Podcast Summary: The Dr. Shannon Show

Body Recomposition Capsule #4: How Much to Exercise

Host: Dr. Shannon Ritchey, PT, DPT
Date: January 4, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Shannon Ritchey delves into the science-backed specifics of how much one should exercise to maximize body recomposition—namely, how many sets and sessions per week are truly effective for muscle growth and maintenance. She clarifies common misconceptions about volume, frequency, and what it genuinely takes to both build and maintain muscle based on the latest research, while offering practical guidance tailored for busy individuals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Foundational Principles

• Right Exercises & Training to Failure:
  • Dr. Shannon emphasizes that before even considering volume and frequency, choosing effective exercises and training close to failure are essential.
  • "None of this works unless you're choosing the right exercises and training close enough to failure." (03:01)

2. Volume: How Many Sets per Muscle Group per Week?

• Definition:

  • Volume refers to the total number of sets per muscle group per week.

• Research Highlights:

  • A cited meta-analysis categorized weekly volume into:
    • Low: 4 or fewer sets/week → ~5.4% muscle growth
    • Moderate: 5–9 sets/week → ~6.5% muscle growth
    • High: 10+ sets/week → ~9.6% muscle growth
  • "As you can see, the more volume you add, you do build muscle faster... But the additional gains per extra set become smaller." (05:10)

• Diminishing Returns:

  • After about 10 sets per week, gains plateau and recovery demands increase significantly.

• Practical Recommendation:

  • Dr. Shannon recommends moderate volume (4–8 sets per muscle group per week) as the sustainable sweet spot for most people.
  • "Moderate, manageable, smart volume lets you actually show up and it has a real visible impact on your body." (08:17)

3. Frequency: How Often Should You Train Each Muscle Group?

• Definition:

  • Frequency is how many times a week you train each muscle group.

• Research Insights:

  • Training a muscle once/week builds muscle, but twice/week is significantly better.
  • Three times/week brings no significant additional benefit for most people and can reduce recovery.

• Recommendation:

  • "Twice a week is the sweet spot in my opinion. Not only is it practical, it's great for building muscle and it's easy to stick to." (11:15)

4. Weekly Strength Workouts: What Works?

• Options:

  • 3–5 strength sessions per week is optimal.
    • 2 full-body workouts/week can work but may be long and hard to stick to.

• Customization:

  • Choose your preference for longer, fewer sessions (3 days) or shorter, more frequent sessions (5 days).

• Dr. Shannon’s Experience:

  • Personally cycles through 3, 4, and 5 sessions/week depending on schedule and teaching responsibilities.

• Memorable Quote:

  • "If your goal is body recomposition, whether you choose three, four or five is really up to you. Just try to train each muscle group twice on non-consecutive days." (13:30)

5. Muscle Maintenance: What’s Required?

• Myth Busting:

  • Maintenance does NOT mean "easy" workouts (no lowering weights, just cardio, or light Pilates).
  • Muscle is "metabolically expensive": your body will reduce muscle mass if not consistently challenged.

• Key Principle:

  • Lowering volume is okay, but intensity must remain high (close to failure).
  • "If the signal to your muscles is not strong enough on a consistent basis, your body considers that muscle mass extra and it slowly starts to trim it down." (17:35)

• Volume for Maintenance:

  • Research shows muscle can be maintained with as little as 1/3 (sometimes even 1/9) of previous volume, as long as intensity remains high.
  • Example: If you train 9 sets/week to build, as little as 3 sets/week can maintain. In some cases, even 1 hard set/week per muscle group suffices. (22:00)

• Maintenance Frequency:

  • Hitting each muscle group once per week with high-intensity sets is typically enough.

• Practical Guidance for Evlo Members:

  • Use targeted "upper body, lower body, and mat build" sessions to hit each muscle weekly.
  • Can be spread flexibly through the week.

• Summary Quote:

  • "The simplest guidance for maintenance is aim to work each muscle group with at least one hard set per week. More is totally fine, but that's the floor." (25:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Plateaus & Recovery:

  • "You start to see diminished returns. As you add more volume, the return on your investment is lower and your recovery demand goes up." (06:03)

• On Consistency & Sustainability:

  • "For most women, especially women with jobs and families and stress and normal recovery capacity, doing super high volume just is not very sustainable." (06:21)

• On Staying in 'Build Mode':

  • "I recommend always being in building mode, even if your actual outcome ends up being maintenance, because life gets in the way." (18:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:01 – Importance of exercise selection and training to failure
• 05:10 – Volume research explained; diminishing returns
• 08:17 – Recommendation for moderate training volume
• 11:15 – Frequency research and recommendations
• 13:30 – Weekly sessions: how to divide your workouts
• 17:35 – Why maintenance is not just “easier” workouts
• 22:00 – Research on minimum effort needed for maintenance
• 25:41 – Simple maintenance guidance: one hard set per week per muscle group

Episode Takeaways

• To Build Muscle:

  • Train each muscle group at least twice per week
  • Accumulate 4–8 sets per muscle group per week (moderate volume)
  • Train close to failure with correct exercises

• To Maintain Muscle:

  • Use much lower volume (possibly just 1–3 challenging sets per muscle group per week)
  • Keep the intensity high, training sets close to failure

• Be Flexible:

  • Adapt volume, frequency, and session number to lifestyle and preference
  • Consistency trumps extreme volume

• Teaser:

  • Next episode will explore efficiency techniques, supersets, and how to combine cardio and strength training.

This episode delivers clear, actionable advice backed by research and Dr. Shannon's experience to demystify the "how much should I exercise?" question for anyone interested in optimizing body recomposition.