The Ideal Number of Exercises Per Workout

It’s a universal question among gym-goers: how many exercises should they do during each session? Too few, and you might not be working the muscle groups you need to target. Too many, and you might be overtraining, or worse, risking an injury. So, what’s the optimal number?

In this blog post, we will examine the ideal number of exercises per workout and why you need to stick to this approach for the best results.

How many exercises should you do per workout?

The answer is simple: the ideal number of exercises per workout is 2 to 4.

Why is 2–4 exercises the sweet spot?

There are a few reasons why it is ideal to perform 2 to 4 exercises per session.

First, it prevents fatigue. Doing too many exercises can lead to fatigue, which means you cannot give your best effort and might even risk an injury. It will also prevent you from lifting heavy when you need to. Ideally, you want to overload one compound movement exercise from each movement pattern so you can build overall strength and muscle. It is far better to focus on a few exercises than to spread yourself too thin trying to include a variety of exercises in one session.

Second, it prevents overtraining. Doing too many exercises can lead to overtraining, especially when you train multiple times a week and your body doesn’t have enough time to recover between workouts. It can lead to several side effects, including decreased performance, increased injuries, and muscle loss. Sometimes, overtraining can lead to increased blood pressure, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, and emotional instability.

Third, it prevents too much variety. An effective workout routine has enough variety to target each muscle group, but not too much to prevent you from implementing progressive overload. The cornerstone of a good workout is the ability to either increase your reps, sets, or the weight lifted for each exercise. To do that, you need to consistently perform the same exercises and track your workouts. Consistency is nearly impossible when you change your routine every week and tedious when you must track your sets, reps, and weights for 15 different exercises each session.

How many sets and reps should you do?

Your goal will dictate how many sets and reps you need to do for each exercise.

For endurance, you need to complete 2 to 3 sets of 12 or more reps with a weight that is challenging but still allows you to complete the set with excellent form.

For hypertrophy, you need to do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps. Again, you need to select a weight that is challenging but still allows you to lift with good form and complete the set.

Lastly, to improve strength, you need to complete 2 to 6 sets of 6 or fewer reps.

Since you need strength to continue progressing, you need to create a routine that incorporates strength and hypertrophy sets.

How to structure your workout using movement patterns

There are six basic movement patterns. Together, the exercises from each category work all the major muscle groups in your body.

To ensure that you structure a balanced training routine, you must select exercises from each category. For example, if you choose one knee dominant exercise, you need to choose a hip dominant exercise, and so on.

The basic movement patterns include:

Hip dominant

Knee dominant

Vertical push

Vertical pull

Horizontal push

Horizontal pull

Now that you know how many exercises to do and how to create your routine, you’re ready to hit the gym floor and achieve those goals. Remember, the key to success is consistency, which means sticking to these principles each time you train. If you follow these basic rules and stay consistent with them, you’ll be on your way to success.