Training Volume Calculator: Weekly Sets Per Muscle Group
Add the exercises you do each week and this training volume calculator counts your hard sets for every muscle, including the indirect work your triceps get from pressing and your biceps get from rows. It then shows which muscles sit in their target range, which fall short and which are over.
Targets adjust to your experience, how close to failure you train and whether you are dieting. A second tab works out volume load (sets x reps x weight) so you can compare one week with the next.
Quick answer
Key takeaways
- Training volume is counted as hard sets per muscle per week, not total sets in the gym.
- Compound lifts train helper muscles too; 10 sets of bench press add 5 indirect triceps sets.
- A 2026 meta-regression found that counting indirect sets as half a set predicted results best.
- Targets drop when most of your sets go to failure or when you are in a calorie deficit.
- Volume load (sets x reps x weight) is useful for week-to-week comparison of the same exercises.
How do you use the training volume calculator?
Tell it about yourself, list your weekly exercises and press Check. It takes about a minute, and a sample split loads in one click if you want to see how it works first.
- Experience, effort and diet. Pick your training age, how close to failure most sets go and whether you are in a surplus, at maintenance or in a deficit. These set the target for each muscle.
- Sessions per week. Choose how often you train each muscle. The calculator uses this to warn you when one session carries too many sets.
- Exercises and weekly sets. Add each exercise with its hard sets for the whole week. Four sets on Monday and four on Thursday is 8. The line under each exercise shows which muscles it counts toward.
- Read the table. Each muscle shows direct sets, indirect sets, the total, its target and a status. The “What to change” list turns the numbers into next steps.
Leave out warm-ups and easy sets. Only sets that end within about 1-3 reps of failure count, which is why the difference between warm-up sets and working sets matters here. The calculator saves your list on your device, so it is still there next week.
How does the calculator count indirect sets?
By default, each set counts as a full set for the main muscle and half a set for each helper muscle. A set of bench press is one chest set plus half a set each for the triceps and front delts. A barbell row is one back set plus half a set for the biceps and rear delts.
That half-set rule comes from a 2026 meta-regression. Researchers pooled 67 studies with 2,058 participants and tested three ways to count indirect work: as a full set, as half a set or not at all. Counting it as half a set predicted muscle growth and strength gains best (Pelland et al., 2026, Sports Medicine).
The difference shows up most on the arms. In the push/pull/legs sample, the biceps total 10 sets with half-set counting and 17 with full-set counting. If you prefer another rule, switch it under Counting options.
Where do the targets come from?
Each muscle’s target is the weekly set range for your experience level from our volume guide, adjusted for effort and diet. Research supports the general shape: more weekly sets produce more growth, with diminishing returns. In one meta-analysis, each extra weekly set was linked to about 0.37% more muscle growth (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and in trained young men 12-20 weekly sets worked as well as higher volumes for the quads and biceps, although the triceps grew more with over 20 sets (Baz-Valle et al., 2022).
| Setting | What the calculator does |
|---|---|
| Most sets to failure | Keeps the bottom of each range and lowers the top, because sets to failure take longer to recover from |
| Mild deficit (300-500 kcal) | Lowers each target by about 15-20% |
| Aggressive deficit (500+ kcal) | Lowers each target by about 25-30% |
| More than ~10 sets per muscle in one session | Flags it. No study has set an exact per-session limit, but coaching guidelines, including our sets guide, cap one muscle at around 10 hard sets per session |
Status colours work the same way for every muscle. In range means keep going and add sets only when progress stalls. Below means add 1-2 sets a week and reassess after 3-4 weeks. Above is fine for a short push if you recover well, while well above can mean sets are turning into junk volume.
Weekly sets or volume load: which should you track?
Track weekly sets to plan your program and volume load to compare the same workout over time. Set counts are what the growth research measures, so they are the better way to decide how much work each muscle gets. Volume load, the total of sets x reps x weight, is a quick way to see whether a repeated week got harder.
Use the Volume load tab for that second job. Enter each exercise’s sets, reps and weight, add last week’s total and the calculator shows the percentage change. Compare like with like, though: swapping squats for leg press changes volume load without changing how hard the week was. Logging the same lifts each week, as covered in how to track your workouts, keeps the comparison fair.
Example: checking a push/pull/legs split
Load the “Push/pull/legs 6x” sample to see a balanced week for an intermediate lifter. It hits each muscle twice, and every muscle lands inside its target:
| Muscle | Direct | Indirect (half) | Total | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 14 | 0 | 14 | 10-14 |
| Back | 14 | 0 | 14 | 12-16 |
| Side + rear delts | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8-12 |
| Quads | 12 | 0 | 12 | 10-16 |
| Hamstrings | 10 | 0 | 10 | 8-12 |
| Glutes | 2 | 9 | 11 | 8-12 |
| Biceps | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6-10 |
| Triceps | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6-10 |
| Calves | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8-12 |
Notice how few direct arm sets it takes: 3 sets of curls and 3 of pushdowns are enough, because rows, pull-ups and presses already supply 7 indirect sets each. Now try adding two more chest exercises of 3 sets each: chest jumps to 20, well above its 10-14 target, and turns red. To see how the split itself compares with other set-ups, read the push/pull/legs split, and to spread sets across movements, see how many exercises per muscle group.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my biceps total include sets I never did for biceps?
Rows, pull-ups, chin-ups and pulldowns all work the biceps, so each set adds half a biceps set. That is why many lifters need only a few direct curl sets.
What if my exercise is not in the list?
Choose the closest movement that trains the same muscles. A machine chest press works like a dumbbell bench press, and a hack squat works like a leg press.
Does the calculator work for strength training?
The targets are set for muscle growth. Strength gains show stronger diminishing returns from extra sets than muscle growth does, so a strength block can sit below these ranges and still progress well.
How often should I recheck my volume?
Run it whenever you start a new training block, change exercises or stall for three weeks or more. Recheck after a deload too, when you set the starting volume for your next block.
Is my data stored anywhere?
Your exercise list is saved only in your own browser so it is there next time. Nothing is sent to ExerciseMenu or anyone else.
Next step: enter your current week, fix the muscles marked red or yellow first, and recheck after your next deload week.
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This calculator gives general training targets, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, check with your doctor or a qualified coach before increasing your training volume.