Just thought I would put this out to the collective brain on here and see what comes back.

I read some recent articles that recommend only doing 1-2 sets w 8-12 reps of an exercise. The articles claim that there are diminishing returns with any sets above that and that a person can make significant gains doing only that. They claim that doing supersets (such as in the BFL program) are not really necessary and may actually be overtraining.

Any thoughts or ideas on this?

Everything you read will tell you something different. A lot of plans work and they work in different ways. Before I was doing 3 sets of 12 and now I'm doing 2 sets of 12 and with both I've had success. So in my experience I would rather do 2 sets with heavier weights. Some bodybuilders (my husband included) swear by 4+ sets. It probably depends on how the individual body responds, how much weight you're lifting, rest time, etc.

If you are training HIT style where you lift challenging weights to absolute failure then they are right, any more than one or two sets will result in overtraining.

You have to strike a balance between volume and intensity in planning your training. IMHO, most people will do better on multiple sets done with moderate intensity, than going all out for one or two sets.

I think it also depend on why you are training. Fat loss? Hypertrophy? Maximum strength? Strength and endurance? There isn't only ONE way to train because there isn't only one goal.

Mel

so how many sets do u recommend for fat loss?