Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below I see more and more people preaching not to go to failure on more and more sets and am wondering why? I really don't see how one can gain if the INTENSITY isn't at a very high level. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying going to failure in every set on every exercise is the way to go. I'm currently doing a 5x5 routine and obviously I don't work to failure on all my 5x5 sets, but my other exercises you bet your ass I am. I would like to hear pro's and con's from those who know why working(or not working) to failure is a good or bad thing.
Not Going To Failure??
- Thread starter tzan
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PancakeFiend
New member
i always thought if you wanted hypertrophy you had to break down muscle, so they would rebuild and adapt hence train to failure
Most of my sets are too failure or very close. Especially for the compound lifts like benches and deadlifts. And alot of sets since I can take a good beating. Now that Ive injured myself, I can see my back and chest shrinking from using lighter weights and machines, and not going to failure. So for me, it seems failure is the best way to make gains, along with high volume. Id say I go beyond what most lifters deem failure on certain lifts, because I will cheat out reps once my muscle reaches near complete fatigue. I used to do alot of forced reps , but dont usually have someone to spot me with them. Some good cheating can add extra tension at the end of a set however.
Now I don't have any scientific support on this, but this is the way I feel. As long as you eating, sleeping, and have enough rest days in your routine I can't possibly see how not going to failure on most sets would yield better results then going to failure. I mean if you get in the dungeon, work your ass off on ALL your lifts go home, eat, and rest how could that not be more beneficial then going in there and only going all out on a few sets??
PancakeFiend
New member
well sure you don't have to go to failure, personally i feel like i get more out of a workout going to failure, just my thoughts. Nothing's for sure and everything contradicts everything else. So go with what works for you because there sure are a lot of viewpoints and perspectives out there, none of them are entirely right or wrong.
IMO if you are not going to failure what is the point of the exercise, just slap some weight on the bar and lift. If you are going for a goal, train each set to the max. I know you can't always use massive weight with this type of workout but don't you want results? I think hypertrophy needs a lot of volume and varying intensity. Work the muscle out and hit failure, simple as that, as I said, IMO, but do what works for you and train only as hard as the results you want.
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Here's the skinny:
That one last rep when you hit failure causes only as much growth as any non-failure rep, but incurs much much more fatigue than any non-failure rep.
You gain nothing but lose the ability to lift sooner.
Take a look at powerlifters. Most never train to failure but are damned enormous.
That one last rep when you hit failure causes only as much growth as any non-failure rep, but incurs much much more fatigue than any non-failure rep.
You gain nothing but lose the ability to lift sooner.
Take a look at powerlifters. Most never train to failure but are damned enormous.
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