Written by Kiel DiGiovanni | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Resistance training is a combination of putting in hard work and programming your routines correctly so you can hit your goals.
We can't bring the intensity for you, but we can tell you how to properly set up your workouts so you have the ideal number of exercises, sets, and reps per muscle group and workout, no matter your goal.
Research indicates that each major muscle group must be trained twice weekly for best muscle-building results. However, there are several unique variables that can impact this, which we'll cover in this article.
We're about to answer the question: How many exercises and sets should I do per week or per muscle group? In addition, we'll provide key programming tips for several different goals, and break down the most effective exercises for each muscle group.
Table of Contents:
- Understanding Sets & Reps
- Determining Sets & Reps
- Choosing Rep Ranges For Goals
- Number of Exercises Per Workout & Tailoring Exercises For Your Goals
- Recommendations For Beginners
- Optimal Frequency For Training Each Muscle Group
- Best Exercises For Each Muscle Group
Understanding Sets and Reps
Two of the most common words you will hear in the fitness world are sets and reps.
- Reps stands for repetitions, or the number of times you do a specific exercise.
- Sets means the number reps you’re completing before taking a rest.
For example, if a workout calls for 3 sets of bench press with 12 reps in each set, then you would be expected to do 12 reps three times for a total of 36 repetitions.
Determining Sets & Reps
When you are figuring out how many sets and reps you should do per muscle group and workout, there are 3 factors to consider.
- Fitness level (beginner or advanced)
- Goal (mass building or fat loss)
- Workout frequency
Recommendations
The American College of Sports Medicine states that 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps, coming close to failure on the last rep of each set, is ideal for muscular hypertrophy1.
Choosing Rep Ranges For Goals
The number of reps you do per set should be aligned with your end goals, which will including increasing power and/or strength, building muscle, and increasing muscular endurance.
- Reps to Increase Power: 1-3 reps of big compound movements at 70-95% of your 1 rep max.
- Reps to Increase Strength: 4-6 reps of compound movements at 85-90% of your 1 rep max.
- Reps to Build Muscle: 8-15 reps of compound and isolation movements using 65-75% of your 1 rep max.
- Reps to Increase Endurance: Over 15 reps of smaller compound and isolation movements using 30-60% of your 1 rep max.
Number of Exercises Per Workout
Follow these guidelines so you can effectively create a training program using the correct number of exercises per workout.
Guidelines:
- Total sets per workout (10-20)
- Examples based on sets per exercise (e.g., 3 sets per exercise = 5-8 different exercises per workout or 7-12 exercises if you're doing two sets of each exercise)
- Goal is to stay at or under 20 sets per muscle group per week if you're working the same muscle group twice a week
- Aim for each workout to have 15-25 sets total, but with less than 10 sets for a specific muscle group on one day
- Include 8-10 multi-joint exercises per week
Also, don't focus so much on how long your workout should be, but rather, make sure you're hitting all of your muscles with effective exercises.
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Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
Tailoring Workouts for Fat Loss and Muscle Building
Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building, we've got you covered! Here's how you can personalize your program to hit your goals.
Fat Loss Strategies:
To lose fat you should be doing a high volume of reps per set while still sticking within the guidelines above. In addition, you must increase the intensity of these exercises.
You can reduce rest times between sets for extra calorie burn. You can also try to execute HIIT or EMOM or AMRAP circuits to get that heart pumping, that sweat dripping and those calories melting.
Guidelines:
- High-rep sets
- Reduce rest times
- High intensity
- Incorporate HIIT, circuit training, EMOM, or AMRAP
- Focus on heavy compound lifts as well (with adequate rest time between sets)
Muscle Building Strategies:
To build muscle, utilize the concept of Time Under Tension (TUT), which is the amount of time the muscle is under tension or strained during a particular exercise. In essence, you should try to lengthen the time of each phase of the movement.
The phase of the movement we are most concerned with is the stretching phase where you should try for slow eccentric movement.
Guidelines:
- Focus on Time Under Tension (TUT)
- Incorporate heavy compound lifts
- Rep ranges of 6-12 reps per set
Recommendations For Beginners
Those new to fitness should start with full body workouts until their bodies get accustomed to exercising. In each full body workout, each muscle group should be targeted, completing 2 sets of 10-12 reps.
Make sure to give yourself adequate rest and recovery between workout days.
Starting Point Guidelines:
- Full body workouts
- 2 sets of 10-12 reps for each muscle group
Optimal Frequency for Training Each Muscle Group
Numerous studies have been conducted in this area with the majority agreeing that more volume/sets leads to more growth. This 2010 study saw that people who did 4-6 sets per week per muscle group had around 80% more muscle growth compared to those who completed one set per muscle group per week2.
