Key takeaways
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Choose a set and rep range you can record and repeat. This guide explains the terms, gives an illustrative session template and shows how to review the work across your week.
What sets and reps describe
A repetition is one completed movement. A set is a group of repetitions before a rest. For example, three sets of 8–12 reps gives each set a target range; it does not mean writing “three sets of twelve” if you completed fewer.
Rep ranges such as 5–30 appear in training discussions. Treat them as programme settings, not guarantees of a particular result. A narrower range, such as 6–15 or 8–12, can make an exercise easier to plan and compare in your log.
Record effort as well as the rep count
Repetitions in reserve, or RIR, describes how many more reps you estimate you could complete with the same technique. A plan might ask for roughly 1–3 RIR. That is an effort target, not a precise threshold deciding whether a set counts.
Record “unsure” if you are learning to judge effort. Do not use a rep target as a reason to force a painful movement or a rep you cannot control.
Count the work across the week
Keep warm-ups separate from work sets and review your weekly plan before adding more. A programme might use 10–20 work sets for a muscle across a week, but that example span is not a required starting dose or a promise of a result.
For example, ten planned sets could be split into two sessions of five. That describes a schedule; it does not establish that the split is always better than another arrangement. Account for overlapping exercises and the sessions you can sustain.
An illustrative session template
These are examples to adapt to your experience and programme, not a complete prescription:
- Compound exercises: three or four sets of 6–10 reps, for example on a squat, press or row.
- Single-joint exercises: two or three sets of 10–15 reps, for example on a curl or lateral raise.
- Rest: a plan might specify 2–3 minutes for a compound exercise and 60–90 seconds for a smaller exercise. Record the rest you use and adjust the plan where needed.
If this is more work than your starting routine calls for, keep the smaller starting routine. Use progressive overload to plan a manageable next step rather than increasing every variable together.
Match the plan to your goal
A programme aimed at a particular lift may specify heavier, lower-rep practice, such as 3–6 reps. Other programmes use different ranges and more total sets. Follow a coherent plan and review its instructions instead of assuming a rep range alone determines the outcome.
Meals, supplements and the wider routine
The authorised protein and creatine wording is shown separately below. It is not a claim that a particular set-and-rep template will produce a result.
Read the context behind the figures in our daily protein guide. The whey protein and creatine guides cover those ingredients; the rest and recovery guide covers planning between sessions.
Related: Planning progression · Starting the gym · Whey protein guide
Frequently asked questions
How many reps should I do to build muscle?
The guide uses 6 to 15 reps as an example range for planning, not a guaranteed recipe for muscle growth. Choose a range appropriate to the exercise, your experience and the plan, then record the reps you complete.
How many sets per muscle group per week?
The 10 to 20 weekly-set range in this guide is an example for reviewing a programme, not a minimum every person must reach. Include the work already present in the whole week before deciding whether to add sets.
How close to failure should each set be?
RIR is an estimate of the reps you think remain before you cannot finish another with the same technique. A plan may use 1 to 3 RIR, but that is not a threshold that decides whether a set counts. Write unsure while learning to judge effort.
Are low reps for strength and high reps for size?
These are overlapping planning categories, not rules that assign one result to each rep range. The guide uses a defined range to make sessions easier to record and compare. A plan for a particular lift may use a different range.