Quick definitions
- Endurance: Build work capacity. Moderate loads, higher reps, shorter rest, and controlled breathing.
- Hypertrophy: Build muscle size. Moderate loads, moderate reps, and moderate rest to accumulate quality volume.
- Strength: Lift heavier loads. Lower reps, longer rest, and more focus on heavy compound lifts.
Typical set and rep ranges
Endurance: 2–4 sets of 10–20 reps, 30–60s rest. Movements that keep tension and breathing steady.
Hypertrophy: 3–5 sets of 6–12 reps, 60–90s rest. Focus on full range, control, and 1–3 reps in reserve.
Strength: 3–5 sets of 1–6 reps, 2–4 minutes rest. Keep reps crisp; technique and bracing matter most.
Exercise emphasis
All goals use the main patterns—push, pull, hinge, squat, carry, core—but the mix changes:
- Endurance: Circuits, machines, bodyweight, lighter dumbbells; pair movements to keep the heart rate up.
- Hypertrophy: Mix compounds and accessories; stable setups (machines, cables) help push sets close to failure safely.
- Strength: Prioritize barbell or heavy machine compounds early in the session; fewer accessories, longer rest.
How to choose
- Pick endurance if you want better conditioning, play a sport, or need lower joint stress while still training hard.
- Pick hypertrophy if your main aim is building muscle and you can train 3–5 days a week with decent sleep and nutrition.
- Pick strength if you care most about heavier lifts, can rest longer between sets, and are comfortable with lower rep work.
You can rotate goals over the year: start with hypertrophy to build muscle, then run a strength block to realize that strength, and finish with an endurance block if conditioning is lacking.
Rest and effort
Effort targets shift with the goal. Endurance work often sits 2–3 reps in reserve to keep breathing under control. Hypertrophy lives around 1–3 reps in reserve. Strength sessions hover at 1–3 reps in reserve on main lifts, with back-off sets if you need more volume.
When to change goals
- Switch from endurance to hypertrophy if you want visible muscle or your lifts have stalled from staying too light.
- Switch from hypertrophy to strength if you built a base and want to test heavier loads with longer rest.
- Switch from strength to endurance or hypertrophy if joints feel beat up or recovery is lagging.
Use Upset Fit for each goal
On the Generate page, pick the goal that matches your phase. The app adjusts prescriptions:
- Endurance: More reps per set, shorter rest.
- Hypertrophy: Moderate reps, moderate rest, balanced movement selection.
- Strength: Lower reps, longer rest, more bias toward heavy compounds.
Send the workout to the logger, track sets/reps/weight, and adjust weekly using the progressive overload guide. If an exercise does not fit your equipment, use “Swap ideas” in the generator to pick a close match.