Sets and Reps, Decided by Your Goal
Three ranges, three goals, three rest times. Then the part nobody puts on the chart: for your first year, the ranges matter far less than how many hard sets you do.
| Goal | Sets × reps | Rest | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength move the most weight |
3–5 × 3–6 | 2–4 min | heavy, 2–3 left |
| Size build muscle |
3–4 × 6–12 | 90 s–2 min | 1–3 left |
| Endurance keep going longer |
2–3 × 15–20 | 45–60 s | 1–2 left |
What a hard set means
A hard set is one taken within about three reps of failure. Not a warm-up, not a set you stopped because the clock said so. If you could have done six more, it did not count toward the weekly total.
This is the measurement almost everybody gets wrong when they first hear it, and getting it right usually reveals that they were doing half the volume they thought.
Why rest time is on the chart
Because it is the variable people cut when a session runs long, and cutting it changes what the session trains. Shortening rest on a heavy set of five does not make it a more efficient strength session — it makes it a worse one, because the weight on the next set has to come down.
If you are short on time, cut an exercise. Do not cut the rest on the exercises you keep.
What to actually do as a beginner
Live in the 6 to 12 range for almost everything, rest 90 seconds to 2 minutes, and leave 2 to 3 reps in the tank. It is the most forgiving band: heavy enough to build strength, light enough to practise the movement, and easy enough to recover from that three sessions a week stay possible.
Then spend your attention on adding a rep or a kilo each week rather than on optimising the range. The range is a container; progression is the content.