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How many sets per muscle group per week do I need to build muscle?
Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated
The short answer
Nikkiey cites research showing 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week produces optimal muscle growth for most people. Training three to four times a week, that works out to roughly three to six working sets per muscle group per session, which fits in a focused 45- to 60-minute workout. You don't need two-hour sessions.
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Nikkiey on the research behind 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week
Plays from 3:45 · Ep. 397: How Long Should Workouts Be for Women Over 40?
How weekly sets break down into three to four sessions a week
Plays from 4:00 · Ep. 397: How Long Should Workouts Be for Women Over 40?
Why four to seven key movements beat a 12-exercise session
Plays from 12:29 · Ep. 397: How Long Should Workouts Be for Women Over 40?
What the working sets look like inside a focused 45-minute workout
Plays from 14:02 · Ep. 397: How Long Should Workouts Be for Women Over 40?
The full answer
On Ep. 397 of The WarriorBabe Show, Nikkiey explains that this is one of the areas where the data is clear, even though the fitness industry keeps pushing the idea that women need to live in the gym. The research she points to shows that most of the stimulus for meaningful muscle growth can come from a well-structured 45 to 60 minutes of focused, intentional, progressive work. Not 90 minutes, and not two or three hours.
The math behind that is simple. If you train three to four times a week, which Nikkiey says is all most women need, hitting 10 to 20 weekly sets means three to six working sets per muscle group each session. She estimates three to five minutes per set including rest, so a full body, upper, or lower session covers that volume comfortably in under an hour.
Volume only works when it goes to the right movements. Nikkiey says growth comes from adequate volume on exercises that matter: compound lifts for the larger muscle groups, with isolation work for the smaller ones. If your session has 12 or 15 exercises, she says half are probably redundant. Four to a maximum of seven key movements, done with full intention and progressive overload, will outperform a wandering session every time.
Here is what she describes a focused 45-minute session looking like:
- The first five to eight minutes: cardio to raise your heart rate, then lighter sets of your first exercise to prime the joints and movement pattern
- Roughly minutes eight to 40: your working sets, five to seven exercises at three to four working sets each
If you have been grinding through long workouts without the results to show for it, the problem was likely the structure, not your effort. Cut the junk, add intention, and your sessions get shorter while your results get better.
From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.
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20 minHow Long Should Workouts Be for Women Over 40?
Episode 397 · Sep 18, 2026