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Training to Failure: 5 Questions You Need to Answer

Adam Bornstein — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:00:43 +0000

When I first started lifting weights, I tried to take every set to failure. I didn’t know any better because no one told me any different. And, if I looked at how Arnold lifted and the culture of bodybuilding, complete failure appeared to be the goal of training sessions.

For years, that meant thinking of resistance exercise in absolute terms. A workout wasn’t a success unless I could no longer move my muscles at the end of a session, even if I needed a spotter to save me from being crushed by a barbell (yeah, that happened).

But, what if I told you that pushing your muscles to the point that they can’t lift a weight isn’t the point?

Whether you’re trying to add muscle mass, improve a few muscle groups, or are just using resistance training to improve your overall health, the idea of seeking failure is misunderstood and misapplied, and a big reason why many people don’t see amazing results from their workouts.

There’s a big difference between breaking a muscle down so it can grow, and demolishing it to the point that it’s harder to recover.

Muscle growth is directly connected to muscle fatigue. But, if you want to build stronger muscle fibers or add muscle mass, failure is best used sparingly.

In fact, in most cases, the best approach for both short- and long-term growth is about finding a way to push yourself hard, add reps, sets, and weights, without hitting that point where your muscles stop working. (And that’s separate from injuries, which are much more likely when training to failure.)

To help you understand how hard to push and the right intensity for your workouts, we turned to Jordan Syatt, owner of Syatt Fitness. In this post, he provides 5 different questions that you should consider to help you build a more effective approach to your workouts. -AB

Should You Train to Failure?

By Jordan Syatt

Think back to the first time you ever lifted weights. What did you do?

You probably walked up to a dumbbell rack, picked up the heaviest weight you could hold, and performed some exercise movement — heck, any exercise movement — to the best of your ability. Rep after rep after rep. And you did so until you could no longer move the weight.

Then you rested, probably until you felt fresh again, and repeated the process. Sometimes, a little naivety and simplicity is a good thing.

But, that simplicity is also why so many people are frustrated by what they do in the gym. Beyond the exercises you perform and the frequency and volume of your workouts, most people don’t know how hard to push on any given set.

They don’t know how to build muscle. And they don’t know how to build strength. What they do know how to do is perform exercises listed in their training session.

There’s an important distinction. The results you see from your time spent in the gym is a combination of many factors. For muscle growth, it’s a matter of muscular tension, metabolic stress, and muscular damage. There are many ways to manipulate those variables, but most people assume that pushing every set to the last rep where your muscles are aching is what needs to be done.

It’s the reason why “training to failure” is one of the most highly debated topics in the fitness industry and, truth be told, it’s extremely misunderstood.

I’ve spent enough time studying the topic to know that there’s no simple answer. Some people swear that taking every set to failure is the secret to success while others insist it’s a recipe for guaranteed injury and “overtraining.”

The answer, as most things in life, depends entirely on the individual as well as their needs, goals, and preferences.

If you’re going to commit to training sessions, you might as well make sure you’re personalizing those workouts as much as possible.

So, before you take another set to muscle failure, here’s what you need to consider.

Question 1: Is Training to Failure Necessary for Muscle Growth?

Research on training to failure is, unfortunately, scarce. Increasing muscle hypertrophy is often necessary for physique competitors and strength athletes to improve performance. Since training to failure “may activate a greater number of motor units” and potentially enhance muscle hypertrophy, training to failure is often warranted among these individuals.[2]

Willardson et al. is perhaps the highest quality review of the literature pertaining to failure-based training. After examining the data, the authors concluded that training to failure is a valid method to use in order to enhance muscle hypertrophy, facilitate maximal strength gains, and break through plateaus.

However, it’s important to note that Willardson also stated “training to failure should not be performed repeatedly over long periods, due to the high potential for overtraining and overuse injuries. Therefore, the training status and the goals of the lifter should guide the decision-making process on this issue.”

Linnamo et al. found that training to failure resulted in a significantly greater increase in the secretion of growth hormone compared to non-failure based training. While this finding in no way, shape, or form proves that training to failure is better than other methods, it may lend credence to the success so many athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts have had with failure-based training.

There are other studies, but what really what matters is, how does this apply to you?

So let’s start there: You. After all, it’s your goals and training style that will play the biggest role in determining if and when you should push your body to failure. And that decision comes down to asking 5 questions.

Question 2: Are you Breaking the 90-Percent Max Rule?

Training intensity is perhaps the single most important factor in deciding whether or not training to failure is effective or even appropriate. Training intensity refers to the percentage of weight being lifted in relation to an individual’s 1-repetition maximum (1-RM).

In my opinion, training to failure at intensities at, or above 90 percent of your 1-RM should be avoided.

Training to failure with such heavy weights will do very little (if anything) to enhance muscle hypertrophy and may actually hamper strength gains. If you’re going to hit absolute or complete failure, you don’t want to do it with the maximum amount of weight you can push, press, deadlift, or squat.

