Gym lore practically states that the more sets you do and the longer your training sessions, the more muscle you’ll gain. However, this method has its limitations, especially for those who are in their forties and older. Now, a growing number of lifters are leaning into a more minimalist approach, which includes working at a lower volume with fewer working sets per exercise — often just two — but still pushing those sets a few reps shy of failure.

Advocates of minimalist training, such as coach Alain Gonzalez, argue that ‘it’s not about doing less, it’s about doing better,’ he says. ‘Training closer to failure, cutting out junk volume, recovering better, and finally aligning your training with how your body actually responds as you get older.’ The method could help you train smarter, save time, and support consistency as we age.

‘A high-quality set is one that’s taken close to failure while still being controlled and well executed,’ says Gonzalez. Traditional hypertrophy programmes often recommend 10-20 sets per muscle group each week. The 2-set approach cuts that down significantly, usually to around 8 challenging sets per muscle per week. New evidence suggests that the minimum effective dose for hypertrophy was found to be around 4 sets per muscle group per week.

With higher volume workouts, fatigue can accumulate quickly. After several heavy compound movements, the later sets in a session may be performed with poorer technique. ‘The first few sets are solid, but as the workout goes on, set quality starts to drop, you end up grinding through sets that feel hard but don’t provide much additional growth stimulus,’ says Gonzalez. This is often referred to as ‘junk volume‘ – additional work that increases fatigue but contributes little to muscle growth, resulting in diminishing returns.

Another reason the 2-set method resonates with older lifters is the potential reduction in joint stress. ‘Muscle doesn’t count workload, but your joints do,’ says the coach. Every additional rep increases the total load placed on connective tissues. Reducing the volume to 2 sets dramatically lowers that cumulative stress, while still allowing lifters to train with heavy loads. Because hypertrophy is driven primarily by mechanical tension (the force produced during challenging reps) a small number of hard sets can still stimulate growth.

Lower training volume can also improve recovery between sessions. While muscle tissue may recover relatively quickly, tendons and connective tissues adapt more slowly, particularly as we age. According to Gonzalez, ‘your muscles may feel ready to go again long before your joints truly are.’ By reducing total workload and training days, many lifters find they walk into each workout fresher and able to train harder.

It’s important to work at a high intensity, however, as ‘low-volume training only works if the effort is high enough.’ In practice, that means pushing sets very close to muscular failure. ‘When you only have two sets, you’re forced to learn what hard actually feels like, or you just won’t grow,’ he says.

For the 2-set method, perform 2 challenging sets per exercise and focus on compound movements that target multiple muscle groups.

In practice, that might mean exercises such as squats, Romanian deadlifts, rows and presses performed across a full-body session. Instead of 4 or more sets per lift, the programme cuts each movement down to 2 working sets performed close to muscular failure. Because the total weekly volume is lower, the training week can often be reduced to fewer sessions.

‘If you’re doing around 8 hard sets per muscle per week, it becomes very easy to fit that into 3 training days without making your workouts longer,’ Gonzalez says. The result is shorter sessions and less accumulated fatigue.

For men balancing work, families and training, the method is an efficient approach to making training sustainable. Rather than spending hours doing extra sets, the focus is on pushing each working set harder, recovering well and repeating that effort consistently. As with any programme, the basics still matter: progressive overload, good technique and enough recovery. But for lifters in their forties, 2 demanding sets may be enough to deliver results.