Session Duration Calculator
See whether your workout fits the time you have. I include working sets, rest, setup and a little room for delays.
Fill in the form and your result lands here.
Learn the details
How it's figured
This is arithmetic on the numbers you supply, not a validated prediction or a comparison with other lifters. I add working time, rest between sets within each exercise, and setup time for every exercise, including the first. Working time is exercises times sets times reps times seconds per rep. Each exercise has one fewer rest period than working sets. I then add your warm-up minutes.
I would compare the realistic estimate with the time in your calendar. If it does not fit, try fewer exercises or sets and calculate again. After your next workout, compare the estimate with the clock and adjust your inputs. Rest and setup count as session time too, so a small share of working minutes is not a grade on your workout.
Why it's an estimate
I use this to give a workout a place in your calendar. The estimate adds up the time you enter; it does not tell you how long a good workout should take or how your session compares with anyone else's.
What the estimate includes
I assume every exercise has the same sets, reps, seconds per rep and rest. There is rest between working sets within an exercise, with no extra rest after its last set. Setup is counted for every exercise, including the first. Warm-up is a separate total, so include any warm-up sets there. Supersets and overlapping work or rest are outside this calculation.
A worked example
With the prefilled inputs, I have 5 exercises, 3 working sets each, 8 reps per set and 4 seconds per rep. That is 480 seconds, or 8 minutes of work. Two 90-second rest periods per exercise add 15 minutes, and 120 seconds of setup per exercise adds 10 minutes. The 8-minute warm-up brings the unpadded total to 41.0 minutes.
For the realistic estimate, I multiply the 33 minutes of work, rest and setup by 1.15, then add the 8-minute warm-up. That gives 45.95 minutes, displayed as 46 minutes. The flat 15 percent allowance is my planning choice for delays, not a measured figure or a guarantee. Your session may take more or less time.
When I would recalculate
I would compare the estimate with the clock after trying the session. If setup or rest took longer, update those inputs. Once the estimate fits your routine, there is no reason to recheck it on a calendar. Recalculate when you change the workout or your usual timings. A smaller share of working minutes is not a grade on the session.