Hey, I'm trying to figure out whether I'm doing too much, too little, or about the right amount of volume for an Upper/Lower split.

I've been training for around 6 months and my main goal is hypertrophy. I'm especially interested in building a really aesthetic physique, with my priorities being:

1. Arms biceps, triceps and forearms are my biggest priority
2. Shoulders especially side delts for width
3. Back both lat width and overall thickness
4. Chest
5. Abs
6. Legs are still important and I want them to grow, just not as much of a priority as my upper body

I'm around 70 kg at 175 cm.

My main issue is figuring out how many hard sets I should actually be doing per session.

My old program had around 30+ sets on Upper A and I honestly recovered pretty well from it. I also didn't really feel particularly fatigued after the workouts. However, I realize that doesn't necessarily mean every set was productive, especially because I probably rested for quite a while between sets and wasn't always training super close to failure.

I'm now planning on taking my working sets more seriously, mostly around 1–2 RIR on compounds and 0–1 RIR on some isolations.

I'm wondering whether something like 2–3 sets per exercise is enough when the sets are actually hard, or whether I should be closer to the volume I was doing previously.

I don't really want to blindly follow a specific "sets per muscle per week" number. I'm more interested in how I should actually determine the right volume for myself, especially when training each muscle twice per week.

My current split:

Upper A

• Bench Press: 4 sets × 5–8 reps
• Cable Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 × 6–10
• Dumbbell Bent-Over Single-Arm Row: 3 × 8–12
• Seated Shoulder Press: 3 × 6–10
• Cable Standing Face Pull (rope): 3 × 12–20
• Lateral Raise: 3 × 12–15
• Dumbbell Incline Curl: 3 × 8–12
• Cable Curl: 3 × 8–12
• Triceps Pushdown: 3 × 10–15
• Cable Seated Chest Fly: 3 × 12–15

Lower A

• Romanian Deadlift: 4 × 6–10
• Sled 45° Leg Wide Press: 3 × 8–12
• Lever Lying Leg Curl: 3 × 10–15
• Lever Leg Extension: 3 × 10–15
• Lever Seated Calf Raise: 3 × 10–15
• Cable Kneeling Crunch: 3 × 12–15
• Lever Total Abdominal Crunch: 3 × 12–15

Upper B

• Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 4 × 6–10
• Bench Press: 3 × 6–10
• Lever Chest Press: 3 × 8–12
• Cable Lat Pulldown with V-Bar: 3 × 6–10
• Cable Seated Row with V-Bar: 3 × 8–12
• Lever Seated Reverse Fly: 3 × 12–15
• Lateral Raise: 3 × 12–15
• Hammer Curl: 3 × 8–12
• EZ-Barbell Preacher Curl: 3 × 8–12
• Overhead Triceps Extension

Lower B

• Full Squat: 4 sets
• Sled 45° Leg Wide Press: 3 sets
• Lever Leg Extension: 3 sets
• Lever Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets
• Lever Seated Hip Abduction: 3 sets
• Lever Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets
• Lever Total Abdominal Crunch: 3 sets
• Cable Kneeling Crunch: 3 sets

I also want to eventually get good at dips, so I'm keeping them even though I'm not very strong at them yet.

For arms, I know I'm probably missing some direct biceps work right now (as in deciding what I want for them). I like incline curls and cable curls, I'm okay with Bayesian curls, and I like hammer curls. I hate preacher curls mostly because the EZ-bar setup at my gym feels awkward and doesn't let me get a comfortable stretch, but it might just be me, as I can do like 15 kg for 12 reps but 20 kg feels really weird and I don't feel like putting my arms all the way down.

For triceps I like V-bar pushdowns and overhead cable extensions. Kinda slacking in terms of triceps though, I feel like I don't try on them as much.

For forearms as of recently I plan on adding them to my routine but I'm doing single-arm wrist curls and reverse wrist extensions.

I also don't like face pulls or cable flies, so I'm not interested in forcing exercises I don't enjoy if there's a good alternative.

What I'm really trying to understand:

• How many hard sets per workout is reasonable on an Upper/Lower split?
• Is 2–3 sets per exercise generally enough if they're genuinely hard?
• Should I be thinking more about weekly sets per muscle instead of sets per workout?
• How much does exercise overlap matter when counting volume? For example, bench + incline + dips all involve triceps.
• How do I know when I've found my minimum effective volume vs maximum recoverable volume?
• If I recover well from 25–30 sets but my last several sets aren't progressing, is that a sign that some of the volume is junk?
• Would something around 20–22 working sets per Upper session be a reasonable place to start for someone like me?
• How should I adjust volume based on actual progression over 6–8 weeks?

I'm not looking for someone to write me a completely new routine. I'm mainly trying to understand the volume/programming side so I can make better decisions about my own routine. Moral of the story, I just feel like I might be doing too much, but not at the same time. Seeing people do 2 sets just feels odd to me, and I feel like my arms really growing as much but I guess it just might be a matter of time. My triceps feel like they're slacking as well.

Would appreciate opinions from people who have actually experimented with different volumes, especially natural lifters.