Free evidence-based tool

Find Your Weekly Set Target

Count your weekly work for one muscle and get a clear next step: add, hold, reduce, or improve the quality of your sets.

About 60 seconds No email required One clear next step
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or saved.
What the calculator does
8direct sets
4 × 0.5indirect sets
10effective sets
Then progress, effort, recovery, and the rest of your program determine what to do next.
1Count your setsChoose one target muscle
2Rate set qualityExperience and RIR
3Get your next moveAdd, hold, or reduce

Step 1

Count the weekly work

Pick one muscle and enter a typical week. Warm-ups do not count.

Frequency for this muscle, not total gym days.
Choose a target muscle to see counting examples
Direct = main target

Exercises where the selected muscle is a main target.

Indirect = helps the movement

Exercises where the selected muscle contributes meaningfully as a secondary mover.

Example: curls for biceps.
Example: rows for biceps.
Unsure? Enter 0 indirect sets. Only count secondary work when the muscle clearly helps move the load.
8 direct4 indirect × 0.510 effective sets
Not sure what counts as an indirect set? Open the guide

Direct set: the selected muscle is a main target of the exercise. Indirect set: the muscle helps substantially, but another muscle is the main target. Enter the number of relevant indirect sets—the calculator gives them half credit.

ExerciseUsually direct forPossible indirect credit for
Bench or machine pressChestTriceps and front delts
Row or pulldownTargeted back regionBiceps / elbow flexors
Overhead pressFront deltsTriceps; usually little side-delt credit
Squat or leg pressQuadsGlutes may contribute depending on depth, setup, and limitation
Curl, triceps extension, lateral raise, leg curl, or leg extensionThe named target muscleNormally no secondary sets need to be entered

Conservative rule: if you are unsure whether an exercise meaningfully trains the selected muscle, enter 0 indirect sets. The result will be easier to interpret than an inflated guess.

Step 2

Describe the set quality

Tell us how hard the sets feel. RIR is simply how many clean reps you had left.

RIR means Reps in Reserve: choose the range most working sets fall into. You do not need an exact number.
New to RIR? See a 20-second example

If you finish a set of 10 reps and believe you could have completed another two or three clean reps, choose 2–3 RIR. If most sets vary widely—or you genuinely cannot estimate them yet—choose Mixed / unsure. The calculator will avoid making a precise volume recommendation from uncertain effort data.

Step 3

Use outcome signals

Use the last 3–6 weeks—not one workout—to judge progress and recovery.

Local problem or whole-program fatigue?

Separate one difficult exercise from a true muscle- or whole-program problem, then include the recovery demands outside the gym.

What is your performance trend based on?
What could be reducing recovery right now? Select all that apply

Compare with a period when training was going better. “More physical work” includes running with clients, cardio, steps, sport and an active job—even when it is not counted as quad sets.

How the effective-set estimate works

The calculator uses a simple counting method that distinguishes sets in which the muscle is the primary target from sets in which it contributes secondarily.

Effective-set estimate = direct sets + (indirect sets × 0.5)

This approach is supported by the strongest-fitting set-count model in a 2026 meta-regression. It is still an estimate: a bench press does not give every lifter exactly “half a triceps set,” and exercise technique, anatomy and exercise selection change the contribution.

Why the tool does not calculate a universal MEV or MRV

Research shows that more weekly volume tends to produce more hypertrophy on average, with diminishing returns. It does not validate one exact minimum effective volume (MEV), optimal volume or maximum recoverable volume (MRV) for every muscle and lifter. Those landmarks are individual outcomes, not constants a formula can know in advance.

That is why the general comparison range is only a rough starting point—not a target. If you are progressing and recovering, the current dose has earned the right to stay even when it sits outside the range. If progress has genuinely stalled, the next step depends on set effort and recovery before it depends on adding sets.

Local muscle volume is not the whole recovery picture

A decline in one exercise does not prove that the selected muscle receives too much or too little volume. Performance can also be affected by the rest of the program, repeated failure training, session order, poor sleep, life stress, illness or an aggressive calorie deficit.

Running, cardio, high daily steps and physically active work should not be entered as hypertrophy sets. They still create recovery demand and may influence lower-body strength performance, so they belong in the bigger-picture check instead.

The bigger-picture check therefore asks whether the conclusion is based on one exercise, several exercises for the selected muscle or several unrelated lifts. It does not diagnose the cause; it prevents the calculator from making a local volume recommendation when the evidence is exercise-specific or the pattern looks broader.

How to get a useful result

Count direct and indirect work conservatively

A curl can count directly for biceps. A row may count indirectly when the biceps contributes meaningfully. Warm-ups, very easy sets and work where the target muscle is barely challenged should not be added merely to inflate the score.

Use RIR as a quality check

Hypertrophy tends to improve as sets finish closer to failure, but failure itself is not required. There is no validated conversion such as “a 4-RIR set equals 0.6 sets,” so this tool does not invent one. Instead, it flags very easy work and repeated failure training as programming issues to address before blindly changing volume.

Let the trend decide

Track at least one stable exercise for the target muscle: load, repetitions, technique and approximate RIR. Compare like with like over several weeks. When performance rises and recovery is acceptable, hold. When it stalls with good recovery and hard sets, test a small increase. When recovery or performance breaks down, reduce stress.

Continue building your program

Use the result alongside THG’s guides to optimal training volume, reps in reserve, training frequency, progressive overload and under-recovery.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a direct set?

A direct set meaningfully loads the target muscle as a primary mover and is performed with sufficient effort and stable technique. An isolation exercise is often direct, but some compound exercises can also be direct for more than one major muscle.

Should every indirect set count as half a set?

No. Half a set is a practical research-informed convention. Include only relevant indirect work, and interpret the result as an estimate rather than a physiological measurement.

Is 10–20 sets per muscle always optimal?

No. It is a commonly discussed population-level range, not a law. Some lifters progress with less; some tolerate or benefit from more. Your stable performance and recovery trend is more useful than forcing a generic target.

How often should I change volume?

Keep the setup stable for roughly 3–4 weeks when possible. Change one variable at a time, usually by only one or two direct sets per week, then observe the next trend.

Evidence and limitations

The algorithm is grounded in resistance-training meta-analyses on weekly volume, direct versus indirect set counting, frequency and proximity to failure. The decision rules are conservative coaching heuristics—not clinically validated predictions. Most volume research includes young adults, often men, and group averages do not reveal one person’s recoverable limit.

Important: This tool is educational and is not medical advice. Persistent or worsening pain is not a volume score to optimize; stop aggravating work and seek an appropriately qualified health professional.

  1. Pelland JC, et al. The Resistance Training Dose Response. Sports Medicine. 2026. doi:10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Weekly resistance-training volume and muscle hypertrophy. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2017. PubMed.
  3. Robinson ZP, et al. Estimated proximity to failure, strength and hypertrophy. Sports Medicine. 2024. doi:10.1007/s40279-024-02069-2.
  4. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger JW. Training frequency and hypertrophy. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2019. PubMed.
  5. Refalo MC, et al. Proximity to failure and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Sports Medicine. 2023. doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01784-y.
  6. Chen Y, et al. Concurrent training types and lower-body strength and hypertrophy. 2024. PubMed.
  7. Stults-Kolehmainen MA, et al. Chronic psychological stress and muscular recovery. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2014. PubMed.