Free tool
Weekly Sets Counter
Paste your routine. See how many hard sets each muscle gets in a week, which muscles are light, and which are getting plenty.
Compound lifts count for the helper muscles too, so a bench press adds to your triceps and front delts as well as your chest. Works with most split styles.
Your routine stays on your device. We never see it.
Example: a 4 day upper and lower split. Paste your own routine above to see yours.
Check this
We could not find any sets in that text. Write each exercise with its sets, likeBench press 3x8.
Your weekly sets
Hard sets per muscle, per week
83 hard sets counted across 4 days
Main muscles
The shaded band is the sweet spot, 10 to 20 sets.
- Chest2x a week10Sweet spot
- Back2x a week12Sweet spot
- Side delts2x a week7.5Light
- Biceps2x a week12Sweet spot
- Triceps2x a week12.5Sweet spot
- Quads2x a week11Sweet spot
- Hamstrings2x a week10.5Sweet spot
- Glutes2x a week10Sweet spot
- Calves2x a week8Light
Helper muscles
Other lifts already train these, so they need fewer sets. The band is 4 to 12.
- Front delts2x a week8Good
- Rear delts2x a week6Good
- Trapsnot trained0None
- Forearms2x a week3Light
- Abs2x a week6Good
What to look at
- You have 7.5 sets for side delts. Try adding 2 to 3 hard sets of lateral raises.
- You have 8 sets for calves. Try adding 2 to 3 hard sets of calf raises.
Counted as: Main muscle = 1 set. Helper muscle = half a set. Warm-ups, stretches and cardio are skipped.
This is education. It is not medical advice. Medical disclaimer.
Day by day
Sets for one session of each day. A number in a dark box is more than 10 sets for one muscle in one session, where each extra set adds less.
| Muscle | Upper A | Lower A | Upper B | Lower B | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 7 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Back | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||
| Side delts | 3 | 4.5 | 7.5 | ||
| Biceps | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||
| Triceps | 6.5 | 6 | 12.5 | ||
| Quads | 5 | 6 | 11 | ||
| Hamstrings | 6 | 4.5 | 10.5 | ||
| Glutes | 5.5 | 4.5 | 10 | ||
| Calves | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Front delts | 3.5 | 4.5 | 8 | ||
| Rear delts | 1.5 | 4.5 | 6 | ||
| Traps | 0 | ||||
| Forearms | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3 | ||
| Abs | 3 | 3 | 6 |
What we read
Wrong match? Edit the muscles for that line.
How to use it
What you can paste
Plain text from your notes app, a message or a spreadsheet. The counter reads sets from each line and finds the exercise by name. If it gets one wrong, you can fix it.
- Short
- Bench press 3x8 or Squat 4 x 6-8
- In words
- 3 sets of 10 lateral raises
- Set by set
- Bench 80x8,8,7 (three sets)
- Our program style
- Leg curl - 3 sets * 10-12 Reps
- Days
- A line on its own, like Push, Pull, Legs or Upper A, starts a new day
- Twice a week
- Add x2 to a day line, like Push x2
- From a spreadsheet
- Copy the rows. A Working Sets column is used, a Warm-up Sets column is not
Paste one week. Warm-up sets, stretches, cardio and timed holds are skipped, and you will see each skipped line in the list under the result, with a button to count it anyway.
Under the hood
How we count
Hard sets, per muscle, per week. That is the number to watch for muscle growth. A hard set is a working set that ends within about 0 to 4 reps of failure. Growth is better the closer you get, but there is no sharp line, so every set you list counts as one.
Helper muscles get half. Every exercise in the table has a main muscle (1 set) and often helper muscles (half a set). A bench press set is 1 for chest, a half for triceps and a half for front delts. In a 2026 analysis of 67 studies, this half-set method predicted growth better than counting every muscle as a full set, or counting only the main muscle. The authors call the one half a rule of thumb. So do we. Use the switch to see the other two methods.
The weights are estimates. We set them by hand for common lifts. They are not a measurement of your body. If a line looks wrong, tap Edit muscles and set your own.
What the labels mean
| Label | Main musclesChest, back, side delts, biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves | Helper musclesFront delts, rear delts, traps, forearms, abs |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Under 6 | Not used |
| Light | 6 to 9.5 | Under 4 |
| Sweet spot (main muscles) or Good (helper muscles) | 10 to 20 | 4 to 12 |
| High | Over 20 | Over 12 |
These cut-offs are our own judgement, built from the research below. They are not a published table. Newer lifters often grow on the low end, and advanced lifters often need more. A label is a nudge, not a score.
Sets in one session
More than about 10 hard sets for one muscle in one workout gives fading returns. The day-by-day table marks those. Moving a few sets to another day is often an easy fix. A 2025 preprint on this has not been peer reviewed yet, and coaches have said 8 to 12 for years.
Where this comes from
- Pelland et al, Sports Medicine 2026: 67 studies, fractional counting, diminishing returns
- Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, 2017: each extra weekly set went with more growth
- Baz-Valle et al, 2022: 12 to 20 weekly sets for young trained men
- Robinson et al, 2024: growth is better the closer sets end to failure
- Remmert et al, 2025 preprint: sets per session (not yet peer reviewed)
- RP Strength: what counts as a working set
Most of the studies were short and used young adults, so treat the numbers as a starting point.
Next
Found a gap?
If a muscle is light, adding a few sets of one lift is often enough. Or start from a plan that already covers the week.
Questions
Weekly sets counter FAQ
How many sets per muscle per week should I do?
Most research and coaches point to about 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle per week for muscle growth. Newer lifters often grow well on 6 to 10. More sets keep helping up to a point, but each extra set adds a little less than the one before. Your best number depends on how well you sleep, eat and recover.
What counts as a hard set, and do warm-ups count?
A hard set is a working set that ends close to failure, with roughly 0 to 4 reps left in the tank. Warm-up sets do not count, and neither do very easy sets. This page skips lines it can tell are warm-ups, stretches or cardio. It cannot see how hard you pushed, so only list sets you really worked.
Do compound lifts count for more than one muscle?
Yes. A bench press trains your chest, and it also works your triceps and front delts. In a 2026 review of 67 studies, giving those helper muscles half a set predicted growth better than counting them as a full set or ignoring them. Half is an estimate, not a fact about your body, so the page lets you switch the method and change any line.
Is more than 20 sets for one muscle too much?
Not always, but the gains per set get smaller. One review found 20 or more weekly sets helped triceps more than 12 to 20 did, and found no difference for quads or biceps. Higher volume also costs recovery. If your lifts stall or drop and you feel run down, cutting sets is a fair thing to try.
How many sets can I do for one muscle in one workout?
About 8 to 12 hard sets per muscle in one session is where most coaches stop. A 2025 preprint put the point of fading returns near 11 half-counted sets in one session. It has not been peer reviewed yet. If one muscle gets more than 10 sets in a day here, the page flags it. Moving some to another day can help.
How often should I train each muscle?
Once your total weekly sets are the same, how many days you spread them over makes only a small difference to size. Twice a week is popular because it keeps each session shorter. The page shows how many days each muscle gets, as information only.
Why is my number different on another site?
Sites count differently. Renaissance Periodization counts only sets where a muscle is the main mover. Other sites count every muscle a lift touches as a full set. This page starts with the half-set method and gives you a switch for the other two. Change it and compare.
Does this page save my routine?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to us or stored. The page only remembers your counting method on your device, so it is the same next time.
This tool is education. It is not medical advice. Read the medical disclaimer. Last updated: 16 October 2026.
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