How many exercises, sets and reps should you do per workout?
Here we will guide you through sets, reps and weights, explain progressive overload and emphasize the importance of good form and technique.
How many sets & exercises should I do per workout?
Whether you're looking to build strength, grow muscle, or improve endurance, structuring your workouts correctly is key.
How many exercises to do in a workout, how many sets and reps to aim for, and how heavy your weights should be – all this depends on your fitness level and goals.
The number of exercises per workout will depend on the workout split and your level.
If you are a beginner an example could be to go for around 4-6 exercises, and if you are more experienced 6-8 exercises.
Remember, more exercises don’t necessarily mean more results – focus on quality and form.
Start from your goals and what you want to put focus on
Strength: If your goal is to lift heavier and increase your overall power:
Focus on compound lifts like deadlifts, bench press and squats
Heavy loads on the weight but with fewer reps, for example 3-6 sets of 3-6 reps
Take a few minutes of rest between each set to fuel recovery and get your body ready for the next round
Muscle building: Your goal is to increase muscle size and definition:
Combine compound and isolation exercises like for example bench press and bicep curls
An example set and rep count can be 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps
Use moderate to heavy weights and rest for around a minute between sets
Endurance: Your goal is to improve muscular and cardiovascular stamina:
An example of a workout routine could be bodyweight exercises or with lighter resistance and circuit-style workouts.
Aim for 2–4 sets of 12–20+ reps
Go for light to moderate weights and a rest time between sets of around 30-60 seconds
How to choose the right weight on training equipment
Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells – there are a lot of training equipment and strength machines to choose from at the gym, but what weight should you use?
You want a weight that’s challenging but doable, allowing you to complete your target reps with good form.
Test and see what feels good. Perform your target reps and if it felt to easy, go for a heavier weight, or instead if you struggle in the middle of the set, you’ve probably picked to heavy. The last 1-2 reps should feel challenging but doable – then you’re on the right track with the weight choice.
Increase the weights slowly to continuously progress over time and grow stronger. That leads us into the subject of progressive overload – coming up next.
What is progressive overload?
Progressive overload is a term that is often used when it comes to strength training. It means gradually increasing the stress placed on the body during exercise over time. This way your body and nervous system adapts, and you get stronger, build muscle growth and improve your endurance.
If you do the same workouts with the same weights and reps your progress will plateau, but if you regularly increase the intensity, reps, weights and challenge your muscles, you will see better results.
Don’t rush too fast and increase more than you’re ready for as this can risk injuries. Think of it as the long game: small, steady gains lead to big results over time.
Here are a few ways you can incorporate progressive overload into your workouts:
- Increase weights
- Increase reps
- Increase number of sets
- Increase the intensity by taking shorter rests between your reps
- Improve form by doing the exercise slower, to increase time under tension, making the movement harder.
Focus on form and technique
The most important thing to focus on is to have a good form and technique when you perform your exercises. If you don’t, not only will you not get the results you want, it can also lead to injuries and pain.
Another tip for avoiding possible injury is to not forget the warm-up and cool down section of your workout. Warming up with some stretches and light cardio gets your circulation flowing and prepare your body for the workout. Cooling down afterwards with some stretching is also a way to be kind to your body and stretch the muscles you’ve used during the session.
“Proper form and technique over heavy weights” is a good motto to have when you are working out. Start light and pick heavier weights as you progress. It can also be a good idea to start doing a movement with bodyweight or light weights to really master the movement before you add more resistance.
Good luck!