Training Volume Calculator: Tonnage & Weekly Sets
Add up your session tonnage and weekly hard sets per muscle, the two volume numbers worth tracking.
- 2 cited sources
- Calculates in your browser
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Two complementary volume measures:
- Tonnage = sets × reps × load, summed across exercises, total mechanical work in kilograms.
- Hard sets per muscle, the count of work sets (taken within ~4 reps of failure) assigned to each muscle group, the volume currency used in modern hypertrophy research.
Interpreting your result
For muscle growth, the hard-set count is the number to manage. Meta-analyses (Schoenfeld et al., 2017) show a dose-response relationship: growth begins with as few as 4 to 5 weekly sets per muscle and increases with volume up to a point of diminishing, then negative, returns, with 10 to 20 weekly hard sets a sensible range for most trained lifters. Log a full week of training here to compare against that range.
Tonnage suits strength-block comparisons: the same exercises across weeks, where rising tonnage at stable technique signals progressive overload. Comparing tonnage across different exercises or rep ranges is close to meaningless, 10,000 kg of deadlifts and 10,000 kg of lateral raises are different universes.
Limitations
- Set counting conventions differ (how to credit compound lifts to secondary muscles); whatever convention you choose, keep it consistent.
- Warm-ups don't count, and sets stopped far from failure count less than the arithmetic suggests.
- More volume only helps if you recover from it, the research dose-response assumes adequate sleep, food and time between sessions.
Sources
Pull the receipts, 2 cited sources
FitTools · sources
- 01 Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci 2017;35:1073-1082
- 02 Baz-Valle E, et al. A systematic review of the effects of different resistance training volumes on muscle hypertrophy. J Hum Kinet 2022;81:199-210
Every formula cited ✓
Frequently asked questions
- What counts as a hard set?
- A set taken close to failure, within about 4 reps in reserve. Warm-ups don't count. Weekly hard sets per muscle is the volume currency most hypertrophy research uses.
- How many sets per muscle per week do I need?
- Meta-analyses find growth from as little as 4 weekly sets, with more volume producing more growth up to a point, commonly 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle for trained lifters. Start lower and add only when progress stalls.
- What is tonnage and does it matter?
- Tonnage is sets × reps × load summed across exercises. It tracks total mechanical work and is useful for comparing sessions of similar exercises, but a heavy deadlift session and a high-rep arm day aren't comparable by tonnage alone.
- Do sets for compound lifts count for every muscle involved?
- Common practice counts direct movers fully and secondary muscles as half, though conventions differ. This tool counts each entry toward the single muscle you assign it, so keep your own convention consistent.
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