ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

15.07.2010

Three sets builds more muscle than one set

If you do just one set to train a large muscle group it will grow. But if you train the same muscle group with three of the same sets, it'll grow faster, sports scientists at McMaster University, Canada, discovered. And it'll certainly work if you make sure to consume enough protein the day after training.

The Canadians did an experiment with 8 men in their mid-twenties all of whom had been doing weight training for at least a year. Half of them did one to-failure set of leg extensions at 70 percent of the weight at which they could manage just 1 rep. The other half did 3 such sets. The training took place in the morning.

After the mini session both groups of athletes drank a shake containing 20 g whey. According to other studies this is the optimal post-training dose for strength athletes.

Just before the training session, and 5 and 29 hours afterwards, the researchers took a sample of leg muscle tissue from the subjects. They used this to determine the myofibrillar protein fractional synthesis rate, put simply the protein build up. A day later, in the subjects who had done the 3 sets training session the progression continued to increase. The effect of the 1-set training session had already faded.

In the tissue samples, the researchers measured the activity of signal proteins which tell the muscle cells to make more contracting muscle proteins. If this signal protein is active, it usually has a phosphorus group attached to it: we say it's phosphorylated. The researchers observed some pretty interesting things going on with the signal protein p70S6K. The more active it became, the faster the cells grew.

The graph below shows the activity of p70S6K at 5, 24 and 29 hours after the training session. The measurement done 24 hours after the training session took place before the subjects had eaten. You'll notice that on the day after a 3-set training session, a meal [high protein of course] activates the anabolic machinery in the muscle cells again.

When we, in our ignorance, look at the figure above, we conclude not only that you're better off training your large muscle groups by doing 3 sets rather than 1. We also conclude that at a higher training volume the nutrition factor counts for more.

Source:
J Physiol. 2010 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print].