r/sehat • u/ikinaosu • 1d ago
Workout & Exercises A Compilation of Renaissance Periodization Exercise Volume Landmarks, Training Modalities, and Exercise Libraries for Each Muscle Group
Disclaimer: I used AI to help summarise all the information to make and write this post. No new information is generated or hallucinated by the AI. All the information contained are from the RP guides provided in the corresponding links. I have still read through each article and used them repeatedly for reference, and I am familiar with all the methodologies RP uses because I have used their training style for a while. Feel free to skip this post if you aren't comfortable with a post that uses AI. I made this post to serve as my own cheat sheet to reference and for the r/sehat community to reference too. I also recommend reading each RP article for the individual muscle group for more detailed information, as the articles go in-depth, way beyond the scope of this post.
Note to beginners:
I do NOT recommend using this information to make your own program as a beginner. Use this information along with a pre-built program to better understand it and to modify the it as needed by adding or decreasing sets or by adding a specific training modality. You can also use the exercise library section to learn how to do the exercises contained in your program. Read this post to understand why I don't recommend beginners to make their own program.
RP Hypertrophy Compendium: Volume Landmarks, Training Modalities & Exercise Library
How to use this post: start with the volume landmark tables, read the modality key before interpreting the tags, then use the exercise index to open RP’s YouTube demonstrations.
1. RP Volume Landmarks
All values are working sets per muscle per week. The ranges are RP’s general guidelines for serious intermediate lifters (roughly 3–7 years of mostly whole-body training). Start by doing the lowest number in the volume range, then if your progress slows or plateaus and you can recover well, add 1 more set. Newer lifters usually need less volume; individual recovery, exercise selection, technique, diet, sleep, and the amount of indirect work all change what is productive.
The detailed guide to each muscle group is linked in the name of the muscle group in the table.
What the columns mean
- MV — Maintenance Volume: weekly work generally needed to maintain existing muscle size without necessarily growing them.
- MEV — Minimum Effective Volume: the least volume likely to produce significant growth.
- MAV — Maximum Adaptive Volume: a productive range where long-term gains are often strongest as volume is progressed across a training block.
- MRV — Maximum Recoverable Volume: the upper end of what you can regularly recover from. Exceeding MRV tends to hurt performance and results.
MAV*P/MRV*P— Primary-priority landmarks: higher ranges that may be possible when a muscle is prioritised and total training volume for other muscles other than the prioritised muscle is reduced substantially to MEV or even MV. It is not simply an invitation to add the*Prange on top of an already high-volume rogram.
Upper Body
| Muscle group | MV | MEV | MAV | MRV | MAV*P |
MRV*P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 2–4 | 4–6 | 6–16 | 16–24 | 16–24 | 24–32+ |
| Back | 2-6 | 6-8 | 8-20 | 20-26 | 20-26 | 26-34+ |
| Front delts | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–8 | 8–12 | 12–16 | 16–20+ |
| Side delts | 2–6 | 6–8 | 8–24 | 24–30 | 24–30 | 30–40+ |
| Rear delts | 0–4 | 0–4 | 4–12 | 12–20 | 24–30 | 30–40+ |
| Traps | 0–4 | 0–4 | 4–12 | 12–20 | 16–24 | 24–32+ |
| Biceps | 6–8 | 8–10 | 14–20 | 20–26 | 20–26 | 26–35 |
| Triceps | 0–4 | 4–6 | 6–16 | 16–20 | 16–20 | 20–26+ |
| Forearms | 0–4 | 0–8 | 8–24 | 24–30 | 24–30 | 30–40+ |
Lower Body & Core
| Muscle group | MV | MEV | MAV | MRV | MAV*P |
MRV*P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glutes | 2–6 | 6–8 | 8–24 | 24–30 | 24–30 | 30–40+ |
| Hamstrings | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–8 | 8–14 | 8–14 | 14–20 |
| Quads | 2–4 | 4–6 | 6–14 | 14–18 | 10–18 | 18–24+ |
| Calves | 2–4 | 4–6 | 6–16 | 16–24 | 16–24 | 24–32+ |
| Abs | 0–4 | 0–4 | 4–12 | 12–20 | 16–24 | 24–32+ |
Source: RP — Training Volume Landmarks for Muscle Growth and the linked muscle-specific guides in the first column.
