Muscle Volume Calculator

Check whether each muscle gets enough work. Enter your weekly sets per muscle and see which ones get low, moderate or high volume, counted the way recent research does.

Your details

Count hard sets per week (sets taken close to failure). A set is direct for the muscle it mainly trains and indirect for muscles that help.

MuscleDirect setsIndirect sets
Chest Direct: bench press, push-ups, flyes.
Back Lats and upper back. Direct: rows, pull-ups, pulldowns.
Shoulders Direct: overhead press, lateral raises. Indirect: bench press.
Biceps Direct: curls. Indirect: rows, pull-ups.
Triceps Direct: pushdowns, extensions. Indirect: bench and overhead press.
Quads Direct: squats, leg press, leg extensions.
Hamstrings Direct: leg curls, Romanian deadlifts. Indirect: deadlifts.
Glutes Direct: hip thrusts. Indirect: squats, deadlifts, lunges.
Calves Direct: calf raises.
Abs Direct: crunches, leg raises.

Your results

Enter your weekly sets for at least one muscle.

How to use it

  1. Go through your training week and count your hard sets, the ones taken close to failure. Skip warm-ups.
  2. For each muscle, enter direct sets (exercises that mainly train it) and indirect sets (exercises where it helps). For example, bench press is direct for chest and indirect for triceps and shoulders.
  3. Read how many muscles reach 10+ sets a week, and the volume for each muscle in the table.

How it's calculated

Counting sets. Each hard set counts for the muscles it trains, using the “fractional” method from Pelland and colleagues (2026):

  • Direct set (the muscle mainly does the work): counts as 1.
  • Indirect set (the muscle helps): counts as 0.5.

Weekly sets per muscle = direct sets + 0.5 × indirect sets. Example: 9 sets of bench press and 6 sets of triceps pushdowns give triceps 6 + 0.5 × 9 = 10.5 sets.

Volume ranges. The ranges follow the meta-analysis by Schoenfeld and colleagues (2017), which grouped studies by fewer than 5, 5 to 9, and 10 or more weekly sets per muscle:

Weekly sets Label What the research shows
Under 5 Low Enough to grow, but less than higher volumes.
5 to 9 Moderate More growth than under 5.
10 to 20 High The most growth in the 2017 analysis.
Over 20 Very high Little data; gains per set get smaller (Pelland et al., 2026).

These are group averages from studies. Your own best volume depends on your training history, recovery and goals.

Sources

  1. Pelland, J., Remmert, J., Robinson, Z., Hinson, S., & Zourdos, M. (2026). The resistance training dose response: meta-regressions exploring the effects of weekly volume and frequency on muscle hypertrophy and strength gains. Sports Medicine, 56(2), 481–505.
  2. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(11), 1073–1082.

Questions

How many sets per muscle should I do?

Research links 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week to more muscle growth than fewer sets. Gains keep rising above that, but each extra set adds less. Start around 10 and add sets only if you recover well.

Why do indirect sets count as half?

A row trains your biceps, but less than a curl does. A large 2026 meta-analysis (Pelland and colleagues) compared ways of counting and found that counting indirect sets as half predicted muscle growth best.

Is more volume always better?

Not always. Above about 20 sets per muscle there's little research, returns get smaller and recovery gets harder. If your performance drops or you're always sore, cut back before you add more.

What's a hard set?

A set taken close to failure, roughly 0 to 3 reps short of it. Warm-up sets and easy sets don't count. Use the RPE Calculator if you rate sets by effort.

Updated November 9, 2026.