This study in 2017 reinforced the findings that the more sets and exercises per muscle group you do the better the results3.
There is however a limit to when higher sets/volumes are beneficial and can actually become detrimental to your gains.
The same researcher from the aforementioned study, James Krieger, studied the meta-analysis and concluded that 10 sets per muscle group seems to be the upper limit of beneficial outcomes. If you’re doing more than 10 hard sets of a particular muscle group in one day you might be doing more harm than good as this “junk volume” can hinder your recovery.
Take this with a grain of salt, as the exact effects can vary depending on the person’s fitness level, how long they’ve been training and the type of exercises being performed.
For example, a total of 10 hard sets comprised of squats, deadlifts and lunges will be more taxing on your muscles than leg extensions, quad curls and calf raises.
Recap of Study Findings:
- Train each muscle group twice a week for optimal results
- Training each muscle group twice weekly let's you workout hard with a high intensity without over-training in one particular workout session
- More sets per muscle group weekly is best for muscle building
- Exceeding 10 sets per muscle group can negatively impact muscle recovery
- How many sets you do weekly is also dependent on your fitness level and training age
MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS
There are over 600 muscles in the human body! We will briefly touch on some of the best exercises for certain muscle groups. The following 12 major muscle groups that should be targeted in your exercise regimen.
- Trapezius
- Shoulders
- Chest
- Back
- Abs
- Triceps
- Biceps
- Forearms
- Glutes
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Calves
Let's now take a look at the best exercises you can do for each muscle group.
Best exercises to build traps
The following big lifts help to build strength and size in the traps:
- Deadlifts
- Snatches
- Cleans
The best exercise to build your trap are different shrug variations.
The more targeted trap exercises include:
- Military Press/Overhead Press
- Farmer’s Walk
- Shrugs
- Lateral/Side Raises
- Face Pulls
- Upright Rows
Check out the Best Trap Exercises for even more ideas!
Best shoulder exercises to build muscle
The king of shoulder exercises are the:
- Military press
- Overhead press
Although the military press might be the best shoulder exercise, there are plenty of others that will also help make your shoulders stronger. The shoulder muscles are also engaged in other exercises such as incline bench press and deadlifts.
Some exercises to build shoulder strength are:
- Arnold Press
- Single Arm Overhead Press
- Handstand/Wall Push Ups
- Front/Side/Rear Raises
- Upright Rows
Best chest exercises to build muscle
You often hear people talking about how much they can bench as a sign of strength but when was the last time you heard someone saying how many weighted dips they could do?
The best exercises to build a strong chest are bench press and dips but there are a number of exercises that assist in developing the chest muscles, including:
- Dips
- Incline/Decline Press
- Push Ups (wide/close grip/weighted/elevated)
- Flys
- Pullovers
- Cable Crossovers
There is an endless assortment of exercises that can target your chest from all angles. Check out the Best Upper Chest Exercises, Best Lower Chest Exercises, Best Inner Chest Exercises, and Best Outer Chest Exercises and you'll never run out of workout ideas!
Best back exercises
Back exercises can usually be separated into two areas: exercises to increase the depth of the back and exercises that improve the width of the back. Deadlifts are a great example to get a thicker back with pull ups being a perfect exercise to increase the width. A strong back is necessary are we age to help fend off back pain or other injuries.
The best exercises for back include:
- Deadlifts
- Pull Ups/Chin Ups
- Rows
- Pulldowns
- Back Extensions
Best ab exercises to build muscle
The best ab exercises you can do are actually not really considered “ab” exercises.
By doing some major compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, you will force your abs to be engaged which will help to build strength. However, if you do want to target your core more specifically there are a number of exercises that will do the trick.
Always remember, we all have abs, they are just hiding underneath that belly fat. The old saying goes, “Abs aren’t built in the gym but in the kitchen” which is half true but if you want strong well defined abs you have to put in the hard work. You will also need low body fat to get a glimpse of those abs.
Some of the best isolated ab exercises are:
For more ideas, check out the Best Upper Ab Exercises, Best Lower Ab Exercises, Best Oblique Exercises, and Best Transverse Abdominis Exercises.
Best triceps exercises to build muscle
The best triceps exercises are found in compound movements such as:
- Pushups
- Overhead press
- Close/reverse grip bench press
- Pullovers
- Dips
There are multiple isolation exercises for the triceps that can help with improving the definition of the different heads of the muscle, for example:
- Press downs
- Skull Crushers
- Overhead Triceps Extensions
For more ideas, head to the Best Barbell Triceps Exercises and Best Dumbbell Triceps Exercises.
