30-Minute Gains — Jeremy Ethier Explains Science For Improved Training Efficiency

Many gym-goers might believe high-volume workouts are the only way to build muscle mass and strength. While sufficient training volume to near failure can be beneficial for hypertrophy, high-volume workouts comprising 25 to 30 sets lasting 90 minutes to two hours might be a schedule luxury not many people cannot afford. 

On Nov. 5, 2023, Built With Science founder Jeremy Ethier published a video on his YouTube channel wherein he discussed ways to build muscle via training sessions that last only 30 minutes. Check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kSc3eWdZdc&ab_channel=JeremyEthier 

[Related: Demystifying Your Fat-Burning Heart Rate Zone]

Improve Training Efficiency In Reduced Training Time

Ethier detailed three scientifically-backed time-saving strategies for building muscle while reducing training frequency:

1. Reduce training volume
2. Perform antagonist supersets
3. Incorporate drop sets

The first strategy focuses on workout volume. Ethier explained the initial sets in a workout contribute most significantly to muscle gains. Additional sets offer diminishing returns as the intensity output is unlikely to be as high as fatigue sets in as a session progresses. To optimize time in the gym, Ethier suggested performing the minimum number of sets that still yield significant gains.

What Science Says

Ethier references three studies to support his recommendation:

1. A 2002 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that even at a low volume of three sets per muscle group per week, participants could build muscle in 12 weeks. (1)
2. A 2011 study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise had participants initially perform 27 sets per week for their quads, then reduced the volume after four months. The group that reduced to nine sets per week continued to gain muscle, while the group that reduced to three sets per week maintained their gains. (2)
3. A 2017 meta-analysis in the Journal of Sports Sciences found a dose-response relationship between muscle growth and the number of sets performed. Doing over 10 sets per week yielded the most growth; five to nine sets per week achieved about 80 percent of the maximum gains, and one to five sets per week achieved about 60 percent. (3)

Based on that research, Ethier concluded that performing three sets per muscle group per week is likely enough to maintain gains and possibly build muscle, especially for less experienced individuals. Four to seven sets per muscle per week are optimal for maximum gains with minimal time and effort. 

Ethier’s Three-Step Minimal Volume Approach

Ethier emphasized three points for those adopting a minimal volume approach to one’s training:

1. Train Close to Failure — Research indicates that training closer to failure results in more muscle growth. Since volume is low, pushing each set within one to two reps of mechanical failure is important. Ethier recommended training to muscle failure while exercising caution. (4)
2. Exercise Selection — “It’s crucial to choose exercises that yield the most gains,” said Ethier, who advocated the concept of “long muscle length” training, suggesting that muscles respond more acutely to exercises that train them in their lengthened positions. 
3. Form Precision — Form for each rep is even more important during lower-volume training as there are fewer reps used to train each muscle. 

For those who prefer not to reduce their training volume, Ethier recommended two additional time-saving strategies:

1. Antagonistic Supersets — These supersets involve performing two exercises back-to-back that work opposing muscle groups (e.g. chest and back, biceps and triceps, and quads and hamstrings). This allows one muscle to rest while the other is trained. Ethier highlighted the importance of limiting rest time to less than a minute for optimal results.
2. Drop Sets —This method involves performing a set to failure and then immediately reducing the weight and continuing to do as many reps as possible, repeating this process two or three times. Drop sets leverage the concept of “effective reps,” where the most muscle growth occurs during the last few reps of a set when near muscular failure is reached. (5)

Although drop sets can cut the total workout duration to a third of the time, Ethier advised limiting drop sets to specific exercises where it’s safe to train to failure, decreasing the weight quickly to limit rest between sets.

Regarding the number of drop sets, Ethier references studies where replacing three sets with one set followed by two or four drop sets led to similar growth. Ethier suggested matching the total number of sets, including drop sets, with one’s usual number of training sets. He recommended dropping the weight by 20 percent in each set. (6)(7)

[Related: Demystifying Your Fat-Burning Heart Rate Zone]

Ethier’s 30-Minute Full-Body Workout

Ethier outlined a sample three-day hypertrophy-focused full-body workout designed to be performed three days a week. In this routine, each muscle group is targeted with approximately six sets weekly. 

• Bench Press — two sets
• Back Squat — two sets
• Overhead Press — two sets
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — two sets
• Seated Cable Row — two sets
• Calf Raise — two sets

The above workout can be completed in approximately 30 minutes with two minutes rest between sets and one minute transition time between exercises.

References

1. Rhea MR, Alvar BA, Ball SD, Burkett LN. Three sets of weight training superior to 1 set with equal intensity for eliciting strength. J Strength Cond Res. 2002 Nov;16(4):525-9. PMID: 12423180.
2. Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM. Exercise dosing to retain resistance training adaptations in young and older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Jul;43(7):1177-87. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318207c15d. PMID: 21131862.
3. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2017 Jun;35(11):1073-1082. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197. Epub 2016 Jul 19. PMID: 27433992.
4. Nóbrega SR, Libardi CA. Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary?. Front Physiol. 2016;7:10. Published 2016 Jan 29. doi:10.3389/fphys.2016.00010
5. Schoenfeld BJ, Ratamess NA, Peterson MD, Contreras B, Sonmez GT, Alvar BA. Effects of different volume-equated resistance training loading strategies on muscular adaptations in well-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Oct;28(10):2909-18. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000480. PMID: 24714538.
6. Fink J, Schoenfeld BJ, Kikuchi N, Nakazato K. Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018 May;58(5):597-605. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06838-4. Epub 2017 Apr 26. PMID: 28474868.
7. Ozaki H, Kubota A, Natsume T, Loenneke JP, Abe T, Machida S, Naito H. Effects of drop sets with resistance training on increases in muscle CSA, strength, and endurance: a pilot study. J Sports Sci. 2018 Mar;36(6):691-696. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2017.1331042. Epub 2017 May 22. PMID: 28532248.

Featured image: @jeremyethier on Instagram