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MTQ (Muscle Training Quality) is RepRecord's scoring system. It converts your sets, exercise selection, and training frequency into a 1-10 number per muscle, per session and per week. Here's exactly how it works.
A system driven by muscle-specific capacity, training volume, and a saturation curve.
The foundation. Each exercise's parts score acts as a quality multiplier for the sets performed.
Each muscle has its own capacity parameters calibrated from size, fiber type, and isolation dependency.
Scores how well you trained a muscle today. Anchors a score of 8 to reaching the muscle's high-volume capacity.
Scores weekly training rate over any period. Evaluates your quality-weighted sets against weekly capacity.
Not all sets are equal. Barbell curls stimulate the biceps differently than rows. Flat bench presses hit the chest differently than cable flyes. Raw set counts ignore this.
MTQ uses a parts system. Exercises assign muscles a value from 1 to 10 based on direct stimulus. This acts as a quality multiplier for the sets you perform.
Instead of just counting raw sets, MTQ calculates effective sets by weighting your actual sets with the exercise's parts value. An exercise with higher parts yields more effective sets per set performed.
This provides more precision than traditional academic models, capturing the true quality gradient of every movement.
The research on MEV, MAV, and MRV defines the volume territory that produces growth. MTQ encodes these landmarks directly into a unique per-muscle capacity parameter.
The minimum effective sets required to drive adaptation. Muscles trained below MEV score low naturally because the exponential curve assigns low output to low input.
Typical range: 8-12 effective sets/week
The zone producing the greatest adaptation per set. A weekly MTQ of 6 to 8 corresponds roughly to training near this optimal zone for most muscles.
Typical range: 12-20 effective sets/week
The ceiling beyond which recovery breaks down. Accumulating volume past saturation barely moves the MTQ score, reflecting diminishing biological returns.
Typical threshold: 18-26 effective sets/week
The muscle capacity is calibrated so a score of 8 lands right in the MAV zone for that muscle. Large compound muscles have a higher capacity than smaller isolation muscles.
Question it answers: How well did I train this muscle today? Per-session MTQ scores a muscle from 1 to 10 based on the effective stimulus delivered.
Step 1: Accumulate. Sum the effective sets across all exercises in the session for that muscle.
Step 2: Normalise. Compare the total effective stimulus against the muscle's specific capacity. Reaching its full target capacity scores an 8, indicating a high-volume session.
Step 3: Apply Saturation. Pass the result through a saturation curve. Early sets drive the score up quickly, while sets past capacity produce diminishing returns. The floor is 1 for any muscle trained.
Question it answers: How effectively have I trained over a period? Timeframe MTQ scores any window by normalising all volume to a weekly rate.
Step 1: Normalise. Find the average quality-weighted sets per week over the given timeframe. A 4-week view and a 1-week view are normalised to the same weekly rate.
Step 2: Apply Curve. The weekly rate is evaluated against the muscle's weekly capacity using the saturation curve. The floor is 0. A muscle with no volume correctly scores 0.
The Plan Builder calculates predicted weekly MTQ for every muscle, so you can see your score before stepping into the gym.
The MTQ algorithm's formula structure, muscle parameter calibration, and parts-weighted effective sets system are grounded in the following published research.
Download RepRecord and get MTQ scoring, muscle insights, and a full exercise library. Completely free, completely private.