2. RP Training Modalities
Legend
- ★ = Ideal / strongly recommended
- ○ = Secondary / situational
- ✕ = Not recommended
- — = No clear recommendation in the article
1. Upper Body
| Muscle group | Straight sets | Down sets | Controlled eccentrics / pauses | Giant sets | Myoreps | Drop sets | Pre-exhaust supersets | Occlusion | Lengthened partials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | ★ | ○ | ★ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | — | ○ |
| Back | ★ | ★ | ○ | ★ | ○ | ✕ | — | ✕ | ○ |
| Front delts | ★ | ○ | ★ | ✕ | ○ | ○ | ★ | ✕ | ○ |
| Side delts | ○ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ★ | ★ | ○ |
| Rear delts | ○ | ★ | — | ★ | ★ | — | ★ | — | — |
| Traps | ○ | ○ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ★ | ✕ | ○ |
| Biceps | ★ | ★ | — | ○ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ★ | ○ |
| Triceps | ★ | ★ | ★ | ✕ | ○ | ○ | ★ | ○ | ○ |
| Forearms | ○ | ○ | ★ | ○ | ★ | ✕ | ○ | ★ | ○ |
2. Lower Body & Core
| Muscle group | Straight sets | Down sets | Controlled eccentrics / pauses | Giant sets | Myoreps | Drop sets | Pre-exhaust supersets | Occlusion | Lengthened partials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quads | ★ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| Hamstrings | ★ | ★ | ★ | — | ○ | ○ | ○ | — | ○ |
| Glutes | ★ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ○ | ✕ | ★ | ○ | ○ |
| Calves | ○ | ○ | ★ | ✕ | ★ | ✕ | ✕ | ★ | ○ |
| Abs | ★ | ○ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ○ | ○ | ✕ | ○ |
These are group-level summaries of the exercise-specific tags used below, not a claim that RP prescribes every checked modality as a general recommendation for the entire muscle group. For the individual exercise-level association, use the linked exercise list and its tags below.
Use these as programming tools, not as a checklist. Standard straight sets remain the foundation for most training; intensification methods can be useful when they fit the exercise, target muscle, fatigue cost, and session goal.
| Tag | Modality | Description |
|---|---|---|
[SS] |
Straight Sets | Perform work sets with the planned load and rep target, generally ending around 0–4 reps in reserve (RIR) depending on your program's instructions. Rest long enough that the next set can still be productive using the 4-step checklist below. |
[DS] |
Down Sets | Straight sets, but with less weight (usually 10-20% less) than the previous straight sets. By lowering the weight, you can keep reps over 5 per set, and/or keep the mind-muscle connection high and keep technique excellent to continue to have a high stimulus to fatigue ratio in every set of that exercise. |
[E/P] |
Controlled Eccentrics and Pauses | Control the lowering phase and use deliberate pauses where useful for about 0.5–3 seconds. You do not need to make every rep excessively slow. |
[GS] |
Giant Sets | Perform multiple several sets, taking as many number of breaks as you need with the rest time you need for straight sets, until you reach a target rep. For example, to reach 50 reps of dumbbell curls at 10 kg, you can do 12-11-9-7-6-5. This can save time and accumulate local fatigue. If you’d like to be super precise in counting sets for your volume landmarks, count giant sets at 2/3 of the contribution of straight sets, such that if you did 6 total sets to get to your giant set rep target, you can count that as 4 sets of “straight set equivalency” in terms of stimulus and fatigue. |
[MYO] |
Myo-reps | Do a hard activation set close to failure or until your target RIR, take very short rests: 5-10 seconds or around 6 breaths, then perform short mini-sets while maintaining good technique and mind-muscle connection until you reach your target RIR. Most useful when the exercise and muscle tolerates short-rest work well. If you’d like to be super precise in counting sets for your volume landmarks, it is recommended to count myorep sets each as the equivalent of a straight set. While they do have fewer reps, they are often taken closer to failure and thus turn out to be about as fatiguing. This is personally my favorite intensity technique. |
[DROP] |
