What builds muscle
Hard sets, close to failure, enough of them each week. Anywhere from about 5 to 30 reps works if the set is hard.
Where heavy falls short
Very heavy work, triples and singles, is tiring for few sets. You run out of recovery before you run up enough sets. That’s the only catch.
A week for both
| Lift | Heavy day | Volume day |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 4 × 5 at 120 kg | 3 × 10 at 95 kg |
| Bench | 4 × 5 at 85 kg | 3 × 10 at 67.5 kg |
| Accessories | 2 × 8 | 3 × 12 |
Four rules
- 01
Count hard sets
About 10 to 20 a week per muscle group is a good range.
- 02
Stop one or two reps short
Close enough to count, far enough to recover.
- 03
Eat enough
Size needs food. No program fixes that.
- 04
Be patient
Muscle comes over months, not weeks.
Size and strength aren’t opposites. Bigger muscles have more room to get strong.
From the Compound founder. Notes on training, not medical advice.