#006 October Q&A

Welcome to the 6th edition of the “Boats & Logs Lifting Club”. As you know, I receive a lot of questions on Instagram. I try to answer as many as possible of them, but many need more nuance than Instagram allows, so I decided to end each month with a Q&A.

Today, we will cover the volume for hypertrophy, losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously, the digestibility of protein shakes, and finding motivation to train.

Enjoy.

Q: How many sets do I need to grow muscle?

The key to all programming is balancing volume and intensity. Simplified, volume defines how many sets we do per week, and intensity defines how hard we train. As the Boats & Logs philosophy tries to minimize the time spent in the gym to create strong muscle gains, we follow a low-volume/high-intensity approach.

This approach is not only incredibly well suited for hypertrophy, but it is also the most time-efficient way to train. For intensity, the only thing you need to remember is that you should take all your sets to (near) failure. Failure is the point where you can’t complete another rep without breaking form.

To understand how much volume our muscles need, let’s take a view at this (beautifully drawn) chart below:

It is important for you to remember that there is no linear correlation between how many sets you do per body part each week and the muscle growth you experience.

It takes as little as 2-3 sets per week for your muscles to grow. However, by raising that to 4-6 sets, you can increase your gains significantly. Until 10 sets per body part per week, you have a big upside of doing additional sets. If you are going above 10 sets, this upside starts to diminish rapidly until you hit roughly 20 sets. Afterward, you run the risk of decreased hypertrophy due to overtraining.

Therefore, to have a good balance of volume and hypertrophy, most of you should do 10-15 sets per body part each week.

For a deep dive, check out my earlier newsletter about reps and sets.

Q: Is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously?

One of the most common questions I receive is whether it’s possible to build muscle while losing fat simultaneously. The short answer is - most of you can.