watkins
Single Versus Multiple Sets - A Historical Perspective
A few months ago I was reading the DeLorme and Watkins 1951 book Progressive Resistance Exercise as historical research for the book I’m working on, and found the following statement about single versus multiple sets:
Pages 27-28
“Three sets of exercise in which the resistance is increased after each set offers the advantage of warming up the muscle but probably does not contribute toward increasing the muscle strength. By doing 10 repetitions only with the 10-RM strength increases would be approximately the same as when three sets are performed. In fact, if it were not important to set the physiological stage preparatory to a maximum exertion, only one set of 10 repetitions would suffice. This has been demonstrated time and again in the clinic in the treatment of injuries in young athletes. The validity is also attested to by the fact that many of the strongest strength athletes never perform more than 10 repetitions for any one exercise. Incredible as it may seem, many athletes have developed great power and yet have never employed more than five repetitions in a single exercise.”
According to Bill Hinbern, David Willoughby said nobody used “sets” prior to World War II, although it was common to perform two or three different exercises per muscle group. Decades of research and in-the-gym experience show the single-set approach is just as valid today as it was back when our grandfathers and great grandfathers might have started lifting weights.