- One set is enough to build strength
- Multiple are better to build muscle size
- Strength is a combination of muscle size and neurological signalling
These three can't all be true. I suspect that they mean that one set is enough to build the nervous system.
Powerlifters who train for strength generally train low-rep, high-weight progressive overload programs and often end up with very dense musculature, while bodybuilders prioritize high-rep sets for large amounts of total volume, which produces relatively more muscle size but not necessarily superior muscle density. The two modes of training produce different hypertrophic effects.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3057312/
> It appears, though, that bodybuilders, relying on a high repetition training system, in contrast to Olympic weight- and power lifters, display a small increase in number of capillaries per fiber.
> Bodybuilders, as opposed to Olympic weight lifters, power lifters, or other power athletes, tend to display a relatively high percentage of slow switch fibers.
(source, random opinions of gym bros and sisters at doherty's and derrimut gyms)
Powerlifters are not doing one set and calling it a day.
The article doesn't say that, though.
"Doing four sets didn’t produce notably bigger strength gains than one set" - direct quote.
Which is, frankly, complete bollocks. Maybe it can produce CNS gains sufficient to lift the maximum your muscles are capable of (basically newbie gains), but no serious competition lifter is going into the gym, doing one set of squats, one of bench, one of deads, and then going home.
> Eighty-five older individuals [41M/44F, age = 68 ± 4 yr; body mass index (BMI) = 26.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2] had one leg randomly allocated to a single (1)-set and the contralateral leg allocated to four sets of unilateral knee-extension RT at 8-15 repetition maximum (RM) for 10-wk 2 days/wk. Pre- and postintervention, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and unilateral knee-extension 1-RM strength testing.
Which, okay, it's old people who will get fatigued quickly and their recovery will be worse. Looks like some of them got tired and didn't recover well, while for others more sets were better because they recovered well, so when averaging those out this result is seems pretty believable, but I wouldn't generalize it to everyone.
My takeaway is if you get really exhausted/tired lifting, and you're doing 5 sets of 5 reps or 3 sets of 5 like you did when you were younger, maybe try 1 set of 5 instead, and you might find you recover better for the next lifting session. I personally have gone from 5 sets to 3 sets of my max weight a while ago because of exhaustion.
I think he covers this somewhere on his website, though I wasn't able to track that down looking for it just now. You or others are welcome to read it:
I'll note that Bass doesn't claim that this is the only training modality, and peak-career bodybuilders will train differently. But for the general public, particularly in later years, it can be quite effective.
If there's one scourge of fitness discussions, it's a One True Way or Best Exercise fixation. People, goals, potentials, and available resources vary considerably.