Hello, I was considering buying the BB2 template and I have been running the trial week in the app. I’m definitely enjoying it so far, but I do have one question before I actually commit to running the full template. So I plan on running the 3-day version (I believe the trial is week 1 of this version). In this first week there are only 4 sets of exercises using the quads, and all of these sets are in one day. I have heard from other sources that evidence shows most people should train each muscle group with around 10-20 sets per week across multiple days for the most gains. And I’m sure that the volume does go up after week 1, but even 2 exercises using the quads for 5 sets each would barely be in that range and it would still be all in one day.
Just wondering why the template was set up this way. I do not really doubt BBM programming, as all other templates have given me great results so far, but I was just seeking some insight to the reasoning behind it. And is 10-20 sets per muscle group per week valid? Thanks.
That block of the BB II template has about 8 working sets for quadriceps, whereas the 4-day versions go up to 12, 16, and ~20 as I recall. The current evidence on frequency for hypertrophy shows marginal benefit for breaking up the workload, though yes, that marginal benefit (if present at all) occurs ~ 10-15 sets for a given muscle group in a single session. This data is not impressive to me at all. In any case, the 4-day templates have the lower body volume split up over 2 days, whereas the 3 day does not for both practicality purposes and because I do not think there is much benefit to do so based on existing data (personal preferences aside).
Regarding volume, 10-20 sets per week represents a large range that likely captures a good fraction of the trained population, but is not particularly evidence-based…nor could it be, as there are other parameters that determine the effect and fatigue cost of those sets, e.g. proximity to failure, exercise selection, and absolute load, among others.
The rx in the template reflects my current thinking and implementation of the best way to combine of all these parameters for trained folks looking to gain muscle mass.