Training volume
How much work you do: usually working sets per muscle per week, sometimes tonnage — the sum of weight × reps.
Volume is measured two ways. For muscle growth the handiest is working sets — hard ones, close to failure — per muscle per week. For a general picture of a workout there's tonnage: the sum of weight × reps, but it depends heavily on exercise choice — squats give tonnes, lateral raises almost nothing.
Muscle growth follows volume dose-response: more sets, more growth, but each extra set gives less than the last. Targets run from 6–10 sets per muscle per week for beginners to 15–20 for advanced lifters; details in the sets-per-week guide.
You can split your plan by muscle with the volume calculator, and if you log your workouts, I count the weekly sets per group myself.
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In the diary I work out all of these numbers myself — you just log the set.
Prefer Telegram? Open the bot — same diary.
Other terms
- e1RM (estimated one-rep max)
- RPE (rating of perceived exertion)
- RIR (reps in reserve)
- Tonnage
- Double progression
- Superset
- Drop set
- Warm-up set
- Working set
- Plateau
- Deload
- Hypertrophy
- PR (personal record)
- 1RM (one-rep max)
- AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
- Training to failure
- Training frequency
- Training max
- Linear progression
- Compound exercise