{
  "slug": "workout-planner",
  "title": "Workout Planner",
  "category": "Strength Training",
  "category_slug": "strength-training",
  "tier": 1,
  "summary": "Build a 7-day training week from 160+ exercises and see weekly sets per muscle add up against the volume target you set.",
  "description": "This interactive planner turns a weekly volume framework — training days and target hard sets per muscle — into an actual seven-day training week. Choose from more than 160 common exercises across ten muscle and conditioning groups, place them onto any of the seven days, and adjust sets and reps in one-tap steps. Every change updates the weekly tally instantly: total sets, sets per muscle group charted against your target, sets per day, and estimated session length. Split presets label the days as Full Body, Upper/Lower or Push-Pull-Legs without prescribing exercises, days can be duplicated, and custom exercises can be added with their own picture. Finished weeks export as a PDF in either of two formats: a detailed report, or a landscape training calendar putting all seven days side by side with ruled space to log the weights actually lifted. On a phone each day card carries an add button that opens the exercise library with that day already selected. Everything is calculated and stored in your browser only; nothing is uploaded, and the counting method is shown on this page.",
  "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/strength-training/workout-planner/",
  "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/workout-planner.json",
  "formula": {
    "id": "workout_planner",
    "expression": "V_{weekly} = \\sum_{d=1}^{7} \\sum_{e \\in d} s_e, \\quad V_m = \\sum_{e:\\, m(e)=m} s_e",
    "variables": [
      {
        "symbol": "s_e",
        "description": "Working sets planned for exercise e"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "V_{weekly}",
        "description": "Total working sets across the week"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "V_m",
        "description": "Weekly sets credited to muscle group m via each exercise's primary mover"
      }
    ]
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "training_days",
      "label": "Training days",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "days",
      "default": 4,
      "min": 2,
      "max": 7,
      "step": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "sets_per_muscle",
      "label": "Weekly sets per muscle",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "sets",
      "default": 12,
      "min": 4,
      "max": 30,
      "step": 1
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": {
      "training_days": 4,
      "sets_per_muscle": 12
    },
    "expected_output": "12 hard sets per muscle · 4 days"
  },
  "result_summary_template": "Planning {training_days} training days at {sets_per_muscle} weekly hard sets per muscle, the framework works out to {result}.",
  "methodology": "The planner counts planned working (\"hard\") sets and credits each to the exercise's primary muscle group, the volume-counting convention used across much of the resistance-training literature. Weekly per-muscle tallies are compared with the user-chosen target; session time is estimated at approximately 2.5 minutes per strength set, with cardio entries counting their minutes directly. Published systematic reviews and meta-analyses commonly discuss roughly 10–20 weekly hard sets per muscle in discussions of hypertrophy training volume, with substantial individual variation; the tool does not prescribe a target.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Schoenfeld et al. — Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and muscle mass (J Sports Sci, 2017)",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Baz-Valle et al. — A systematic review of the effects of different resistance training volumes on muscle hypertrophy (2022)",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35291645/"
    },
    {
      "label": "NSCA — Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (program design reference)",
      "url": "https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/"
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "What counts as a \"hard set\"?",
      "answer": "In the volume literature, a hard set is a working set taken reasonably close to failure — warm-ups excluded. This planner counts every set you enter as a working set, so plans read cleanest when warm-up sets are left out and only the sets you intend to push are logged."
    },
    {
      "question": "How are sets credited to muscle groups?",
      "answer": "Each exercise is tagged with its primary mover — a bench press credits chest, a row credits back — and every planned set adds to that muscle's weekly tally. This is the common counting convention, though it simplifies reality: compounds also load secondary muscles, so treat the chart as a planning guide rather than a precise measurement."
    },
    {
      "question": "What weekly set target should I enter?",
      "answer": "The tool leaves that choice open. Published reviews commonly discuss ranges of roughly 10–20 weekly hard sets per muscle for hypertrophy in trained lifters, with lower volumes still productive for beginners and higher volumes tolerated by some advanced lifters. Individual recovery varies widely; a qualified coach can advise on specific programming."
    },
    {
      "question": "Do the split presets add exercises for me?",
      "answer": "No — they only set the training-day count and label the days (Full Body, Upper/Lower, or Push-Pull-Legs) so the plan reads the way lifters describe splits. Exercise selection stays entirely yours; the Duplicate Day action makes mirrored splits quick to fill."
    },
    {
      "question": "How is session time estimated?",
      "answer": "Strength work is estimated at about 2.5 minutes per set, a common planning figure covering the set itself plus typical rest. Cardio entries measured in minutes count their minutes directly. Real sessions vary with rest periods, supersets and gym traffic, so treat the figure as a rough guide."
    },
    {
      "question": "Is my plan uploaded anywhere?",
      "answer": "No. The whole planner runs in your browser and plans are kept in local storage on your device only — there is no account and nothing is sent to a server. Clearing your browser data removes saved plans; the PDF export gives you a portable copy."
    },
    {
      "question": "Can I print or download my training week?",
      "answer": "Yes, in two formats. The detailed report is a portrait PDF covering every day exercise by exercise with sets, reps and loads, weekly sets per muscle against your target, session-time and tonnage estimates, and the volume charts. The training calendar is a landscape PDF putting the seven days side by side as a printable wall chart, each day showing its split label, its set count and its exercises with sets and reps, plus ruled space under each day to record the weights you actually hit. Both are built in your browser from the week you see, so nothing is uploaded, and both can be printed directly instead of downloaded."
    }
  ],
  "related_tools": [
    {
      "slug": "one-rep-max-epley",
      "title": "One-Rep Max Calculator (Epley Formula)",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/one-rep-max-epley.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/strength-training/one-rep-max-epley/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "volume-load",
      "title": "Training Volume Load Calculator",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/volume-load.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/strength-training/volume-load/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "rest-time",
      "title": "Rest Time Between Sets Calculator",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/rest-time.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/timing-pacing/rest-time/"
    }
  ],
  "last_updated": "2026-08-04",
  "price": {
    "value": 0,
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "runs_in_browser": true,
  "disclaimer": "Educational estimate produced from a published formula. Not medical, nutritional, or training advice. Calculations are deterministic — apply the formula to the inputs to reproduce the result."
}