Weekly Sets Calculator: How Many Sets Per Muscle Per Week?

What counts as a set

Count only hard sets: working sets you take close to failure. Warm-up sets don't count. Each set goes to the muscle that does most of the work, so a set of bench press counts for chest and a set of rows counts for back. Some lifters also count half a set for the helping muscles (triceps on bench, biceps on rows). Either way works if you keep the same rule every week.

Tap + and − for each of the 10 muscles and the bars fill in as you go. The total at the bottom adds up every hard set in your week.

What the colours mean

The three bands come from studies on weekly training volume and muscle growth:

A meta-analysis of 15 studies found that each extra weekly set was linked to slightly more muscle growth (Schoenfeld, Ogborn & Krieger, 2017). A later review in trained young adults compared under 12, 12 to 20 and over 20 weekly sets. It found no difference between 12 to 20 and over 20 for quads and biceps, an advantage for the higher volume in triceps, and suggested 12 to 20 sets as a sensible standard (Baz-Valle et al., 2022).

A worked example

A made-up week for chest: Monday has 4 sets of bench press and 3 sets of incline dumbbell press, and Thursday has 3 sets of machine press. That is 10 sets, so chest lands in the 10 to 20 band. The same week has 4 sets of curls for biceps, which sits under 10.

How to use the numbers

• If a muscle is lagging and sits under 10, add 2 to 4 sets a week and keep it there for a few weeks before judging.
• If you are over 20, check how you recover. If your lifts stall or your joints ache, cut back before adding more.
• Spread the sets for one muscle over two or more days, so each session stays good quality.

The bands are a reference, not a rule. Most of these studies used young men with training experience. Beginners can grow well with fewer sets, and sleep, food and effort per set matter as much as the count.