Wellbeing

One Set Workouts: More Effective Than You Think

You can build real muscle and strength in just one hour a week—if you stop training like it’s 1985 and start training like the research actually says.

Story Snapshot

Two 30-minute, single-set full-body sessions per week improved muscle size, strength, endurance, and power in trained lifters.
Going to failure added only slightly more muscle than stopping with two reps in reserve, with small effect sizes.
The routine used just nine basic exercises, one hard set of 8–10 reps each, hitting every major muscle group.
These low-volume workouts align with evidence that 30–60 weekly minutes of strength training support longevity and lower mortality risk.

Short, Hard Sessions Challenge the Old Multi-Set Dogma

For decades, the “serious” way to lift meant three sets of everything, four or five days a week, or you were wasting your time. The new study that sparked this story took 42 already resistance-trained adults, ages 18 to 40, and put that belief under a microscope. Two groups trained twice per week, full body, for eight weeks—doing just one set of nine exercises at 8–10 reps each, covering all major muscle groups.

One group pushed each set to true momentary muscular failure; the other stopped with roughly two reps in reserve. Both groups saw significant increases in muscle size, strength, and endurance, plus gains in power, measured through jump height. The failure group did eke out slightly more hypertrophy, but effect sizes were small, not the night-and-day difference old-school gym lore would predict.

The Routine: One Set, Nine Moves, and About 30 Minutes

The program was not some cherry-picked “pump your biceps and call it a workout” experiment. Participants ran through a total-body sequence that included movements like lat pulldown, shoulder press, chest press, triceps pushdown, biceps curl, Smith squat, leg press, and leg extension so that every major muscle group saw work twice per week.[2] Each exercise got one focused set of 8–10 reps, with loads adjusted to keep effort high, and the entire session wrapped in roughly 30 minutes.

Trained lifters responded with measurable hypertrophy in the biceps, triceps, and quadriceps, along with strength improvements in one-rep max bench press and squat. Power and muscular endurance also improved, despite the minimalist volume. For the average busy adult who cares about looking and performing better, not stepping on a bodybuilding stage, this shows that one hour of well-structured weekly strength training can deliver respectable returns on time, provided you work hard and stay consistent.

Failure, Reps in Reserve, and What Actually Matters

The big question many lifters argue about is whether you “must” go to failure. The study’s comparison suggests you do not. Training to failure did yield slightly greater muscle growth, which aligns with the idea that added metabolic stress and full motor unit recruitment can help hypertrophy.[2] However, strength, endurance, and power improved substantially in both groups, with very similar outcomes when lifters kept about two reps in reserve.

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Health, Longevity, and the Minimum Effective Dose

The appeal of this low-volume approach goes beyond the mirror. Epidemiological data summarized by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health show that 30–60 minutes per week of muscle-strengthening activities associates with about a 10–20% lower risk of all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality compared with doing none, with benefits plateauing beyond roughly an hour. That dose lines up almost perfectly with two 30-minute strength sessions that hit all major muscle groups.

Reviews of time-efficient resistance training, such as the “No Time to Lift?” framework, further support the idea that low-volume, high-effort strength work can deliver most of the gains that matter for health and basic performance when schedules are tight. For recreational lifters, runners, and older adults trying to avoid frailty and muscle loss, this evidence removes the main excuse: lack of time. The science now makes a simple, conservative argument—prioritize a small, consistent strength habit, and you buy yourself strength, function, and likely extra healthy years.

Start your health journey now.

Sources:

mindbodygreen – “Only Have 30 Minutes? This Strength Routine Still Builds Muscle & Strength”

Runner’s World UK – Coverage of two 30-minute strength workouts study

Men’s Health UK – “Build Strength and Muscle With Single-Set Training, Says Study”

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – Strength training time and health benefits

Men’s Fitness – “Build Muscle With Just 30 Minutes of Lifting, Study Finds”