Furthermore, training to failure with near maximal weights will almost inevitably result in a breakdown of technique, drastically increasing the likelihood of injury. Don’t get it twisted: weightlifting is a lifetime activity, but you need to be smart about the risks you take.

Generally speaking, training to failure should be reserved for training percentages ranging from 50 percent to 85 percent of your 1-rep max.

While I rarely prescribe training to failure at either of these end-ranges, I believe that they are appropriate guidelines to follow for a majority of intermediate and advanced trainees.

Keep in mind, though, training to failure at 50 percent of your 1-RM can take an inordinate amount of time to complete and may not be well suited for those with time restrictions. On the other hand, 85 percent of your 1-RM is still heavy weight and the use of a spotter is strongly encouraged.

Question 3: How Often Should You Train to Failure? (Check Your Training Age)

There are three major categories signifying the current “level” of a given trainee. I call this “the trainee continuum” and they are: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

An individual’s training status will determine what they need, and therefore someone who is a beginner might require unique methods of training that may substantially differ from someone who is at an intermediate or advanced stage.

For example, beginner trainees must, first and foremost, work on developing proper form and technique in compound movements such as the squat, bench press, deadlift, and chin-up.

Consequently, training beginners to absolute failure would likely do more harm than good as maintaining proper form becomes exceedingly difficult in a fatigued state.

In other words, if you’re a beginner and haven’t been training for, at least, 2 years consistently, then you’re likely best off not pushing to muscle failure, even when you’re below 90 percent of your 1-RM.

What to do instead? You can try the “reps in reserve” (or RIR) method. RIR is great for beginners and also incredibly effective for advanced lifters.

Instead of pushing towards complete failure, you want to push to a different level of fatigue. For example, you’ll set a goal rep range (say, 8 reps) and make sure you have 2 reps in reserve (2 RIR). This way, you’re able to work towards a level of intensity that challenges your muscles, but you’re purposely leaving a number of reps in the tank.

It can take trial-and-error to figure out how many reps you truly have in reserve, but — when you do — it’s a great way to add reps, weight, and more sets, while mastering form, fatigue, and recovery.

If you’re not a beginner, intermediate and advanced trainees can push to failure more often. If you’re following the 90-percent rule, and sticking between 60 to 85 percent of your 1-rep max, you can train to failure between 2-4 times per week.

How do you know how often you should push? Glad you asked because that will depend on your goal and the exercises you perform.

Question 4: What is Your Goal?

An individual’s desired goal will dictate numerous components of their program, not least of which includes whether or not they should train to muscular failure.

Take, for example, the differences between powerlifters and bodybuilders. Powerlifters are focused on maximal strength development (including training their nervous system to handle more weight). Consequently, they train at relatively high intensities of their 1-RM. Additionally, powerlifter’s place a distinct emphasis on full-body, compound movements, which require a great deal of skill to maintain proper form.

In bodybuilding, the goal is muscle growth and, as a result, train at comparatively lower intensities of their 1-RM because strength is not always the answer. What’s more, bodybuilders tend to emphasize smaller, isolation movements designed to target individual body parts, which require less skill to maintain proper technique.

Because of these different approaches and the types of exercises performed, bodybuilders are able to train to failure more frequently than powerlifters.

It’s important to note, however, that many elite powerlifters also train to failure on a regular basis. In fact, as a world record powerlifter myself, I regularly utilize failure-based training within my programs. That being said, I rarely train to failure in big, compound movements and almost exclusively use intensities between 60 percent to 80 percent of my 1-RM.

Question 5: What Exercises Are You Performing?

The more skill required for a lift, the less frequently it should be performed to failure. Conversely, the less skill required to perform a lift the more acceptable it becomes to train to failure.

Snatches, for example, are arguably the single-most complex lift and training them to failure is dangerous. Simpler multi-joint movements, such as variations of the chin-up, bench press, and lunge, are suitable for failure-based training but should be performed with extreme caution. Same can be said for exercises like squats.

Finally, single-joint exercises, including bicep curls, triceps extensions, and calf raises, are the least complex of movements and are far more appropriate to train to failure.

Question 6: What is Your Mindset?

Failure occurs when an individual is unable to complete another full repetition. This tends to happen due to the onset of fatigue.

Fatigue, however, is a truly subjective term and is nearly impossible to quantify. Based on pain tolerance, willpower, and other psychological factors, what constitutes muscular failure for one individual may only be slight discomfort to someone else. As such, it’s difficult to know whether a given individual is training to true muscular failure or simply cutting the set short.

Furthermore, it’s important to note that while some individuals derive pleasure from training to failure, others do not and attempting to force them may, in fact, deter them from strength training. Understanding the psychology of your clients (or yourself) and how they respond to training is of the utmost importance to long-term program adherence.

While it’d be easy to make a blanket statement about training to failure, ultimately it depends on your answers to the questions above. Failure-based training is a valuable tool in your training arsenal when applied correctly. If it fits your goals, needs, and preferences then use it wisely and with caution

Stop Failing. Start Succeeding

At Born Fitness, we help you make sense of fitness and nutrition information. If you want to create a plan for your life, here’s how you can stop guessing and start living healthier.

