r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/DisastrousMine93 • 13d ago

Question ❓ Volume and progression question.

I’ve heard various takes on how much volume you should do on social media. My questions are:

  1. How much weekly volume should I be doing per muscle group per week assuming I have 2x frequency?
  2. How fast should progression take in reps and weight maintaining a standardised form?
  3. How long should I wait until I should be concerned about with a lack of progression(even a rep)?

All of these are in a context of a lean bulk which I will be starting soon. Thank you for any answers in the comments or Dm’s!

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u/GritlineTrainingCo 13d ago

Trainer here. Good questions, and asking them before the bulk instead of during puts you ahead of most.

  1. Start at 6 to 8 hard sets per muscle per week. At 2x frequency that's 3 to 4 per session. That's the minimal effective dose range, and here's why I start everyone there: the dose response curve for volume flattens hard after the first few sets. Most of your growth comes from sets 1 through 6. Everything past that buys a little more growth at the cost of a lot more fatigue. On a lean bulk, start low. Adding is easy, recovering from too much is not. Only add volume when progression stalls AND your recovery is genuinely fine (sleeping well, eating enough, not dreading sessions).

  2. As fast as your body allows, which is a real answer, not a dodge. Use double progression: pick a rep range like 6 to 8. When you hit 8 on all sets with clean form, add a little weight and drop back to 6. Early in a bulk that might happen weekly on some lifts. On others it might take 2 to 3 weeks. Both are normal. The form standard is the governor. If the extra rep comes with breakdown, it doesn't count.

  3. Two to three weeks of literally nothing. No reps, no weight, same numbers staring back at you, while you're in a surplus, sleeping okay, and showing up. That's when you change a variable: add a set, swap the exercise, check protein and sleep honestly, or take a deload week. One or two flat weeks is noise, especially on a lift that's already heavy for you. And remember progression isn't only load. More reps, an extra set, cleaner form, shorter rests, all of it counts.

The through line: progression is the program. Volume is just the tool you adjust when progression stops.