Bulk Coach for iPhone
TRAINING GUIDE

Training volume: count the work that matters.

Understand hard sets, tonnage and weekly muscle volume without collapsing every training signal into one number.

training volumeworkout volumesets per muscle group
DIRECT ANSWER

Training volume describes how much work is performed, but the useful measure depends on the question. Set volume helps review weekly work for a muscle; tonnage multiplies sets, reps and load for a movement, but neither number captures technique, effort or recovery by itself.

Hard sets and tonnage answer different questions

A hard-set count is easier to compare across exercises for one muscle. Tonnage is useful within a stable movement but can become misleading across exercises with different ranges of motion or loading patterns.

Count consistently

Choose a rule for direct and indirect work, then keep it stable long enough to interpret the trend. Bulk Coach attributes completed hard sets using its canonical muscle mapping rather than treating every exercise as equal full credit for every involved muscle.

More is not a complete prescription

Research can describe group-level dose-response patterns, but an athlete still needs recoverable work, appropriate effort and a programme they can perform. Increase volume because the evidence supports the change, not because a dashboard number looks small.

Sources and further reading

  1. Weekly training-volume dose-response review
  2. ACSM progression models for resistance training
Updated 7 August 2026Reviewed by James Wood, founder