Training volume calculator
Enter up to three exercises with sets, reps and load. You get tonnage for the session and the week, and how many hard sets each muscle group gets, checked against the range where most growth happens.
Training Volume Calculator
Training volume is usually counted two ways: tonnage, which is sets × reps × load, and hard sets per muscle per week. For muscle growth, research points to about 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle group a week, each taken within a few reps of failure. Four sets of bench press twice a week gives the chest 8 weekly sets, just under that range.
4 360 kg a session, 7 sets
Weekly hard sets · target 10–20
Method notes (3)
- Weekly sets count in full toward each exercise's primary muscle groups, the same rule as the app's plan screen.
- 10-20 hard sets per muscle a week is where most growth happens (Schoenfeld 2017). Only sets taken within a few reps of failure count as hard.
- Tonnage tracks how much work you did, but it is a poor guide to growth on its own — sets close to failure matter more.
Metric or imperial · runs the same code as the app · nothing is sent anywhere
How it works
Tonnage is sets × reps × load, per exercise and summed, then multiplied by sessions per week. Weekly sets count each set in full toward every primary muscle group of the exercise, the same rule the app uses on its plan screen. Secondary muscles are left out so assistance work isn't double-counted.
The 10–20 range comes from the Schoenfeld 2017 dose-response meta-analysis: more weekly sets meant more growth up to roughly that range, with little extra above it. Only sets taken close to failure count as hard sets.
Common questions
How many sets per muscle per week?
About 10 to 20 hard sets for most people who want to grow. Beginners grow on less, around 6 to 10. Going far above 20 rarely adds much and makes recovery harder.
Does tonnage matter?
It is a useful log of work done, and rising tonnage over months is a sign of progress. But for growth, the number of hard sets per muscle tracks results better than total kilos moved.
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The app runs this same maths against your logged weigh-ins, meals and sessions, so the figure updates itself instead of being a one-off.
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