# Training Volume Calculator | Forge > **Quick Answer:** The Forge Training Volume Calculator counts your weekly hard sets per muscle group and shows which muscles sit below the growth floor, inside the productive range, or past what you can recover from. Free and ungated. Example: 12 weekly hard sets for chest lands inside the productive 10 to 19 range, while 4 sets for back sits below the 6-set growth floor. **dateModified:** 2026-08-09 --- ## Key Facts - **What it does:** Maps weekly hard sets per muscle group onto evidence-based volume landmarks - **Hard set:** A working set stopped within about four reps of failure. Warm-ups and easy backoff work stay out of the count. - **Zones:** Under 6 sets rarely drives growth. 6 to 9 maintains and slowly builds. 10 to 19 is where most lifters grow best. 20 to 24 demands close attention to recovery. Past 25 the work usually outpaces recovery. - **Compounds count twice:** Bench counts for chest and triceps, rows for back and biceps, squats for quads and glutes - **Muscle groups covered:** Chest, back, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, glutes, biceps, triceps, calves - **Cost:** Free. No sign-up. --- ## How to Use It 1. For each muscle group, enter your weekly count of hard sets. 2. Count compound lifts toward every muscle they work. A bench press set counts for chest and triceps. 3. Read the zone for each muscle: below the floor, productive, or past recovery. 4. If several muscles sit below the floor, pick the two you care about most and bring them to 6 to 10 sets. 5. Add sets slowly, one or two per muscle per week at most, and give any change four to six weeks before judging it. --- ## How the Math Works A hard set is a working set stopped within roughly four reps of failure, so warm-ups and easy backoff work stay out of the count. That proximity to failure is where the growth signal lives. The zones come from the volume landmarks common in hypertrophy research. Under six weekly sets rarely drives growth, six to nine maintains and slowly builds, ten to nineteen is where most lifters grow best, twenty to twenty four demands close attention to recovery, and past twenty five the added work usually outpaces what you can bounce back from. These are population heuristics. Sleep, training age, and how close to failure you honestly go all shift where your personal ranges land. Arms need less direct work than the ranges suggest, since biceps and triceps already collect volume from pressing and pulling. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What counts as a hard set? A working set you stop within about four reps of failure. That is where the growth signal lives. Warm-ups, ramping sets, and easy technique work stay out of the count. If you finish a set and could immediately repeat it for the same reps, it was too easy to include. ### Should every muscle land in the productive range? Only if you recover from it. Ten to nineteen hard sets per week suits most lifters on most muscles, but biceps and triceps already collect volume from pressing and pulling. Direct arm work stacked on heavy compounds climbs fast, so six to ten direct sets is often plenty for arms. ### I am below the floor on several muscles. Where do I start? Pick the two muscles you care about most and bring them to six to ten sets. Adding sets everywhere at once spikes fatigue and hides which change worked. Give any adjustment four to six weeks before you judge it, because growth is slow and first-week soreness lies to you. ### Do compound lifts count toward multiple muscles? Yes. Bench presses count for chest and triceps, rows count for back and biceps, squats count for quads and glutes. That is why your weekly totals here add up much faster than the number of exercises in your program suggests. ### My sets are high and I stopped growing. What now? Cut first. Drop each muscle by roughly a third for one to two weeks, then rebuild toward the productive range. Lingering fatigue masks progress, and a short deload often reveals more strength than another hard week. If growth still stalls, check your sleep and your effort per set before adding more work. ### How fast should I add sets? One or two sets per muscle per week at most. Jumping from eight sets to sixteen in one step mostly buys soreness. A slow ramp lets you find the most volume you can recover from instead of guessing. --- ## Forge Programs the Volume For You Forge is an AI personal trainer for iOS and Android. It builds an adaptive plan that distributes volume across the week, raises it as you progress, and logs every set so the count takes care of itself. You get 4 trainer personalities and a 24/7 trainer chat. Pricing: $19.99/month, $59.99/year, or $6.99/week. All plans include a 7-day free trial. - **App Store:** https://apps.apple.com/us/app/forge-ai-personal-trainer/id6758403402 - **Google Play:** https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tendylabs.forge - **Website:** https://forgetrainer.ai --- *https://forgetrainer.ai/tools/training-volume-calculator*