The hypertrophy series: the optimal number of sets for muscle growth

It should be evident to anyone who has a shred of programming knowledge, but here goes: there is no such thing as an optimal number of sets for muscle growth, and anyone who pretends to know one is either a dunce or a fraud. Even if we accept the premise that we're talking working sets taken to failure only, differences in baseline recovery, work capacity and frequency between individuals dictates that such a number cannot exist. Rather, you're going to have to figure out where you stand training wise and apply the knowledge of programming you learned (hopefully from the hypertrophy series) to determine YOUR optimal number of sets and continuously progress.