Junk volume: sets that don't count

What it is

The term is informal, but the idea is clear: not every set is equally useful. What counts for muscle growth is working sets — hard ones, close to failure. A set after which you could have done eight more reps isn't really a working set, even if the weight is your "working" weight.

Junk volume comes in three kinds: sets too far from failure, extra sets once the muscle is exhausted and the weight is dropping, and exercises that duplicate each other without adding new load. Let's take them one by one.

Sets far from failure

Proximity to failure matters for muscle growth. In Refalo et al. (2023), sets to failure and sets stopped a little short grew muscle similarly. In Grgic et al.'s 2022 meta-analysis of 15 studies, failure and non-failure training also produced comparable results. But "a little short" means 1–3 reps, not 6–8.

How to check: at the end of a set, ask how many more reps you could do with the same form. More than four — raise the weight or the reps. The RPE scale makes this a habit.

Too many sets

More weekly sets give more growth on average — but with diminishing returns: that's what both Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2017) and the large analysis by Pelland and colleagues show. The first sets give a lot, each one after gives less. At some point the return gets so small the set isn't worth the fatigue it adds.

The sign in a workout: your eighth chest set of the day comes in a third lighter than the first. It still does something, but those sets pay off better on another day of the week when your chest is fresh.

Duplicate exercises

A barbell press, a dumbbell press, a machine press and push-ups in one workout are four exercises but one movement and one muscle in the same position. Sometimes that's fine, but often the third and fourth are just more sets on a tired muscle.

Different angles and movements work better: flat bench, incline press, flyes. Or different days: one exercise on Tuesday, another on Friday. Every exercise has substitutes at another angle — for example, bench press alternatives.

How to spot it in your log

• Weight and reps on an exercise haven't moved for months while sets per muscle are high — the volume is there, the load isn't rising.
• The last sets are much lighter than the first — fatigue ate the work.
• RPE 5–6 on most sets — sets are far from failure.
• The workout runs past ninety minutes and the last exercises don't progress.

The volume calculator counts your weekly sets per muscle, and the diary counts them from what you did.

What to do

Cut some sets and make the rest harder. Twelve sets per muscle per week with 1–3 reps in reserve almost always beat twenty with six in reserve. Split the volume across two workouts if one muscle gets more than 8–10 sets in a session.

And don't confuse junk volume with easy days: a deload week at low RPE is a plan, not a mistake. How many sets a muscle needs is in the sets-per-week guide.

Example: cleaning up a chest day

Before: barbell bench 5 sets, dumbbell press 4, machine press 4, push-ups 3, flyes 4 — twenty chest sets in a day, and by the machine press the weight is already a third lower than usual. After: barbell bench 4 sets, incline dumbbell press 3, flyes 3 — ten sets, all with 1–3 reps in reserve. The other ten moved to a second chest day three days later.

The weekly volume is the same, but every set is harder and fresher. A month later the change usually shows in the log: the bench starts rising again. Check how many sets per muscle your plan gives with the volume calculator.

Common questions

Are warm-up sets junk volume? No, they're separate work: they prepare you for the heavy sets and don't count toward growth volume at all. More in the warm-up guide.

What if I enjoy long workouts? Go ahead — junk volume doesn't hurt, it just barely helps and eats into recovery. If the weights are rising, you're fine.

How do I know how many reps I have left? Film a set, or every couple of weeks take the last isolation set to true failure — that calibrates the feeling. The RIR scale is the same idea: how many reps you left.

Read next

• Training to failure
• Working set
• Weekly sets per muscle
• How many sets per week to build muscle