JJ Virgin breaks down how muscle grows: you need volume, progressive overload, and recovery. She recommends 6-30 reps per set with 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest, then gradually increase sets, reps, or intensity. An 8-week program followed by a deload week lets your body actually build muscle during recovery.
And in order to build muscle, you need volume. So you wanna do 6 to 30 repetitions per set. You wanna do multiple sets with about a 90-second to 2-minute rest break in between when you're doing this. Here's the thing with exercise, it should never get easier. You're getting stronger, but in order for something to be exercise, you have to do more than what you're used to. So how do you continue to progress? You can add an extra set, you can add more reps, you can change the tempo, you can add another exercise. If you've got a very stable schedule, you You can do 8 weeks of a specific program where you're continuing to progress within that program and then take a week, and it's called a deload, where you lighten your loads, you cut your intensity and volume, and it kind of gives you time to mentally recover. It can reduce your risk of injury. So you can give yourself that little deload, take a week of going a little bit easier and lighter, and then go back and hit it again. You gotta really dial in your recovery because your recovery is really where you're building the muscle.
