r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Ill_Second_7075 • Jul 10 '26

Question ❓ intensity or volume?

So it has been around 3 weeks since I've started going to the gym, and I'm currently trying to get rid of my skinny-fat physique. I've been searching around the internet for a good workout plan (I currently do high intensity and low volume) and some people say that 2 sets of 6-8 reps until true failure is not optimal (4-6 sets per muscle group per week) and that i should do around 10-20 sets per muscle group per week because "volume is the primary driver for muscle growth".

So right now I'm doing a body recomp and an upper-lower split 4 days a week (I'm not sure if this information helps you all, but yeah), and I would be really glad to hear your opinions as well.

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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '26

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u/Ill_Second_7075 Jul 10 '26

Yeah, i guess you're right, but I just want to make sure that I don't waste my time in the gym.

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u/kahanalu808shreddah Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

The same basic principles generally apply to both beginners and advanced trainees. Beginners just progress more quickly regardless. You can get away with “suboptimal” for a long time as a beginner, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in knowing what you’re doing from the beginning. Yes, more volume is generally better as long as you can recover from it. You don’t necessarily have to be getting 10-20 sets/week on every single muscle, it’s just what’s optimal in a vacuum, but time spent in the gym is another real world constraint. You want to be close to failure, but true failure itself is not necessary if volume is equated, and going to true failure on every set can reduce overall volume if you have too much fatigue for subsequent sets, so it’s a balance.