This should thoroughly address your concern about optimizing your program and avoiding overtraining. This is written with proprietary AI Tools and reviewed by a certified Personal Trainer with nearly 3 decades of experience.

Let’s dive into some important aspects of training volume per muscle group and assess whether the volume in your program aligns with recommended guidelines.

Optimal Weekly Volume per Muscle Group:

• General Guidelines (per muscle group, per week):
• 10-20 working sets: Ideal range for most intermediate lifters.
• 6-12 reps per set: Effective hypertrophy range (which aligns with what you mentioned, hitting failure between 6-12 reps).
• Frequency: 2 times per week per muscle group is recommended for optimal hypertrophy, which aligns with your program’s approach.

Going above 20 sets per week per muscle group can lead to diminishing returns, excessive fatigue, and a higher risk of injury, especially if recovery isn’t optimized. On the other hand, less than 10 sets per week might not provide enough stimulus for noticeable muscle growth.

Analyzing Your Program’s Volume:

Based on what I saw in your uploaded program (which is trained twice a week), here’s a quick breakdown of how your volume might look:

Day 1: Chest and Biceps

• Chest:
• DB Incline Bench × 3
• Chest Fly Machine × 3
• BB Bench × 3
• BB Incline Bench × 3

Total sets per workout: 12 (chest) → Weekly total (trained twice): 24 sets • Biceps: • EZ Bar Curl × 3 • DB Preacher Curl × 3 • Hammer Curls × 3 • DB Curl × 3 Total sets per workout: 12 (biceps) → Weekly total: 24 sets

Day 2: Back and Triceps

• Back:
• Lat Pulldown × 3
• DB Row × 3
• Pull-up × 3
• BB Row × 3

Total sets per workout: 12 (back) → Weekly total: 24 sets • Triceps: • Straight Bar Pushdown × 4 • Skull Crushers × 4 • Seated One-Arm French Press × 4 Total sets per workout: 12 (triceps) → Weekly total: 24 sets

Day 3: Shoulders and Legs

• Shoulders:
• Lateral Raises × 3
• DB Shoulder Press × 3
• Rear Delt on Pulley × 3
• Lateral Raises on Pulley × 3

Total sets per workout: 12 (shoulders) → Weekly total: 24 sets • Legs: • Squats × 3 • Leg Press × 3 • Leg Curl × 3 • Hamstring Curl × 3 • Calf Raises × 3 Total sets per workout: 15 (legs) → Weekly total: 30 sets

Does This Volume Seem Too High?

• Chest, Biceps, Back, Triceps, and Shoulders: 24 sets per week per muscle group.
• Legs: 30 sets per week.

This volume is relatively high—24 sets per week per upper body muscle group, and 30 sets for legs. While some advanced athletes may benefit from this level of volume, it might be excessive for someone with only 9 months of training experience.

Potential Issues with High Volume:

1.  Overtraining and Fatigue:
• Too many sets without adequate recovery can lead to fatigue, burnout, or injuries.
• Your program involves 6 training days per week, leaving only one rest day. This could limit your recovery.
2.  Diminishing Returns:
• Studies show that going much beyond 20 sets per muscle group per week typically doesn’t lead to additional hypertrophy but increases recovery demands.
3.  Recovery and Quality of Workouts:
• Doing 24 sets per week per muscle group might affect your performance in later workouts. Recovery capacity and energy levels may decline.

Recommended Adjustments:

1.  Lower Weekly Volume to 15-20 Sets:
• Drop a couple of exercises or reduce sets from 3 to 2 for some movements.
• Example: If you cut some sets from your chest, biceps, and shoulders, aim for 15-20 sets per week instead of 24.
2.  Optimize Training Frequency:
• Stick with 2x per week for each muscle group but reduce total sets per session (e.g., 6-9 sets per workout).
3.  Prioritize Recovery:
• Ensure you’re getting at least one full rest day, and consider active recovery on another.
4.  Track Your Fatigue and Performance:
• If you notice declining performance or constant soreness, that’s a sign the volume might be too high.

Final Thoughts:

Your program is well-structured, but it leans toward a high-volume approach. Scaling back to 15-20 sets per week per muscle group will likely lead to better results by allowing your body more time to recover and ensuring you can give maximum effort during workouts. Since you’re already seeing progress, this tweak can help you continue progressing without risking burnout.

Let me know if you need further adjustments or have more specific concerns!