There’s a fine line between doing too much and too little work. Doing too little will result in minimal to no gains, and doing too much will yield the same result as doing too little. The best way to grow muscles is to find the sweet spot and today we will learn how to find that sweet spot.
What is junk volume?
We in the fitness community refer to junk volume as extra reps or sets that really don’t do much. Straining your body more than it needs is a complete waste of time and energy.
We already know that the muscles need 14 to 20 working sets per week to grow proficiently, so why should we add more
Its a common gym term that doing more reps and sets will introduce much more gains, but that is not even close to the truth and can do a lot more bad than good. Your muscles can go into an atrophic state, where the muscles shrinks in size.
Common reasons you are doing too much volume.
One of the many reasons why you are doing too much volume is wanting to feel more sore than last time. Being extremely sore is not always the best option for muscle growth.
Another reason is that you think that doing as much work as possible will yield you better results than working out in the range of 14 to 20 sets per muscle group per week. Instead of doing extra sets, focus on making quality sets that are better for muscle growth.
Remember, quality beats quantity in the long run; muscle growth isn’t a race; it’s a marathon.
How to spot if you are doing too much volume.
A good indicator if you are doing too much volume is the amount of soar you get from a workout. If you can’t heal properly from workout to workout and you still feel sore, you need to lower the volume.
Having prolapsing symptoms isn’t only bad for muscle growth; it also leads to a higher chance of you getting injured, and I guarantee you don’t want to get injured, so keep in mind that more isn’t always better.
Another way you can tell if you are doing too much is if your form starts to diminish. Keep in mind that bad form won’t grow your muscles because you are not utilizing the maximum that exercise can provide.
Bad form can also lead to injury. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t limit tests, but I would like to see you limit tests on your reps, not on your sets.
Why should you avoid doing junk volume?
Doing junk volume increases your injury change by a large margin; it also exhausts you more for your next workout, and you won’t be able to get quality reps and sets into the workout.
Another reason to not do junk volume is that it can decrease your health and immunity to viruses, meaning you will get sick more and will need to stay away from the gym until you get better and healthier again.
Doing a lot of volume can even get you depressed, and you will lose motivation to workout, so I strongly suggest you watch out for how much volume you do.
Another bad side of doing junk volume is that you may develop insomnia. With insomnia on your hands, you won’t heal properly, and injuries can get even more frequent than before.