Drop Sets | Take a set close to failure, reduce the load, and continue with little or no rest. One or more drops may be used. It is time-efficient but can make it harder to maintain tension or technique if the load is reduced too much. If you’d like to be super precise in counting sets for your volume landmarks, it is recommended to count drop sets each as the equivalent of a straight set. While they do have fewer reps and lighter loads, they are often taken closer to failure and in such rapid and painful succession that they turn out to be about as fatiguing. |
[PES] |
Pre-Exhaust Supersets | Pair an isolation exercise for the target muscle immediately before a compound movement that also uses it. For example, a chest flye followed by a chest press. The pre-fatigued target may become the limiting factor sooner. If you’d like to be super precise in counting sets for your volume landmarks, it is recommended to count pre-exhaust supersets as 1.5x as the equivalent of a straight set. This is because the compound exercise done in the second part of the set is only limited (highly) by the target pre-exhausted muscle, and this isn’t nearly as fatiguing, especially systemically, as it would be if it were done fresh. |
[OCC] |
Occlusion / Blood-Flow Restriction | Occlusion training is myorep training with the limb occluded just above the muscle, using an appropriate cuff or wrap to restrict venous return. This occlusion causes the local muscle and nerve to be the limiting factors on recovery between sets, and thus allows you to focus in on a target muscle group that might have otherwise been difficult to reach with non-occluded movements. If you’d like to be super precise in counting sets for your volume landmarks, it is recommended to count occlusion sets each as the equivalent of 2/3 of a straight set, as they cause much less systemic fatigue due to the lower reps and weights used. |
[LP] |
Lengthened Partials | Use partial reps in the portion of an exercise where the target muscle is lengthened, doing only the 1/2 or 1/3 bottom of the rep. This means that you don't lockout but go all the way down on dips, or don't curl the dumbbell completely until it reaches your bicep, but still extend fully at the bottom when doing bicep curls, for example. |
Rest between straight sets: 4-step checklist
Begin the next set once all four factors have recovered enough that they are no longer limiting the target muscle’s performance:
- Local target-muscle recovery: the target muscle can produce useful reps again rather than still being locally exhausted.
- Nervous-system recovery: you feel able to produce force and coordinate the movement again.
- Cardiorespiratory recovery: breathing and heart rate have settled enough that being out of breath will not end the set before the target muscle is challenged.
- Synergist recovery: the supporting muscles have recovered enough not to fail first. For example, during a pull-up, the forearms and biceps should be recovered enough that they do not fatigue before the back can be trained effectively.
Here’s an example of what can be considered “very good” recovery between sets of back training. Before you do another set of bent rows, ask yourself:
- Is my upper back still burning from the last set, or does it feel ok again?
- Do I feel like I can pull hard with my upper back again, and I am mentally ready for another hard set, or do I need more time to rest?
- Is my breathing more or less back to normal, or is it still very heavy?
- Are my forearms and biceps still very fatigued, or are they ready to support my upper back in the upcoming set of barbell rows?
3. Excercise Library
The exercise names below link to the YouTube demonstration. The playlist links for each muscle group are also included. The tags in the exercise compendium mark modalities the linked RP guide identifies as useful for that exercise or exercise family. — means the guide does not explicitly connect that exercise entry to one of these modalities. It does not mean the modality is ineffective, contraindicated, or never usable with the exercise. Several modalities can apply to one exercise, but that does not mean they should all be combined in one set or session.
