'Til Failure

[whoknows46]

How come it is sometimes advised to work until failure, while other times it is advised against?

[dkfan9]

cause different people have different opinions

It all depends on your whole routine, your volume, and intensity.

generally, if you work to failure in a very volume intense program week after week, you'll fry your central nervous system and eventually make backwards progress.

[whoknows46]

Take for instance a pushup routine ... that's not high volume ... but I've read that you should only do pushups to failure a few days a week ... what would be the reasoning?

[Mtguy8787]

Because some people know what they are talking about, and other people do not.

Training to failure isnt allways bad, it just isnt a good idea when you are bodybuilding. Even when strength training, it isnt a necessity to always train to failure.

Training to failure on small, isolated exercises won't hurt much, though.

Training to failure all the time is bad for two main reasons.

- You are more likely to burn out before your workout is complete -- much more likely if you are trying to get in a high number of sets.

- It will prolong recovery if you do it consistently, since the CNS usually takes a good deal longer to recover than your muscles. Just becuase you arent sore doesnt mean youre recovered...

It wont help you to make better bbing gains. In the world of building muscle, those 'last couple of reps' arent what do all the work...... 'every one of those reps' are what do all the work.

[DJAuto]

Originally Posted by Mesjac Pomsty

It all depends on your whole routine, your volume, and intensity.

X2.

[finfan]

yeah i would only train to failure on push-ups or sit-ups, Basically anything using your own body weight.

[BodySculpting]

Originally Posted by Mesjac Pomsty

It all depends on your whole routine, your volume, and intensity.

Yes.

Personally, I think training to failure should be done 80% of the time with breaks (a week or two) of light lifting or no lifting every 6-8 weeks. We are in the gym to tear muscle fibers apart and we tear the most when we push ourselves the most. I cannot do a set and finish it knowing I could do 3 more reps, why? To me, that means I didn't challenge my muscles to their maximum potential.

Again, I believe that MOST of the time training to failure is necessary for optimum growth (assuming proper nutrition/rest is dialed in).

Training to failure is only bad when you do it EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT ON EVERY SINGLE SET ON EVERY SINGLE EXERCISE AND NEVER GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK.

[Hola Bola]

Originally Posted by BodySculpting

Yes.

Personally, I think training to failure should be done 80% of the time with breaks (a week or two) of light lifting or no lifting every 6-8 weeks. We are in the gym to tear muscle fibers apart and we tear the most when we push ourselves the most. I cannot do a set and finish it knowing I could do 3 more reps, why? To me, that means I didn't challenge my muscles to their maximum potential.

Again, I believe that MOST of the time training to failure is necessary for optimum growth (assuming proper nutrition/rest is dialed in).

Training to failure is only bad when you do it EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT ON EVERY SINGLE SET ON EVERY SINGLE EXERCISE AND NEVER GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK.

x2.

[SB100%Natural]

Originally Posted by whoknows46

Take for instance a pushup routine ... that's not high volume ... but I've read that you should only do pushups to failure a few days a week ... what would be the reasoning?

Any routine can be high volume, its purely dependant on the amount of reps and sets, not the specific exercise. Doing 3 sets of 30 push ups 3 times a week would be pretty high volume for the pushing muscles. A routine like this probably wouldn't allow enough recovery time for a natural trainee.

[SB100%Natural]

Originally Posted by BodySculpting

Yes.

Personally, I think training to failure should be done 80% of the time with breaks (a week or two) of light lifting or no lifting every 6-8 weeks. We are in the gym to tear muscle fibers apart and we tear the most when we push ourselves the most. I cannot do a set and finish it knowing I could do 3 more reps, why? To me, that means I didn't challenge my muscles to their maximum potential.

Again, I believe that MOST of the time training to failure is necessary for optimum growth (assuming proper nutrition/rest is dialed in).

Training to failure is only bad when you do it EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT ON EVERY SINGLE SET ON EVERY SINGLE EXERCISE AND NEVER GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK.

Nicely said. One should ideally train with periods of high intensity (HIT) and periods of lower intensity but with higher volume. You'll get the best of both worlds then. I agree with taking a week off every 6 - 8 weeks of HIT training. You'll come back better than ever. Training every set to absolute failure every workout, always, will eventually cause overtraining. Higher volume training will help expand your nervous system and allow you train even harder when you train HIT. Nothing should be done "always" in bodybuilding except for the use of good form and a good attitude.

[raysmith]

Originally Posted by whoknows46

How come it is sometimes advised to work until failure, while other times it is advised against?

What works for some and so on. Personally for me I always train to failure at low volume and continue to get strong.