3 Rules for Building Bigger Arms

Faster Fat Loss: How to Add Workout Finishers

How Low Should You Squat, Really?

Works Cited

[1] Aragon, Alan. “Training to Failure.” Alan Aragon Research Review. Alan Aragon, Mar 2009. Web. Web. 9 Mar. 2013.

[2] Schoenfeld, Brad. “The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 24.10 (2010): 2857-2873. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. .

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Training to Failure: 5 Questions You Need to Answer appeared first on Born Fitness.

Strength Is Not Always the Answer

Adam Bornstein — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 15:48:48 +0000

If I could go back in time to when I first started lifting weights, I’d do everything differently.

Back then, I was so worried about finding the right plan for me that I missed out on the two most fundamental aspects of exercise: movement and strength.

Movement is easy to figure out, and yet mostly misunderstand. Yes, you want to learn how to squat, push (think bench press), and pull (rows), but you also want to rotate, move in different planes, and even crawl, jump, and climb.

Build these skills and your body will undeniably be better for it. And the younger you start the better.

The second element is basic but overcomplicated. Being strong will make it easier for you to achieve your fitness goals. Every. Single. One. From fat loss to muscle gain. Increased athleticism and speed. For men and women.

But becoming stronger–while a process and a science–is not wrapped up in complicated training methods, drop sets, supersets, and any other fancy training approach.

It’s about adding more weight to the bar workout after workout. Keep the programs simple, the exercises basic, and watch as you become stronger. Use great coaches and methods like biofeedback to understand what movements are best for you body, and then gradually become better.

Your beginner strength workouts can be viewed as boring and yet they are inherently rewarding. It’s very easy to monitor your workouts, become excited about your progress, and keep pushing ahead knowing that you’re becoming better.

When I meet most clients and perform an initial assessment, I’m usually surprised that their baseline level of strength is either

Lower than I’d imagine for someone with their experience in the gym
Wildly imbalanced (usually push is much stronger than pull, and upper body is more powerful than lower)

In order to move forward I take steps back to remove imbalances and build fundamental strength that will help prevent injuries, create the ability for enhanced fat loss, and allow you to add all the cool training techniques that enhance muscle building.

But what about those that are already strong? Is the end goal still becoming stronger? If the goal is lifting as much weight as possible, then yes, the path is much clearer.

And yet, for many people who workout that’s not why they’re in the gym. And it’s where confusion is created and workouts lead to plateaus and frustration.

What Happens After Strength?

On a basic level, you will always try to add more weight on exercises. But at some point, the speed by which you add weight becomes dramatically different, meaning you need to find new ways to increase workout intensity without forcing yourself into an endless cycles where you’re simply going through the motions instead of becoming better.

Progressive overload (gradually becoming stronger on all lifts) is great in the beginning of your training life, but it has less application the more advanced you become and as you age.

This isn’t to say you can’t still lift very heavy as you enter your 30s, 40s, and 50s, but the need to add more strength and punish your joints becomes less central to your general fitness goals of looking good, feeling great, being lean, and living longer.

Once you’re lifting decent weights on most exercises, your focus shifts to challenging your body in new ways without simply adding more plates to an exercise.

The ways to become better are endless and include everything for creating different “angles” to challenge your muscles, training at a faster pace, experimenting with frequency and the number of days you exercise, altering the length of your workouts, and ultimately trying to increase overall volume so you keep seeing progress without having to live in the gym.

If adding more weight was the only way, we’d all be squatting 500 pounds.

The proof exists at the highest level. Strength competitors and professional athletes who depend on lifting heavy weights don’t push for constant PR’s every session or on their assistance lifts.

What they understand is that first you build the foundation (strength), and then you create the home (adding other training variables and not obsessing over strength). You want to push your numbers when you can, but your main goal with many exercises will be to find new ways to increase the challenge and build conditioning without needing to become stronger.

Progress in the weight room has many faces.

If you were able to squat 225 pounds and then decided to start adding eccentric holds at the bottom of the lift (for 2 to 4 seconds), you’ve made that exercise harder without adding weight.

If you row 50 pounds for 10 reps, and then decide to make your goal 11 for the next session, and then 12 after that, then you have made progress.

That’s not to say that the pursuit of strength should end, but that it doesn’t have to be your only focus or a path that constantly leads to injury.

Plenty of experts are specialists at making you stronger at all times. (For the master of PR every day, check out information and techniques from Dave Dellanave.)

But for many people going to the gym, the experience is not about the rush of lifting more weight. It doesn’t matter to them. So why force something that won’t keep them coming back session after session.

For those, gaining strength becomes an issue of pragmatism; you need strength to achieve any of your goals. But once you have it, then you can manipulate your training in a more specified way.

Once your initial gains for gaining strength diminish (a process that for many lasts several years), then the process shifts more to gaining small amounts of strength each year, without sacrificing the intensity or difficulty of your training plan.