does low volume training mantain muscle mass?

[Alexlarex]

Hey, I am a soccer player and I’m in season. I want to mantain my muscle mass while trying to avoid being too sore. Can I mantain it by only doing 3 sets of 5 per exercise (80-85% max) 2/3 times a week? Or that range isn’t enough to mantain and should I do it in 8-12 rep range? (I’m 5’11 tall and my weight is 83 kg, I have enough mass)

[air2fakie]

It's possible but depends - it's not a matter of how many reps, it's a matter of how much weight you're lifting for those 3x5 of each exercise, and what your total routine and physique is. But in theory it could work.

If by avoiding being sore you mean you're going to take weights for each exercise of your current workout that you could do for 3 sets in the 8-12 range and only do 3 sets of 5 reps, then you'd unlikely be able to maintain.

[Alexlarex]

It's possible but depends - it's not a matter of how many reps, it's a matter of how much weight you're lifting for those 3x5 of each exercise, and what your total routine and physique is. But in theory it could work.

If by avoiding being sore you mean you're going to take weights for each exercise of your current workout that you could do for 3 sets in the 8-12 range and only do 3 sets of 5 reps, then you'd unlikely be able to maintain.

I mean doing 3 sets of 5 with maximal effort. Would it be enough to mantain then?

[air2fakie]

Still depends but it could very well be enough for maintenance, although you may not necessarily be less sore if you're upping the weights and giving it a full effort. You'd have to give it a try, see how your body responds, and then adjust accordingly.

[sunsean]

Generally, while losing fat (eating a deficit) you want to lift as hard as possible to maintain your muscle...it is recommended to drop sets/reps before dropping weight on a cut. So if you typically do 3x12 at X weight, if you lose strength on your cut, you should drop it down to 3x10 at X weight as opposed to dropping down to 3x12 at a lower weight.

You want to keep lifting the way you were when you were gaining muscle, as much as possible.

[Nwlifter]

I mean doing 3 sets of 5 with maximal effort. Would it be enough to mantain then?

3x5, 2-3 times a week? That's what a lot of people use to gain muscle, less than that you can even gain on. That's 10-15 sets a week, that's not 'low volume', that's an average recommended volume level for gaining even.

[Alexlarex]

Still depends but it could very well be enough for maintenance, although you may not necessarily be less sore if you're upping the weights and giving it a full effort. You'd have to give it a try, see how your body responds, and then adjust accordingly.

When I lift at the 8-12 range I fell sore while playing soccer. But when I lift heavy for 4/5 reps I feel a lot quicker. I gained mass by training in the hypertrophy range for months and I have enough muscle now. That’s why I’d like to know if I can mantain it with 3 sets of low heavy reps, or not.

[Alexlarex]

3x5, 2-3 times a week? That's what a lot of people use to gain muscle, less than that you can even gain on. That's 10-15 sets a week, that's not 'low volume', that's an average recommended volume level for gaining even.

I mean 3 sets of 5 reps per exercise: 2/3 times a week (6/9 weekly sets)

[air2fakie]

When I lift at the 8-12 range I fell sore while playing soccer. But when I lift heavy for 4/5 reps I feel a lot quicker. I gained mass by training in the hypertrophy range for months and I have enough muscle now. That’s why I’d like to know if I can mantain it with 3 sets of low heavy reps, or not.

You can - it's not an exact science and diff ppl may respond differently. I was under the impression that while in season you were just going to lift at set weights for each exercise and not try to progressively overload, and that you might currently be working out more than 2-3 days/week. You may also need to eat more to maintain mass if you're burning significantly more cals than normal during practice/games.

From a couple of the other posts above, maybe it would help to give more details on exactly what you're doing now and what you'd be transitioning to (exercises, days/week, whether you'll be progressively overloading or just lifting at the same weight for 3x5 during the entire season, etc.).

[Alexlarex]

You can - it's not an exact science and diff ppl may respond differently. I was under the impression that while in season you were just going to lift at set weights for each exercise and not try to progressively overload, and that you might currently be working out more than 2-3 days/week. You may also need to eat more to maintain mass if you're burning significantly more cals than normal during practice/games.

From a couple of the other posts above, maybe it would help to give more details on exactly what you're doing now and what you'd be transitioning to (exercises, days/week, whether you'll be progressively overloading or just lifting at the same weight for 3x5 during the entire season, etc.).

I’ve been doing on leg day... (with Progressive overload)
Lunges (3x10)
RDL (3x10)
Hip Thrust (3x8)
Two isolation for calves

Now I’d start doing...
Lunges (3x5)
RDL or Conventional Deadlift (3x5)
Hip thrust (3x5): In case it’s too much volume I’d remove this exercise but I’ll try.

