Hypertrophy programBuild muscleFree to start
Volume you
can
count.
Pick Build muscle and your training days. The coach drafts the week, and code checks it before you see it: sets per muscle, how often each muscle trains, exercise order and rest. Then you log RPE, and the logger suggests your next load.
The volume
checks.
A rule-based checker reads every plan the coach drafts. Anything outside these lines shows up as a warning on the plan card, so you see it before you save.
The limits follow common hypertrophy guidance, which puts about 10 hard sets per muscle a week as a floor and around 20 as the point where returns shrink. The checker allows 8 to 22, so only lopsided plans trip it.
- Weekly sets
- 8 to 22 hard sets per muscle
- Frequency
- Each trained muscle on 2+ days
- Order
- Compound lifts before isolation
- Rest
- 90 s or more on sets of 6 reps or fewer
- Balance
- Pushing and pulling within 2:1
- Length
- Under 90 min, or your own cap
- Per day
- 8 exercises at most
A 4-day
muscle week.
Here is the shape of a 4-day upper and lower split for someone with a couple of years of training. Each major muscle group trains twice. Big lifts come first, written as rep ranges instead of fixed reps.
Ranges matter for what happens next. Reach the top of the range on every set and the logger suggests more weight. Fall short and it suggests staying put.
Example · Build muscle · 4 days · full gym
Upper A
- Bench press 4×6–8
- Bent-over row 4×8–10
- Incline dumbbell press 3×10–12
- + 3 more
Lower A
- Back squat 4×6–8
- Romanian deadlift 3×8–10
- Leg press 3×10–12
- + 2 more
Upper B
- Overhead press 3×8–10
- Lat pulldown 3×10–12
- Cable fly 3×12–15
- + 3 more
Lower B
- Deadlift 3×5
- Bulgarian split squat 3×10
- Leg curl 3×12–15
- + 2 more
Log the RPE.
Get a number.
After each set you pick an RPE from 6 to 10. RPE 8 means about two reps left in the tank. That number does two jobs.
First, the next-load suggestion. The logger reads your last three sessions of the lift. Every set at the top of the range adds 2.5 kg, or 5 kg on lower-body moves. Top sets at RPE 6.5 or easier double the jump, and top sets above RPE 9 hold the weight. Three sessions stuck below the range suggest a 10% deload.
Second, the coach. It sees your average RPE per week, and when effort climbs at the same loads it can propose a lighter week. The suggestion is a chip beside the set, and the proposal is a card. Your plan stays as written until you change it.
Muscle
opinions.
None of this is new science. What SURGE adds is checking it on every plan and every set.
- 01
Ranges beat fixed reps.
A target like 8 to 12 gives the logger room to tell you when to add weight.
- 02
Twice a week per muscle.
The checker warns when a muscle with real volume trains on only one day.
- 03
Compounds go first.
Squats, presses and rows come while you are fresh. Curls and flyes wait.
- 04
Effort is data.
An RPE on every set shows fatigue building before the numbers stall.
- 05
Suggestions, not autopilot.
The logger suggests a load. You lift what you choose, and the plan changes only when you save a new one.
Keep reading
Fair
questions.
What does a hypertrophy program in SURGE include?
A full week fitted to your training days and equipment, with exercises, sets, rep ranges and rest for every session. Before you see it, it is checked for weekly volume, frequency, exercise order and rest.
Does the program progress on its own?
The logger suggests your next load, or more reps, from your last three sessions of each lift. The plan does not rewrite itself. You change it in the editor or by saving a plan the coach proposes.
What RPE should I train at?
Most working sets for muscle growth sit around RPE 7 to 9, one to three reps short of failure. SURGE records the RPE you report on each set. It does not assign a target RPE per set.
How many sets per muscle per week?
The checker flags fewer than 8 or more than 22 hard sets for a muscle in a week. That band is a little wider than the usual 10 to 20.
Can I build muscle with dumbbells only?
Yes. Pick Dumbbells as your equipment answer and the coach builds the week around them. The same checks run on the plan.