Effect of resistance training set volume on upper body muscle hypertrophy: are more sets really better than less?

Background: Resistance training (RT) for upper body muscle hypertrophy (UBMH) typically entails high volumes of sets per muscle group per training session. The majority of RT regimens does not discriminate between upper and lower body muscle groups, while these groups may respond differently to RT set volumes in terms of maximum skeletal muscle mass gain. Recent studies have examined the effect of different set volumes on the extent of UBMH to formulate optimal RT regimens and to make RT programmes more time-efficient.

Airflow-Restricting Mask Reduces Acute Performance in Resistance Exercise.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the number of repetitions to volitional failure, the blood lactate concentration, and the perceived exertion to resistance training with and without an airflow-restricting mask.

Methods: Eight participants participated in a randomized, counterbalanced, crossover study. Participants were assigned to an airflow-restricting mask group (MASK) or a control group (CONT) and completed five sets of chest presses and parallel squats until failure at 75% one-repetition-maximum test (1RM) with 60 s of rest between sets.