When is “One All Out Set” Enough? – Andy Baker (2024)

 This came off Andy's own blog you can check out at https://www.andybaker.com/blog/.  Andy's a good guy and gets lumped in (probably unfairly) with Rippetoe's linear approach to training.  Andy has a ton of great content on bodybuilding and conjugate-style training that is easy to understand and well thought-out.  

Got asked a great question on my Forum today about using the approach of “one all out set” for hypertrophy purposes.

Before I go more in depth……I  AM an advocate of lower volume / high effort training for hypertrophy….in the right circumstances.   If you’ve read my work at all in the last several years, you know that I am not in the camp of “More Volume = More Growth.”   I have other articles that directly address that subject.

But what about taking it to an extreme?  Just one all out set?   I do not wish to be Strawman-d into the Mike Mentzer camp that you literally only need ONE all out set for a muscle group in a 7-10 day period to grow.   I’m much more in favor of something like what Dorian Yates did with his training.  Mostly using one all out set for each exercise – but using multiple exercises for a muscle group.  So more like 4-6 all out sets for a muscle group in a session, spread across multiple exercises.

And no, I’m not advocating that everyone should follow Dorians routine.  I’m only stating that his approach is going to be closer to “optimal” for most people than the Mentzer approach.

So back to the topic at hand….

From my Forum member:  “How Does One Know When One All Out Set is Enough”

First – you never truly know what optimal is.  But if you want to experiment using lower volume / high effort sets in your training there are a few guidelines you can follow using this approach to gauge how it might or might not be working for you.

#1:   You must have experience with this exercise.  

And it will work even better if you are somewhat strong on the exercise.   Low volume, high effort training requires some degree of neurological efficiency to really work well.  Neurological efficiency comes with time and exposure to a lift, and a reservoir of strength on that lift.  It’s what Marty Gallagher refers to as “neurological in-roads.”  The motor pattern is firmly established.   The technique is dialed in.  You easily achieve a pump in the target muscle with that movement.  Only once that foundation is laid will you really be capable of causing any sort of homeostatic disruption with one all out set.

#2:  Are you progressing in load and/or reps on a regular or semi-regular basis?   

If you Squat a hard 315 x 5 this week……can you come back next week and Squat 315 x 6.   Or 320 x 5?   If you can regularly achieve new performance increases on the exercise, then you are likely doing enough.  More sets is not likely to cause even larger leaps of progress.

If you are STAGNANT and/or REGRESSING then it is likely a sign that you are not receiving enough stress to drive an adaptation and thus more volume is likely warranted.   It could be as simple as adding a single back off set.  In fact, this is how I auto-regulate my volume in my own programming.  If my top working set achieves my target load/reps for the day, then I generally move onto the next exercise.  If I do not hit my target weight/reps for the day, then I will often add in a back off set at a lower weight for that movement in order accumulate a bit more volume.

People who are not ready for this type of training often do wind up regressing pretty early into the program.

It could also be the case that your effort level simply isn’t high enough.  Low Volume Training requires HIGH EFFORT levels.  It simply doesn’t work any other way.  Hitting failure or within a rep of failure (depending on the exercise) is almost mandatory for this to work.   Some people flourish with this approach – others don’t.

#3:  Would you have significant drop off in performance on subsequent sets?  

This generally has to be tested on each exercise before you can determine your own guideposts for this.   For instance – you Squat 315 x 10 for your top work set.   Then come back 3-5 minutes later and Squat 315 x 6.   I would argue that second set was neither necessary nor useful.  In fact, it may have done more harm than good.  Likely the FATIGUE from that set outweighed whatever positive benefit you derived from that second set.

Those types of sets, where you have massive performance drop off due to fatigue only compound fatigue more.   Training is always a balance between stimulus and fatigue.  You need to chase the former while always trying to minimize the latter.

If however, you Squat 315 x 10, and come back in 3-5 minutes and Squat 315 x 10 again…….well…….it’s hard to say whether that first set was “enough” or not.  These things are impossible to know in the moment.  But it is possible to know that that first set was NOT maximal.   Maximal effort sets generally cannot be repeated.

So either your effort level isn’t as high as you think it is, or you simply have not developed the capacity to really fatigue yourself yet.

We see this often in Novices.   First set of 5 seems to them to be pretty fucking hard!!!

Set 2 is still pretty hard but better.

Then Set 3 seems almost easy!!!

This is novice level stuff.  If this is your experience you are NOT ready for “one all out set.”   You simply haven’t developed the neurological capacity to fatigue yourself from a single set.  You don’t see this with more advanced lifters unless those first few sets are kept intentionally submaximal (which is fine and necessary for a volume based approach).

#4:   Do you lose pump and mind-muscle connection on subsequent sets?

As I’ve said before – I believe the pump to be a very important indicator of effective exercise execution.  I think it helps on volume regulation as well.

You ever do an exercise and walk away with a MASSIVE PUMP after that first set?    That’s good.  During the rep you could feel every fiber stretch and contracting like it’s supposed to?

But then on sets 2 and 3 you kinda lose it?   Your pump slowly fades with each set.

You lose that mind-muscle connection.   You don’t really feel it “working” the target muscle anymore – just bludgeoning it to death with a bunch of junk volume?

Many of you have felt this, some don’t know what I’m talking about.  That’s okay.

But if you have experienced this then it CAN BE an indicator that doing more sets beyond the pump and beyond the mind-muscle connection may not be useful.   The nerves are a bit fried at this point.  You aren’t doing anything here but compounding more fatigue.

#5:   Do you subjectively “feel” that you put in 100% effort to the set?  

Look – some days you got it….some days you don’t.   No one can put forth 100% effort on every exercise of every workout.  Whether it’s physical, mental, or emotional, some days you just can’t (or won’t) push quite as hard.   Be honest with your effort.  If you left a lot on the table on that first set, it might be a good idea to add a little bit of volume afterward.

 

Some of you may have already picked up on the fact that the use of the “one all out set” doesn’t have to be a uniform approach to your training at every workout for every exercise.   Some movements respond really well to this approach – for instance a Hack Squat or Leg Press.   Other movements less so – for instance – Side Delt Raises.   Some movements are more capable than others of generating MASSIVE DOSES OF STRESS in that single all out set and others don’t have that same capacity.  And your approach may vary as well due to your abilities and experience with various exercises.