Chest
Horizontal Pressing (Full Chest)
- Medium Grip Bench Press
[E/P][PES] - Wide Grip Bench Press
[E/P][PES] - Cambered Bar Bench Press
[E/P][PES] - Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
[E/P][GS][PES] - Machine Chest Press
[E/P][MYO][PES] - Smith Machine Bench Press
[E/P][PES] - Deficit Pushup
[E/P][PES] - Pushup
[E/P][PES]
Incline Pressing (Upper Chest)
- Incline Dumbbell Press
[E/P][GS][PES] - Incline Barbell Press Medium Grip
[E/P][PES] - Incline Barbell Press Wide Grip
[E/P][PES] - Incline Machine Chest Press
[E/P][MYO][PES] - Smith Machine Incline Press
[E/P][PES]
Isolation Movements
- Flat Dumbbell Flye
[E/P][GS][MYO][DROP][PES] - Flat Dumbbell Press/Flye
[E/P][GS][PES] - Incline Dumbbell Flye
[E/P][GS][MYO][DROP][PES] - Cable Flye
[E/P][GS][MYO][DROP][PES] - Machine Flye
[E/P][GS][MYO][DROP][PES] - Pec Deck Flye
[E/P][GS][MYO][DROP][PES]
Back
Horizontal Pulling
- Barbell Bent Over Row
[SS][DS][E/P] - Cambered Bar Row
[SS] - Barbell Row to Chest
[SS][DS][E/P] - Underhand EZ Bar Row
[SS] - Smith Machine Row
[SS][E/P][GS] - Chest Supported Row
[SS] - Machine Chest Supported Row
[SS][E/P][GS] - T Bar Row
[SS] - Incline Dumbbell Row
[SS] - Two Arm Dumbbell Row
[SS] - Single Arm Dumbbell Row
[SS] - Hammer Low Row
[SS][E/P][GS] - Inverted Row
[SS] - Seal Row
[SS] - Seated Cable Row
[SS][E/P][GS]
Vertical Pulling
- Normal Grip Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Wide Grip Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Parallel Grip Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Underhand Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Assisted Normal Grip Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Assisted Wide Grip Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Assisted Parallel Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Assisted Underhand Pullup
[SS][DS][E/P] - Normal Grip Pulldown
[SS][E/P][GS] - Wide Grip Pulldown
[SS][E/P][GS] - Parallel Pulldown
[SS][E/P][GS] - Underhand Pulldown
[SS][E/P][GS][PES] - Narrow Grip Pulldown
[SS][E/P][GS] - Hammer High Row
[SS][E/P][GS] - Dumbbell Pullover
- Machine Pullover
- Straight Arm Pulldown
[MYO]
Front Delts
- Barbell Front Raise
[MYO][DROP] - Cable Underhand Front Raise
[MYO][DROP] - Dumbbell Front Raise
[MYO][DROP] - EZ Bar Underhand Front Raise
[MYO][DROP] - Machine Shoulder Press
[SS] - Seated Barbell Shoulder Press
[SS] - Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
[SS] - Smith Machine Seated Shoulder Press
[SS] - Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
[SS] - Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
[SS]
Side Delts
- Barbell Upright Row —
- Cable Cross Body Lateral Raise
[MYO] - Cable Face Pull
[MYO] - Dumbbell Upright Row —
- Lateral Raise
[MYO] - Leaning Cable Lateral Raise
[MYO] - Machine Lateral Raise
[MYO] - Smith Machine Upright Row —
- Thumbs Down Lateral Raise
[MYO] - Top Hold Lateral Raise
[MYO]
Rear Delts
- Bent Lateral Raise —
- Cable Cross Body Bent Lateral Raise —
- Cable Rope Facepull
[MYO] - Cable Single Arm Rear Delt Raise —
- Dumbbell Facepull —
- Incline Dumbbell Facepull —
- Incline Dumbbell Lateral Raise —
- Kneeling Cable Facepull
[MYO] - Machine Reverse Flye —
- Barbell Facepull —
Traps
- Barbell Shrug —
- Barbell Bent Shrug —
- Dumbbell Shrug —
- Dumbbell Bent Shrug —
- Dumbbell Lean Shrug —
- Cable Single Arm Side Shrug —
- Cable Side Shrug —
- Seated Dumbbell Shrug —
- Cable Shrug —
