Thoughts on 1 set to failure?

[inthematrix]

firstly, muscle tension builds muscle, not failure....

you cant train to failure all the time, burnout, central nervous system, joints, all start to occur....



that being said, lets say the perfect number of sets is between 1 and 20, why would anyone start with 20?

start with 1, and see if you get gains....

now, if you're on drugs/steroids, you can train at a much higher volume than a natural, and then, if you're a natural, do you have great genetics or average, all this comes into play (and is too often ignored)

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personally, i started at 160lbs at 6'1", and ive only ever done 1-2 heavy sets, sometimes its 2 heavy sets, 1 rep short of failure, and sometimes its 1 all-out failure set and 1-2 reps with a spotter/forced-reps.... and thats it; dont complicate it...

progression is key, more weight on the bar, in small increments, 1-2lbs per workout, and at the end of the year, its 50lbs on the bar,

if you row, bench, dip, squat, deadlift, pullup, more weight in a year than you do now, you'll be bigger (in a decent rep range)


if you dont gain, dont do it

[nungman]

I spent most of the beginning of my time as a lifter doing a version of Pavel Tsatsouline's Power to the People routine. It called for deadlifts and and benching (although I added squats, pullups, and military presses after a few months) for 2 sets: the first set is 100% of your five rep max, and the second is 90%, both done for 5 reps. I did this same template for all the movements I was doing in a sort of A-B-A 3-4 days a week schedule.

My strength increased dramatically over about a year and a half. My lifts were respectable for a novice: (1RM for the following) 240 bench, 400 deadlift, 320 squat, and 165 military. However, the size gains I made were minimal at best. I noticed I was only doing 2-4 sets per week for each exercise, which is incredibly low volume, but it allowed me to practice the lifts multiple times a week.

I decided to try higher volume, and the results have shocked me. I started doing Layne Norton's P/H template, and I have seen far more mass gain than I ever did doing low volume. It's anecdotal evidence, sure, but in my experience low volume is better for increasing my strength while high volume is optimal for muscle gain.

[Lifter X]

I've been on a bulking phase right now, and I usually do 3 sets of 8 reps. I've heard from some people that going to failure is what really helps you build muscle. If that's the case, what are your thoughts on doing JUST ONE SET with enough weight to where you need to get at least 8 reps, but no more than 12. If you can do 12 or more, you need to up the weight. But going to failure is my goal. Do you agree or disagree with this method?

read up on dc training and mike mentzer they all do one set per body part to failure. dc is coupled with rest puase and mentzer started to advocate it later in his life but i agree with going to failure with drop sets rest pause negatives supersets any intensity adding method

[mednarchrd]

I've been on a bulking phase right now, and I usually do 3 sets of 8 reps. I've heard from some people that going to failure is what really helps you build muscle. If that's the case, what are your thoughts on doing JUST ONE SET with enough weight to where you need to get at least 8 reps, but no more than 12. If you can do 12 or more, you need to up the weight. But going to failure is my goal. Do you agree or disagree with this method?

I'm going to <b>disagree</b>... why you might ask… well I believe that what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. Everyone needs to find what works for them with so many different type of methods to increase intensity and grow you’re NOT stuck solely on one method. I say try to mix things up and stick with one for a few weeks to see if it works for you or not. This is merely a suggestion not a demand :-D