When you first start lifting, the sheer amount of advice online can feel overwhelming. Suddenly, questions around the ‘optimal’ number of sets, reps and exercises become a minefield to navigate.

Thankfully, researchers have attempted to simplify one of the biggest debates in lifting: whether doing more sets, changing exercises, or combining both approaches helps beginners build bigger arms.

Researchers behind a study published in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport investigated whether increasing training volume, changing exercises, or combining both strategies would lead to greater muscle growth during the early stages of resistance training.

While previous research has suggested that both higher volume and exercise variation can support muscle growth, few studies have examined how the two work together within the same programme.

The study included:

• 32 untrained young adults
• A 14-week upper-body programme
• During the first six weeks, all participants followed the same training plan
• During the next eight weeks, one arm continued with the original programme as a control, while the other arm was assigned to one of three conditions: increased training volume, exercise variation, or a combination of both
• The higher-volume group performed additional sets, while the exercise-variation group rotated different biceps and triceps exercises weekly
• Muscle growth was measured using DEXA scans

After the first six weeks of training, participants increased upper-limb muscle mass by around 4% on average. During the second phase, all groups continued to gain muscle, but there were no significant differences between the control group and the groups using more volume, more exercise variation, or both combined.

Researchers also observed considerable variability between individuals. Overall, however, neither adding more sets nor changing exercises weekly produced superior increases in muscle mass compared with the simpler training plan.

For beginners, a well-rounded training programme performed consistently and with enough effort may be sufficient to build muscle effectively, without the need for excessive volume or constantly changing exercises.

While social media often promotes increasingly complex strategies and constant programme hopping, this study suggests that sticking to core exercises and training hard may be just as effective for beginners looking to build bigger arms.

The findings also reinforce the idea that muscle growth varies widely between individuals. What works best for one person may not necessarily work best for another, highlighting the importance of long-term consistency over constantly chasing the ‘optimal’ programme.