If you don't train to failure, how do you know when to increase the weights?

[raze]

 

[needtogetaas]

Jesus H. Christ, can you please learn to spell?

By the way, bodybuilders are notorious for their AAS usage, so don't attribute their gains to anything but that and lots of food. As was said by, I believe Glenn or Mark, "many bodybuilders make progress in spite of their training, not because of it" - 'course, that's not verbatim, but you get the idea.

Seriously learn a bit about physiology before you sit here trying to make the arguement that failure is necessary or optimal in any way to make progress. Learn the stuff on a molecular level. Then maybe you'd understand.

Wait, no you wouldn't. You're an idiot.

I never said you had to do it that way,I just said it works.and btw what did I ever say to you.I think its grate if you have a difrant opinoun but do you have to be an ass hole.but lets just say this.if it ant broke dont fix it.balls to the walls working out is the way it has allways bin don.

 

[Dial_tone]

If you find yourself doing 12 reps with a weight you used to do 8 reps it's time to increase the weight.

 

[glennpendlay]

if youll re-read my post, i think i already answered your question, but maybe i wasnt very clear. you will make steady progress upward, without failure, for a number of weeks. you will hit a point where the steady progress isnt so steady any more. maybe it takes you 2-3 weeks to get all your reps with a new weight. you will eventually hit a point where progress stops. when this happens, you will change something, and start your new rep/set scheme at a lower level, assuring that you get all your reps for several weeks as you slowly ramp back up. and the process will repeat.

now, when done correctly, this is largely self regulating. thats why it works so consistently. it you follow the rules, its hard to screw up. when you get to really hard weights doing a certain thing, it is certainly more stressfull than during the first couple of weeks you did it... this extra stress each week spurs the body to adapt. at some point, most often when you have been doing the same exercise and rep/set scheme for a month or two, and are not getting all your reps week after week (in other words, going to failure) the body just wont adapt to it anymore. so you make a change, and after this change, for a time, the workouts arent as stressfull, but still they are increasing each week and eventually youll be going full out again, and eventually you will go to failure again, and at first this will spur progress, then progress will stop, and it will be time to start over again.

so, typically, a person might NOT get to failure for 3-4 weeks, then might have a week where the workout with the specified weight was not completed successfully (in other words, FAILURE) then maybe the next week you are successfull with all your reps (NO failure) then, because you were successfull, you up the weight by a small amount again, and this time, you go two weeks in a row without hitting all your reps, and actually dont improve... SO, you make a change, maybe your change is that you were doing 3 sets of 5 for your work sets, and you change to 5 sets of 5, or you change to 2 sets of 10, or you change to 3 sets of 3, whatever, it doesnt really matter for this discussion, but when you make that change, you use your head and start on the first week with a weight that is conservative, and you then again arent going near failure, but you again add weight each week, and repeat the process. so thats 4 weeks without failure, then one week with failure, then one week without failure, then two weeks with failure, then back to 4 weeks without failure.... etc.

thats about as clear as i can make it. but one other thing... you are NEVER trying to go to failure. you are ALWAYS trying to make all your reps. failure is just that, a FAILURE to complete your workout. if this happens a couple of times in a row, you change the workout.

Well, how long should one train to failure, then? I mean, once the individual gets up that weight where they can't complete all 5 reps, it's pretty much failure from then on. I mean, say they stick with the weight until they're able to pump out all 5 reps and then increase by another 5 pounds. Well, they'll be training up to failure again at that point. So, once failure is reached, is there a certain amount of time to continue training at that point that leads up to a deloading week and then cycling back down to a newer, higher "starting" weight to progress from in the oncoming weeks?

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I never said you had to do it that way,I just said it works.and btw what did I ever say to you.I think its grate if you have a difrant opinoun but do you have to be an ass hole.but lets just say this.if it ant broke dont fix it.balls to the walls working out is the way it has allways bin don.

Actually, you didn't just say it works, but rather, the only method that works, as per this:

BALLS TO THE WALL IS THE ONLY WAY TO GROW....im waiting for the low-volume guys to come out of the woodwork.LOL

 

[siamesedream]

if youll re-read my post, i think i already answered your question, but maybe i wasnt very clear. you will make steady progress upward, without failure, for a number of weeks. you will hit a point where the steady progress isnt so steady any more. maybe it takes you 2-3 weeks to get all your reps with a new weight. you will eventually hit a point where progress stops. when this happens, you will change something, and start your new rep/set scheme at a lower level, assuring that you get all your reps for several weeks as you slowly ramp back up. and the process will repeat.

now, when done correctly, this is largely self regulating. thats why it works so consistently. it you follow the rules, its hard to screw up. when you get to really hard weights doing a certain thing, it is certainly more stressfull than during the first couple of weeks you did it... this extra stress each week spurs the body to adapt. at some point, most often when you have been doing the same exercise and rep/set scheme for a month or two, and are not getting all your reps week after week (in other words, going to failure) the body just wont adapt to it anymore. so you make a change, and after this change, for a time, the workouts arent as stressfull, but still they are increasing each week and eventually youll be going full out again, and eventually you will go to failure again, and at first this will spur progress, then progress will stop, and it will be time to start over again.

so, typically, a person might NOT get to failure for 3-4 weeks, then might have a week where the workout with the specified weight was not completed successfully (in other words, FAILURE) then maybe the next week you are successfull with all your reps (NO failure) then, because you were successfull, you up the weight by a small amount again, and this time, you go two weeks in a row without hitting all your reps, and actually dont improve... SO, you make a change, maybe your change is that you were doing 3 sets of 5 for your work sets, and you change to 5 sets of 5, or you change to 2 sets of 10, or you change to 3 sets of 3, whatever, it doesnt really matter for this discussion, but when you make that change, you use your head and start on the first week with a weight that is conservative, and you then again arent going near failure, but you again add weight each week, and repeat the process. so thats 4 weeks without failure, then one week with failure, then one week without failure, then two weeks with failure, then back to 4 weeks without failure.... etc.

thats about as clear as i can make it. but one other thing... you are NEVER trying to go to failure. you are ALWAYS trying to make all your reps. failure is just that, a FAILURE to complete your workout. if this happens a couple of times in a row, you change the workout.

Thanks! That pretty much answers my questions. The system won't let me give you anymore karma.

 

[needtogetaas]

Actually, you didn't just say it works, but rather, the only method that works, as per this:

ya I gess I did get a little carred away.should have left that part out.but realy though still no reason to start shit.know what I meen.

 

[gjohnson5]

Stay intouch with your body. It will tell you when your are feeling ok , good, great. if it doesn't seem like a good day , I don't force it. Just listen to your body and it will tell you

 

[EnderJE]

Wouldn't be safe to say that everyone is different and what works for some, may not work for others? Sheesh.

 

[gjohnson5]

Wouldn't be safe to say that everyone is different and what works for some, may not work for others? Sheesh.

People say that all the time, but what "works" requires experimentation. What "works" requires the user to have tried different systems and come to a conclusion of what "works" and what "does not work" The point of these type threads is to give suggestions in terms of the right direction to head.