Best bicep exercises to build muscle
Once again some of the best exercises you can do to build strength in your biceps are compound movements such as:
- Rows
- Pull ups
- Close grip chin ups
You can add some isolation exercises into the mix if you want to improve those beach muscles.
Do these exercises for a massive pump:
- Crossbody Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Incline Curls
- Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Best forearm exercises to build muscle
When doing most upper body exercises your forearms will come into play by holding and gripping the weight or bar. The best compound lifts for your forearms include:
- Farmer's Walk
- Deadlift
- Pull Ups
Besides the big lifts you can improve your forearm strength with:
- Reverse Wrist Curls
- Pinwheel Curls
- Wrist Curls
Check out the Best Forearm Exercises for more ideas!
Best glute exercises to build muscle
The best exercises for building your glutes are based in large movements such as squats. Many gyms these days are adding glute specific workout equipment amongst their lineup as the trend of bigger behinds continues.
There are also glute specific exercises you for example:
- Booty Band Lateral Walks
- Glute Bridges
- Fire Hydrants
Best quadriceps exercises to build muscle
The best exercises for quadriceps are large compound movements such as:
- Squats
- Lunges
There are numerous variations of both squats and lunges so you should never get bored of working out these muscles. There are also isolation exercises such as leg extensions or terminal knee extensions (TKE) if you want to specifically target the quads or are rehabbing an injury.
Some of the best exercises to build the quad muscles include:
- Zercher Squats
- Front Squats
- Hack Squats
- Curtsy Lunge
- Sumo Squat
Ready for more ideas? Head to the Best Quad Exercises an the Best Dumbbell Quad Exercises.
Best hamstring exercises to build muscle
The best hamstring exercises for building muscles are different types of deadlifts where your legs stay straight and get a massive stretch like stiff legged deadlift. Most gyms also have machines like the quad curl to isolate the effort of the hamstrings.
The overall best exercises for hamstrings are:
The possibilities don't end there, either. Check out the Best Hamstring Exercises and Best Dumbbell Hamstring Exercises to find your favorite moves.
Best calf exercises to build muscle
While some people are born with the genetics to have strong thick calves, others have to work extra hard to add mass to these muscles.
If you're one of the lucky ones you can get a good calf workout in while doing other exercises such as lunges and split squats. If you're one of the unlucky ones then you might have to put some extra effort into building up your calves. Whatever the case, don’t be the one walking around with a massive upper body and chicken legs.
Try some of the best exercises for building muscle in your calves:
- Standing Calf Raises
- Seated Calf Raises
- Leg Press Calf Raises
Exercises & Sets Per Muscle Group & Workout: Final Takeaways
There isn’t a magical equation to find how many exercises, sets, and reps you should do for each muscle group to maximize muscle growth.
Fitness is a personal journey where you have to do the hard work to see what works best for you. There are plenty of fitness gurus on the web that preach a certain number of sets/reps is the best but that’s probably because it’s what worked best for them.
The only way to determine what sets, reps and exercises are right for you is to get out there and get after it. If you need help getting started, follow a structured program that includes an exercise, set, and rep range that aligns with the goals we discussed above. Then, if you find you need more or less volume than the program includes, you can tweak it based on your needs.
Workout Program Recommendations:
- Push/Pull Split: The push pull split will have you doing push exercises on the same day, think bench press, overhead press, squat. Then you will do pulling exercises the next day; think rows, deadlifts, pull ups.
- Upper Body/Lower Body: The upper-lower split will have 2 days of upper body workouts and 2 days of lower body workouts weekly.
- 5 x 5: In the 5x5 program you will be doing 5 sets of 5 reps for the big compound lifts such as deadlifts, squats, rows, overhead press etc. usually 2-3 days per week.
- Full Body: As the name implies you will targeting all major muscle groups during each workout with a full body workout plan. The rep range should be 6-12 reps.
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
For additional programming and frequency information, check out our article on Why You Should Train Each Muscle Twice a Week.
References:
- Selecting and Effectively Using Free Weights: Two Types of Free Weights. https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/files-for-resource-library/selecting-and-effectively-using-free-weights.pdf?sfvrsn=822f5a06_2#:~:text=Muscle%20Strength%3A%205%2D8%20repetitions
- Krieger JW. Single vs. Multiple Sets of Resistance Exercise for Muscle Hypertrophy: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2010;24(4):1150-1159. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181d4d436
- Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sports sciences. 2017;35(11):1073-1082. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author