I wouldn’t focus too much on progressive overload in this case because my goal is to mantain strength and mass while in season. What do you think? And about Hip Thrust (should I keep doing it or it isn’t neccesary)? Thanks a lot

[air2fakie]

So we're only talking about lower body here? I'm not sure what your soccer schedule is like but do you need to work out legs 2-3 days/week during the season? I'd think between practice and games you'd get pretty sore during your workouts and vice versa. I'm not sure what your physique is like but I'd imagine you'd need to eat quite a bit more during the season if you're not going to lose mass.

Up to you about the hip thrust, but your leg day is posterior exclusive all around.

[Alexlarex]

So we're only talking about lower body here? I'm not sure what your soccer schedule is like but do you need to work out legs 2-3 days/week during the season? I'd think between practice and games you'd get pretty sore during your workouts and vice versa. I'm not sure what your physique is like but I'd imagine you'd need to eat quite a bit more during the season if you're not going to lose mass.

Up to you about the hip thrust, but your leg day is posterior exclusive all around.

I’ve been working 3 days lower body and 1 day upper body. I needed a little bit more in my legs but now I’ll start with full body sesions. I try to include at least one unilateral exercise every time I train legs. That’s why I do lunges instead of squats. What exercise should I do to make it more between anterior and posterior? Trying to include at least one unilateral.

[etet1919]

I’ve been working 3 days lower body and 1 day upper body. I needed a little bit more in my legs obut now I’ll start with full body sesions. I try to include at least one unilateral exercise every time I train legs. That’s why I do lunges instead of squats. What exercise should I do to make it more between anterior and posterior? Trying to include at least one unilateral.

BB split squats, single leg squats or DB step-ups on a high plyo box. You could also do explosive plyo, such as split squats with DBs, box jumps (each successive jump should be as quick as possible!), depth jumps off a low to moderate box...

Also, single leg RDLs with either DBs or a BB...You need to practice balance, as well as strength.

I'm already assuming you're doing WALKING lunges..............

[air2fakie]

What exercise should I do to make it more between anterior and posterior? Trying to include at least one unilateral.

If you're going to keep the hip thrusts I'd consider adding a squat variation to balance it out - doesn't have to be reg squats. Above post has some options.

[Alexlarex]

If you're going to keep the hip thrusts I'd consider adding a squat variation to balance it out - doesn't have to be reg squats. Above post has some options.

Or could I do Squats, RDL and Lunges instead? There’s balance between anterior and posterior?

[air2fakie]

Or could I do Squats, RDL and Lunges instead? There’s balance between anterior and posterior?

Sure, you can do whatever you want - it's not the end of the world one way or the other. I think the leg workouts plus soccer might end up being too much recovery/soreness wise, so just try something out and see how it feels the adjust accordingly.

[dazitmayn]

it doesn't take much to maintain muscle but heavier sets are better than lighter for such things

you could probably work up to a heavy set of each compound movement 1-2x a week and still maintain

[Alexlarex]

it doesn't take much to maintain muscle but heavier sets are better than lighter for such things

you could probably work up to a heavy set of each compound movement 1-2x a week and still maintain

In that case could I add more movement patterns? For example (all 4-5 heavy reps)
Squat (1 set)
RDL (1 set)
Hip Thrust (1 set)
Lunges (1 set)
Bench Press (“)
Military Press (“)
Inclined Row (“)
Lat Pulldown (“)
I wouldn’t be fatigued whit this kind of workout when I play football, but are you sure it would mantain my mass doing it 2 days a week?

[Nwlifter]

I mean 3 sets of 5 reps per exercise: 2/3 times a week (6/9 weekly sets)

Oh yeah, for some reason I was thinking 5x5, I'd still say it would maintain for sure. I do about 6 sets a week per exercise and have been gaining lately, so even though it's not at the top end of the volume recomendations, it's plenty for me.

[dazitmayn]

In that case could I add more movement patterns? For example (all 4-5 heavy reps)
Squat (1 set)
RDL (1 set)
Hip Thrust (1 set)
Lunges (1 set)
Bench Press (“)
Military Press (“)
Inclined Row (“)
Lat Pulldown (“)
I wouldn’t be fatigued whit this kind of workout when I play football, but are you sure it would mantain my mass doing it 2 days a week?

As long as the set is heavy enough (say around 80%+ 1RM) and taken to near failure it probably should help you maintain mass. I don't know how much soccer you play and soccer in general is a very aerobic and endurance based activity so that will need to be taken into account. Notice how I said work up to to a heavy set. Now these sets may not be extremely strenuous but they still take time to do, work up to and for some of them you still are using a weight while not be heavy, but still a weight that isn't a joke either.

