Training volume guide
MEV, MAV and MRV: what they mean and how Gryper uses them
MEV, MAV and MRV are three weekly set counts for each muscle: the least that drives growth (MEV), where most lifters grow best (MAV), and the most you can recover from (MRV). Gryper adds up the sets each muscle got this week and shows which band it sits in: below MEV, productive, high, or past MRV.
Checked against Gryper’s app on
What MEV, MAV and MRV mean
- MEV, minimum effective volume: the fewest weekly sets that still make a muscle grow. Below it, the muscle is probably not getting enough work.
- MAV, maximum adaptive volume: the range where most lifters get the best growth for the fatigue they take on. Gryper treats MEV to MAV as the productive range.
- MRV, maximum recoverable volume: the most weekly sets most lifters can recover from. Past it, fatigue builds faster than you adapt.
The landmarks come from the volume-landmark framework popularised by Renaissance Periodization. They are weekly numbers, so a muscle trained twice a week adds both sessions together.
How Gryper grades your week
Every exercise in Gryper’s library is mapped to the muscles it trains. When you finish a workout, each completed set is credited to those muscles (see how sets are counted). Gryper totals the credit per muscle over the window you pick and grades it against that muscle’s landmarks.
| Band | Weekly sets | Colour | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below MEV | 0 to MEV | Blue | Probably not enough to grow; add sets if this muscle matters to you |
| Productive | MEV to MAV | Green | The range most lifters grow best in |
| High | MAV to MRV | Amber | Hard work; fine for a block, watch recovery |
| Past MRV | Above MRV | Red | More than most lifters recover from; consider pulling back |
You can look at the last 7 days, 30 days or 90 days, or a custom range. Longer windows are turned into a weekly rate (sets divided by weeks), so 60 sets over 30 days reads as about 14 a week and is graded the same way.
The numbers Gryper uses for each muscle
These are the weekly set landmarks in the app today, for the main muscle groups. Smaller regions on the map, such as upper chest or rear deltoid, have their own smaller landmarks and roll up into their parent muscle for these totals.
| Muscle | MEV | MAV | MRV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 8 | 16 | 22 |
| Lats | 8 | 16 | 23 |
| Rhomboids | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| Lower Back | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Deltoids | 8 | 16 | 22 |
| Biceps | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Triceps | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| Forearms | 4 | 10 | 16 |
| Quadriceps | 8 | 16 | 22 |
| Hamstrings | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Glutes | 4 | 12 | 18 |
| Calves | 8 | 16 | 22 |
| Tibialis | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Abs | 6 | 16 | 22 |
| Obliques | 4 | 10 | 16 |
| Serratus | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Trapezius | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| Rotator Cuff | 2 | 6 | 10 |
Where the targets come from, and can you change them?
The defaults are research-based starting points for a typical intermediate lifter, taken from published volume-landmark guidance. They are the same for every user: Gryper does not yet let you edit a muscle’s MEV, MAV or MRV, and your experience level does not move them (it only changes the recovery estimate).
Questions
Is MRV a hard limit?
No. It is the point past which most lifters stop recovering between sessions. Short, planned stretches past MRV (an overreach before a deload) can be useful. Gryper colours the muscle red so the choice is deliberate.
Why does a muscle show below MEV when I trained it?
Usually because it only got secondary credit. Triceps on a bench press, for example, receive half a set per set. Add a few direct sets and the muscle moves up a band.
Can I set my own MEV, MAV and MRV?
Not yet. Every muscle uses Gryper’s defaults.