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Training Q and A: Train to Failure

Article Submitted by: Dane Fletcher

Monday, 05 March 2007

Q: I've always heard differing opinions on this and wanted to hear what you guys think... If you are training for pure strength and size, should you go to failure? And if you don't go to failure, how close should you get? We all know the 4 rep deal isn't intense enough unless you're powerlifting, so how else could you get intensity but going to failure on certain sets?

A: There are so many opinions on this it isn't even funny. Some recommend never going to failure, and others recommend making "failure" a regular part of your routines. There is a lot of research out there that says that the difference between the amount of stress placed on your muscles when going to failure is significantly larger than when you stop just shy of it. Since stress is key to growth, stopping just short of failure seems to be the concensus. However, we are old school in the way we think: We think that you should mix all of it up. Just make sure you aren't just randomly doing whatever in the gym from day to day. Have a plan and then stick to it. If you know you're going to want to go to failure, have a partner that day. Same goes for choosing your exercises. It's a lot easier to go to failure on a Hammer Strength machine than it is on an actual bench press, without someone there to help you with forced reps, taking the bar, preventing death... you know. The best policy in terms of work ethic is simply this: Train until you feel that you can barely squeeze out 1 more repetition. Then stop. We do think that if you're just starting out, since weights are relatively much lower than those of experienced lifters, training to failure is important because it teaches you how to ascertain intensity.

If you don't understand intensity or what it feels like to push yourself to the wall, and know your limits, you probably won't ever grasp what it is to train hard throughout your entire lifting life. If you're convinced you're missing out by not going to failure as a more seasoned lifter, though, you can always take your last set to failure on your final exercises. It isn't going to hurt you, provided you aren't fatigued enough or unsupervised enough to make stupid mistakes. One final word: There is a guy in our office who is a big, bad mofo (we keep him around because we're afraid to fire the dude) who says that he has gotten amazing gains from NOT training to failure for the first time in his lifting career! Go figger. As he says, "My friggin' gains are through the roof, dude!" We choose to take him at his word on the hopes that he won't put us through the roof, or out a window when the time comes to can his ass!

About the Author: Dane Fletcher is the world's foremost training authority. He writes exclusively for GetAnabolics.com , a leading online provider of anabolic steroids. For more information, please visit http://www.getanabolics.com.

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About The Author:

About the Author: Dane Fletcher is the world's foremost training authority. He writes exclusively for GetAnabolics.com , a leading online provider of anabolic steroids. For more information, please visit http://www.getanabolics.com.

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