Should You Train To Failure?

Summary

Training to failure can provide a strong muscle-building stimulus, but it also creates more fatigue. The presenter argues that most people can build muscle just as effectively by stopping a few reps short of failure, preserving more capacity for productive training throughout the workout and week.

Key Training Strategies

• Keep most sets close to, but short of, failure. This can recruit the muscle fibers needed for growth without the extra fatigue of pushing every set to the limit.
• Manage fatigue across the week. Excessive fatigue can reduce the amount of high-quality training you can perform and recover from.
• Adjust for individual differences. Some people tolerate failure training well, while others find it significantly fatiguing.
• Consider the exercise. Different exercises can produce different levels of fatigue when taken to failure.
• Use occasional failure sets as a check. They can help you judge whether you’re pushing your other sets as close to failure as you think.

Presenter/source: K Boges