MRV (Maximum Recoverable Volume)
Programming Recovery Training
MRV is the largest training volume you can still fully recover from under your current conditions. It’s a descriptive framework — not a call to train at the limit all the time.
Notice
Concept & Framing
Quick insight MRV marks the highest practicable volume of “hard” working sets your system still adapts to. MEV is the lower bound for productive stimulus; MRV is the upper bound of recoverability.
- Below MRV: progress possible — provided MEV is exceeded.
- Near MRV: high adaptation but fragile; deload planning is essential.
- Above MRV: quality drops → fatigue, stagnation, injury risk.
Practical Ranges & Markers
- Rough ranges: sustainably, rarely > 15–20 hard sets/muscle/week (individual).
- Markers of MRV proximity: persistent strength stall, poor sleep, reduced appetite, elevated DOMS.
- Deload: insert planned deloads cyclically, especially when training near MRV.
- Think systemically: integrate SRA, RIR, RPE, stress, sleep, and nutrition.
Measurement & Steering
MRV is context-dependent (exercise selection, frequency, technique, ROM, proximity to failure) and shifts with training status, energy availability, and daily load (NEAT). Valid judgment requires multi-week observation under stable conditions.
“More training = more muscle”
False. Muscle growth follows the equation Growth = Stimulus × Recovery – not Sets × Ego. Hardgainers grow through quality over junk volume: focus on the SRA cycle, RIR control, and balanced MEV/MRV. Learn more in the full article: Myth #2.