- Cable Bent Shrug —
Biceps
Freeweight Curls
- Alternating Dumbbell Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Dumbbell Single Arm Preacher Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Dumbbell Spider Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Dumbbell Twist Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Incline Dumbbell Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Hammer Curl
[DS][GS][OCC] - Barbell Curl Narrow Grip
[SS][DS][GS][OCC] - Barbell Curl Normal Grip
[SS][DS][GS][OCC] - EZ Bar Curl Narrow Grip
[SS][DS][GS][OCC] - EZ Bar Curl Wide Grip
[SS][DS][GS][OCC] - EZ Bar Preacher Curl
[SS][DS][GS][OCC] - EZ Bar Spider Curl
[DS][GS][OCC]
Cable & Machine Curls
- Cable EZ Bar Curl Wide Grip
[DS][GS][MYO][DROP][PES][OCC] - Cable EZ Bar Curl
[DS][GS][MYO][DROP][PES][OCC] - Machine Preacher Curl
[DS][GS][MYO][OCC] - Rope Twist Curl
[DS][GS][MYO][DROP][PES][OCC]
Triceps
- Barbell Triceps Overhead Extension —
- Assisted Dip
[DS] - Barbell Skullcrusher —
- Cable Overhead Triceps Extension —
- Cable Single Arm Pushdown —
- Cable Triceps Pushdown —
- Dip
[DS] - Dumbbell Skullcrusher —
- EZ Bar Overhead Triceps Extension —
- Inverted Skullcrusher —
- Machine Triceps Extension —
- Machine Triceps Pushdown —
- Rope Overhead Triceps Extension —
- Rope Pushdown —
- Seated EZ Bar Overhead Triceps Extension —
- JM Press —
- Seated Barbell Overhead Triceps Extension —
Forearms
- Barbell Standing Wrist Curls
[PES][OCC] - Dumbbell Standing Wrist Curls
[PES][OCC] - Dumbbell Bench Wrist Curls
[PES][OCC] - Cable Wrist Curls
[PES][OCC]
Abs
- Hanging Knee Raise —
- Hanging Straight Leg Raise —
- Machine Crunch
[SS][PES] - Modified Candlestick —
- Reaching Situp —
- Rope Crunch —
- Slant Board Situp —
- V=Up —
Glutes
Hip Thrusts
- Barbell Hip Thrust
[DS][E/P] - Machine Hip Thrust
[DS][E/P] - Single Leg Hip Thrust
[DS][E/P] - Dumbbell Single Leg Hip Thrust
[DS][E/P]
Deadlifts
- Deadlift —
- Sumo Deadlift —
- Sumo Deficit Deadlift —
- Deficit 25's Deadlift —
- Deficit Deadlift —
- Trap Bar Deadlift —
Lunges
- Barbell Walking Lunge —
- Dumbbell Walking Lunge —
- Reverse Lunge —
- Dumbbell Reverse Lunge —
- Split Squat —
- Dumbbell Split Squat —
Other Movements
Hamstrings
Hip Hinges
- Stiff Legged Deadlift
[DS] - Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift
[DS] - High Bar Good Morning
[DS] - Low Bar Good Morning
[DS] - 45 Degree Back Raise
[DS] - Glute Ham Raise —
Knee Flexion Movements
- Lying Leg Curl
[LP] - Seated Leg Curl
[LP] - Single Leg Curl
[LP]
Quads
- Feet Forward Smith Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - Front Squat Cross Grip
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - Front Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - Hack Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - High Bar Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - Leg Extension
[MYO][DROP][PES][E/P] - Leg Press
[SS][DS][E/P][MYO][PES] - Narrow Stance Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES] - Belt Squat
[SS][DS][E/P][PES]
Calves
- Calf Machine
[MYO] - Stair Calves
[MYO] - Single-Leg Stair Calves
[MYO] - Deficit Smith Machine Calves
[MYO] - Leg Press Calves
[MYO]
Notes
- For forearms, you can also do training with grippers.
- Some tags apply to an exercise family rather than asserting that every variation must use that modality. Use individual judgment and the source guide’s technique notes.