shown that BOTH approaches work. The research becomes less clear when we're talking about advanced lifters.

Non-negotiables for advanced lifters

So what do I think? I think the best approach should keep in mind (1) progressive overload, (2) recovery, and (3) risk/injury management.

There are some absolutes: you must get stronger or do more work over time, your muscles grow during recovery, so you must have an efficient recovery timeline before your next workout, and you can't get stronger or bigger if you're injured and not in the gym.

Breaking it down

1) Progressive overload can be achieved via volume or intensity. However, it is more difficult to increase your %1rm on a constant basis than it is to increase volume consistently, so volume wins out here.

2) Research shows that recovery from high volume, moderate intensity exercises is greater than low volume, high intensity exercises when both exercises are taken to failure, so intensity wins here. **source

3) Being injured is like hitting the restart button. You've just taken 4 steps forward, now you gotta take 2 steps back. If you had just slown down and only taken 3 steps forward, you would have been ahead in the long run. For beginners, focusing on volume may be better as technique and risk of injury is higher with intensity-focused training. However, because there is less recovery needed for higher intensity training, advanced lifters can take advantage of that to increase frequency and get more gains.

Conclusion

For maximizing muscle gain, volume has always had the edge, but you can't choose to strictly work through volume or intensity - you need both. But HOW do you do both?

In my opinion, the best results come from a block approach, where one training block is focused on volume and the next if focused on strength. This way, the volume/hypertrophy block will build muscle that will help you increase your 1rm, and that increase in strength will help you increase volume to build more muscle, and the cycle keeps going.

Personally, I've made amazing results using this approach. And training never gets boring because once I'm tired of volume work, I can lift heavy. And when I'm burnt out from lifting heavy, I switch up my exercise selection and focus on building muscle.

As long as your training hard, eating right, and recovering, you're already doing an amazing job of maximizing growth potential.

Leave a comment on what you think!