How Many Sets Per Muscle Per Week? A Simple Training Volume Guide
A practical guide to training volume: how many sets per muscle to do each week, how to count sets, and how to adjust without guesswork.
If you want a simple answer: most lifters make great progress with 8-12 hard sets per muscle per week. Beginners often need less; advanced lifters can benefit from more—if recovery and performance stay solid.
The real skill is not finding the “perfect” number. It is picking a starting point, tracking it consistently, and making small changes when your lifts (or recovery) tell you to.
This guide gives you practical ranges, an easy way to count sets, and a weekly review so volume becomes a dial—not a debate.
Quick rule of thumb
- Most intermediate lifters: 8-12 hard sets per muscle per week.
- Newer lifters: 6-10 hard sets per muscle per week.
- More advanced lifters: 10-18 hard sets per muscle per week (sometimes 20+, but only if recovery supports it).
- If you are unsure: start at the low end and add volume only when you need it.
Contents
- What “training volume” actually means
- How to count sets per muscle (without spreadsheets)
- Simple weekly set ranges (by goal + experience)
- How to distribute sets across the week
- When to add volume vs. deload
- How to track volume cleanly
- Common mistakes
- FAQs
What is training volume?
In strength training, volume usually means how much hard work you do. The simplest useful way to measure it is sets per muscle per week.
A “set” counts most when it is a hard set: a working set that challenges you (not a warm-up). You do not need to train to failure, but the set should feel like it actually did something.
If you want a clean way to keep effort consistent without grinding, use RIR and RPE as a guide—but volume works even if you only track sets, reps, and weight.
How to count sets per muscle (fast)
Counting sets gets messy when you try to perfectly “assign” every compound lift to every muscle. You do not need perfect accounting—you need consistent accounting.
- Count 1 set for the main target muscle of an exercise.
- If a muscle is clearly a secondary driver (e.g., triceps on bench), either count 0 or 0.5—but pick one rule and stick to it.
- Do not count warm-ups. Count working sets that are reasonably challenging.
Example: if you bench press for 3 working sets on Monday and 3 on Thursday, that is 6 chest sets per week (and optionally 3-6 “partial” triceps sets, depending on your rule).
How many sets per muscle per week should you do?
Use set ranges as guardrails, then adjust based on performance and recovery. The best volume is the one you can repeat for months.
- Beginner: 6-10 hard sets per muscle per week
- Intermediate: 8-14 hard sets per muscle per week
- Advanced: 10-18 hard sets per muscle per week
- Beginner: 6-10 hard sets per muscle per week
- Intermediate: 8-12 hard sets per muscle per week
- Advanced: 8-14 hard sets per muscle per week (plus more sport-specific practice on main lifts)
If you are running a very time-efficient plan (2-3 days/week), start near the lower end and make your sets high quality. If you train 5-6 days/week, you can often tolerate a bit more total volume because each session is less dense.
How to distribute volume across the week
Most people do best when a muscle gets trained 2-3 times per week. It is usually easier to recover from 10 weekly sets split across two sessions (5 + 5) than crammed into one session (10 + 0).
If you are unsure which split fits your schedule, start with Workout Splits Explained and pick the simplest option you can stick to.
- 8-12 weekly sets: split into 2 sessions (4-6 sets each).
- 12-18 weekly sets: split into 3 sessions (4-6 sets each).
- If a session starts dragging: reduce sets per session and add frequency instead.
When to add volume (and when to deload)
The cleanest way to use volume is to make small changes when your trend line stalls.
- If reps/weight are trending up and you feel okay: keep volume the same.
- If progress stalls for 2-3 weeks and recovery is fine: add 2-4 sets per muscle per week (spread across the week).
- If performance drops and soreness/fatigue climbs: reduce volume or take a planned deload week.
Volume is not the only lever. Sometimes the fix is better sleep, slightly longer rest between sets, or a clearer progression plan. (If you want a simple progression framework, start with Progressive Overload Explained.)
How to track volume cleanly
You do not need a spreadsheet. You need a log that makes it easy to see: what you did, what you are repeating, and what changed.
Start with a simple template you can repeat (and tweak slowly). If you do not have one yet, use Workout Template: Build a Simple Strength Plan.
In Push/Pull, you can log sets fast, reuse templates, and use analytics to spot patterns in your training without turning every week into a math project. See workout logging and the strength training tracker pages for the full flow.
Common volume mistakes
- Adding sets everywhere: pick 1-2 muscles to push, keep the rest at maintenance.
- Counting warm-ups as “volume”: warm-ups prepare you, they do not drive most growth.
- Ignoring performance trends: volume only matters if your lifts are moving forward over time.
- Never deloading: if fatigue keeps stacking, progress eventually stalls.
FAQs
Do warm-up sets count toward weekly volume?
Do I need to train to failure for volume to “count”?
What if I am sore all the time?
Can I grow with very low volume?
Related reading
- Progressive Overload Explained: How to Get Stronger
- Workout Splits Explained: Pros, Cons, and How to Choose
- Deload Week: When to Deload, How to Do It, and What to Track
- Workout Log: Track Sets, Reps, and Weight
Keep your volume consistent (without a spreadsheet)
Push/Pull is a clean workout tracker for fast set logging, templates, and progress analytics. Set a plan, keep your weekly volume steady, and adjust deliberately when your trend line asks for it.