"Failure" question

[trailseeker]

Okay, so, I'm doing my squats, and I just upped my weight from two 17-lb dumbells to two 20lb dumbells. On about my 6th set of 8 reps, as I set the weights down on the floor, when I rose my quads were shuddering like hell. It was pretty damn cool. Is this the "training to failure" thing Ive seen talked about on here?
Thanks

 

[gonelifting]

No, I don`t think so. There are many levels of failure too. To simply put it, when you`re doing squats with 40 pounds and you do 7 reps , then you go down to get #8 but you can`t come back up no matter how much you struggle. You then failed.

Some people say that true failure is when you can`t MOVE the bar any longer. For example curls you can`t curl the 10th rep , you only go halfway up, then you go back down and go half way up again then back down and 1/4 the way up keep repeating till the bar is unable to move. That`s failure.

Some people stop a set when the bar speed slows down from their normal tempo.

There are other variations. but that`s the idea.

 

[trailseeker]

Thanks for your reply;

Is training to failure more beneficial than doing set reps and weight?

 

[guldukat]

Thanks for your reply;

Is training to failure more beneficial than doing set reps and weight?

It Depends (tm)

Theoretically, yes, since doing a set no. of reps could mean you'd do 10 lbs. for 10 reps when, in fact, you could bust out 20 reps if you really tried.

There are lots of schemes in which you can achieve progressive overload and grow like mad without training to failure. The key is to keep adding weight and reps...even without failure you can push yourself hard enough to grow.

Personally I like training to failure, though. Given certain conditions, which I try to meet, it's a good tool for achieving overload.

 

[gonelifting]

Thanks for your reply;

Is training to failure more beneficial than doing set reps and weight?

That`s a whole different animal. I`m not qualified to answer that, but I do know that if you go to failure too often and with too many sets you will get burned out and not make gains.

Then you start to get into the whole "intensity" issue that is ALWAYS talked about here. People do One set of 110% and they`re done some others will do 3 sets of less "intensity some will do 10 sets of a different intensity. It all boils down to what works for them and what they`re willing to do.

 

[guldukat]

That`s a whole different animal. I`m not qualified to answer that, but I do know that if you go to failure too often and with too many sets you will get burned out and not make gains.

I wholeheartedly agree.

I think a lot of failure training requires that you don't do much overall work. You can, but it might slow your workout to workout progress down...and it will catch up with you rather quickly.

It's so hard to say what's "best" because it's always contextually sensitive. What's best for a powerlifter might not be precisely what's best for a bodybuilder in all cases, and so on.

 

[trailseeker]

Thanks for your help. guys.

 

[guldukat]

Thanks for your help. guys.

Mah, don't mention it. Anything for a lady *small bow*

 

[casualbb]

You can if you want. Note that failure training specifically helps to bring about overtraining more quickly as you accumulate more fatigue.