I probably wouldn't do it with 8 exercises on one day, you might be surprised that 8 quality sets you've warmed up to and taken to near failure can be tiring. Muscle mass doesn't even disappear for at least a month after you've stopped lifting and even then it is a very slow process unless of course you are doing a chit ton of cardio and not eating enough and getting enough protein.

[Alexlarex]

As long as the set is heavy enough (say around 80%+ 1RM) and taken to near failure it probably should help you maintain mass. I don't know how much soccer you play and soccer in general is a very aerobic and endurance based activity so that will need to be taken into account. Notice how I said work up to to a heavy set. Now these sets may not be extremely strenuous but they still take time to do, work up to and for some of them you still are using a weight while not be heavy, but still a weight that isn't a joke either.

I probably wouldn't do it with 8 exercises on one day, you might be surprised that 8 quality sets you've warmed up to and taken to near failure can be tiring. Muscle mass doesn't even disappear for at least a month after you've stopped lifting and even then it is a very slow process unless of course you are doing a chit ton of cardio and not eating enough and getting enough protein.

I train for soccer from Tuesday to Friday, and I play on saturdays and sundays. I want to make sure I mantain my muscle mass from now on because I had two hamstring injuries this year. So what you mean is it’s not about the reps or sets, it’s about the intensity? That’s what it takes to mantain?

[Nwlifter]

The real thing is, giving it a shot is really the only way to know. I know guys that not only maintain, but gain with just a few hard sets a week, some people seem to need more, the only way to know for sure is take your stats, try it for 3-4 weeks, re-measure, see if you gained, lost or maintained. We can guess and hypothesize all day but individual differences are the real determiner.

[Alexlarex]

The real thing is, giving it a shot is really the only way to know. I know guys that not only maintain, but gain with just a few hard sets a week, some people seem to need more, the only way to know for sure is take your stats, try it for 3-4 weeks, re-measure, see if you gained, lost or maintained. We can guess and hypothesize all day but individual differences are the real determiner.

Ok thank you, I’ll try it. Would you say Squat, RDL and Lunges for lower body is okay? (I was thinking about doing Bulgarian SS instead of squat too)

[Nwlifter]

Ok thank you, I’ll try it. Would you say Squat, RDL and Lunges for lower body is okay? (I was thinking about doing Bulgarian SS instead of squat too)

sure, what ever 'fits you', even just squat and RDL might be plenty. I myself wouldn't do those 3x a week though. Look at Tom Platz , the best legs ever in bodybuilding, he squatted once a week but only did a killer leg workout 2x a month.

[Alexlarex]

sure, what ever 'fits you', even just squat and RDL might be plenty. I myself wouldn't do those 3x a week though. Look at Tom Platz , the best legs ever in bodybuilding, he squatted once a week but only did a killer leg workout 2x a month.

I try to always include one unilateral movement, it helps me a lot when I play football, that’s why I’m not sure if lunges, squats and RDL would create an imbalance between Quads and Hamstrings or not. In that case I’d try Bulgarian instead (where hamstrings are more involved) of Back squat, or adding Hip Thrust too and do 4 exercises. What would you recommend?

[Nwlifter]

I try to always include one unilateral movement, it helps me a lot when I play football, that’s why I’m not sure if lunges, squats and RDL would create an imbalance between Quads and Hamstrings or not. In that case I’d try Bulgarian instead (where hamstrings are more involved) of Back squat, or adding Hip Thrust too and do 4 exercises. What would you recommend?

It's so individual, I really can't recommend, no one really can. It depends so much on your body mechanics and exercise performance, and even response to the movements. I hate to say but it's also a trial and error thing. Most BB info. is really general, then people have to observe and adjust things. Sets, frequency, ratio of movements (push pull, etc.). Some people need to match ham to quad 1:1, some 2:1, some 1:2. Wish there was a way to really give a solid Rx on this stuff.

[Alexlarex]

It's so individual, I really can't recommend, no one really can. It depends so much on your body mechanics and exercise performance, and even response to the movements. I hate to say but it's also a trial and error thing. Most BB info. is really general, then people have to observe and adjust things. Sets, frequency, ratio of movements (push pull, etc.). Some people need to match ham to quad 1:1, some 2:1, some 1:2. Wish there was a way to really give a solid Rx on this stuff.

You’re right. Thanks a lot!

[Nwlifter]

You’re right. Thanks a lot!

sure! Best wishes!