Blog · 3 min · figures checked on 9 November 2026
How many sets per muscle per week to build muscle?
By Nicolas Papon, founder of Live For Fit ·
Between 10 and 20 hard sets per muscle per week for most lifters, with smaller and smaller gains beyond that. The right number depends on each muscle: fewer for a muscle that is already ahead, more for one that is lagging.
What the research says
A meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2017) links volume to muscle gain: more sets give more muscle, with diminishing returns, and a productive zone of 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle per week.
A systematic review by Baz-Valle et al. (2022) confirms this link between volume and hypertrophy.
A meta-regression by Pelland et al. (2026, 67 studies, 2,058 participants) shows that indirect sets count for about half a set: a bench press also works the triceps a little.
What Live For Fit does
At Live For Fit: Your analysis gives each muscle a status, and that status sets its sets: 4 to 6 when ahead (maintenance), 6 to 10 when average, 10 to 14 when lagging, 14 to 20 when far behind.
At Live For Fit: An indirect set counts as 0.5. No muscle goes above 22 effective sets per week: beyond that, the app blocks it and warns you.
We publish Live For Fit. This information does not replace medical advice.