In the last installment, we went over how to choose the right training split and how to organize your exercises based on that split. I hope now you have a rough schedule set up.The next step is to determine how many repetitions to perform per exercise. Use the following table as a guide:

Table 1:

Note these are just guidelines. You can certainly move out of your rep range for a particular goal, and still be able to achieve some gains in other goals. For example, a trainee going after mass will certainly be able to increase their base level of strength if they continually use more difficult exercises. The key to progress with bodyweight training is to seek out more difficult exercises, or find ways of making a set more difficult.

How many sets per session?

The number of sets performed per session is based on the number of exercises you have per session. So, for arguments sake, lets assume that your session lasts 30 minutes and you have five upper body exercises in that session. Here is a sample routine:

Pullups
Pushups
Incline Pushups
Hindu Pushups
Chinups

If you’re goal is mass gain, then you will be performing 8 reps per exercise. Here is how you will determine how many sets to perform in total:

• Time each set of exercises as you time them. For example, lets say you perform 8 pullups in 26 seconds. This means that you can perform one pull up in approximately 3.25 seconds. Do this for the rest of your exercises, then average the times. Lets assume our average is 2.1 seconds per repetition. Multiply this by the total number of repetitions per exercise, or 8. This will give you an idea of how long each set will take you. In our case the number is 16.8 seconds.
• Next step is to determine the rest between each set. Let us assume that you are an intermediate. Since your goal is mass gain, you choose to start off with taking a 2 minute rest between each set. Add that two minutes, or 120 seconds of rest to the 16.8 seconds we found to be the average length of each set. This number is now 136.8. For simplicity, lets round it up to 137 seconds.
• Take this 137 seconds, which represents the time it will take for you to complete one set of an exercise, and divide that into the 30 minute session. First convert the 30 minutes into seconds (30 x 60 = 1800). So, 1800 divided by 137 seconds means that we have room for 13 total sets.
• Distribute these 13 sets amongst the 5 exercises that you have chosen from before. Here is a sample:

Pullups 3×8
Pushups 3×8
Incline Pushups 3×8
Hindu Pushups 2×8
Chinups 2×8

Repeat as Desired

Use this process to create the workouts for the rest of your training program. If at any time you need to create a new program (preferably in a few weeks), then refer back to this article series.