{"id":669,"date":"2021-07-26T01:00:43","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T08:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?p=669"},"modified":"2021-07-26T11:06:38","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T18:06:38","slug":"training-to-failure-5-questions-you-need-to-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/training-to-failure-5-questions-you-need-to-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Training to Failure: 5 Questions You Need to Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first started lifting weights, I tried to take every set to failure. I didn\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

For years, that meant thinking of resistance exercise in absolute terms. A workout wasn\u2019t a success unless I could no longer move my muscles at the end of a session, even if I needed a <\/span><\/i>spotter to save me from being crushed by a barbell<\/span><\/i><\/a> (yeah, that happened).\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

But, what if I told you that pushing your muscles to the point that they can\u2019t lift a weight isn\u2019t the point?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re 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\u2019t see amazing results from their workouts.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a big difference between breaking a muscle down so it can grow, and demolishing it to the point that it\u2019s harder to recover.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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\u2019s separate from injuries, which are much more likely when training to failure.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

Should You Train to Failure?<\/b><\/h1>\n

By<\/b> Jordan Syatt<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Think back to the first time you ever lifted weights. What did you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

You probably walked up to a dumbbell rack, picked up the heaviest weight you could hold, and performed some exercise movement \u2014 heck, <\/span>any <\/span><\/i>exercise movement \u2014 to the best of your ability. Rep after rep after rep. And you did so until you could no longer move the weight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then you rested, probably until you felt fresh again, and repeated the process. Sometimes, a little naivety and simplicity is a good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t know how hard to push on any given set.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s an important distinction. The results you see from your time spent in the gym is a combination of many factors. For muscle growth, it\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the reason why \u201ctraining to failure\u201d is one of the most highly debated topics in the fitness industry and, truth be told, it\u2019s extremely misunderstood.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent enough time studying the topic to know that there\u2019s no simple answer. Some people swear that taking every set to failure is the secret to success while others insist it\u2019s a recipe for guaranteed injury and \u201covertraining.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer, as most things in life, depends entirely on the individual as well as their needs, goals, and preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to commit to training sessions, you might as well make sure you\u2019re personalizing those workouts as much as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, before you take another set to muscle failure, here\u2019s what you need to consider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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