Failure is Not an Option; Failure is a Necessity

[2020Wellness]

By Ryan Miller; B.S. Biochemistry, NASM Certified Trainer


Failure Is Not An Option

Depending on the context, “Failure is not an option” is either a strong motivator for success or a sure fire way to sabotage your success. . This concept is just one of those funny ideas that doesn’t seem right at first, but after an explanation will be as clear as water.

A famous saying comes to mind, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” There is great reasoning behind this statement. In order to see the reasoning, I want to take a look at the statement and show you how relative it is to everyone who has ever walked the earth. The creator of this statement is assuming that you will fail, are failing, or have failed at what it is you are trying to achieve. This statement is encouraging you to keep on trying, even though you aren’t able to achieve what you want at the time of failure.

Nobody will go through life without failing, unless they perform perfectly in everything they set out to do. So, like I said, nobody will go through life without failing. See, the thing about failing is that it should tell you something about yourself. You can’t fail if you haven’t tried. If you’ve tried, then you have a goal and you are making an effort to achieve that goal.

Failure is the first indicator of your next challenge to overcome. Failure is the result of that first push to try something you have never done before. Failure sets your sights high and shows that you are forcing true progression. Progression, my friend, is what the gym is all about!

Prime Example Number One

I want you to meet my first subject, Max. Max has been hitting the weights now for a solid year. He has seen some great strength gains, which primarily took place within the first 6 months of his training. But now Max’s newbie gains are wearing off and his strength increases are slim to none. He has hit the wall. He really has no idea why he isn’t getting any stronger. Max is doing now what he did in the beginning, 3 sets of 10 reps with a weight that pushes him but allows him to get his 10 reps for each set. You see, Max knows that if he’s not getting his 10 reps completed during each set, he’s failing. In Max’s eyes, this isn’t acceptable……but it should be!

Max knows that in order to get that third set of 10, he has to save some energy during sets 1 and 2. He is stuck in the mindset that he has to use the same weight amount for all sets as well. This is the wrong mindset for making any kind of progress. Max really needs to increase the weight of the first, second, and third sets to see gains. So what is he fails on his first set and only gets 8 reps. I still want him to use that same weight for his second set. So what if he fails on his second set and puts up 6 reps. Stick with that weight and go for a final set of 3-6 reps.

Max failed three for three, but in the long haul, he has taken a step toward achieving his goals and being successful. Within a few weeks, Max will be completing 10 reps with his increased weight. If he dropped back down to his previous sticking point, he would laugh at that weight and vow to never return to it again. So what does Max do when he completes his reps with the 100 pound dumbbells? He puts in a request for heavier dumbbells and gets back to work.

Max’s story is unbelievably common, and is a prime example of why failing is necessary for success.

Prime Example Number Two

Max’s wife, Maxine has been hitting the gym for a year as well. In fact, they go together all the time, the epitome of a healthy couple. Like most women, Maxine tends to stick to cardio for her workouts, which is a huge mistake, but I’m not getting into that right now. Right now I am focusing on Maxine’s cardio efforts.

Just like Max, she had a great six months. Weight was coming off, endurance was increasing, she was feeling like a teenager again! But sooner or later, the same old workout turned into the same old body weight. Maxine’s body adapted to her workouts, and at that point, the results diminished. I want you to ask yourself, when is the last time you couldn’t finish one of your cardio workouts because it was just too hard? If you can’t remember the last time a routine really took you down and caused you to step off and fail, you are probably relating to Maxine right about now.

Maxine has been forgetting to fail. She completes her regular routine, but doesn’t increase her settings on a regular basis. If she doesn’t increase her settings, she will be selling herself short, which is what too many people do in the gym. She needs to bump that resistance or that incline up a couple notches and see what happens. She needs to monitor her heart rate and make sure she is truly pushing herself. Physical feeling isn’t always enough, but heart rate doesn’t lie.

Once she passed her newbie gains period, she has been wasting her time. Once your body catches up to you, you better take the lead again and keep your body on the run. You see, when your body is constantly striving to keep up with what you press it to do, the results will keep coming. Effective workout methods will keep your body on the run, all the time.

Final Words

There has been important lesson learned here; if you want to succeed, you need to fail. Finding your limits and crushing them is important. Failure will set that limit and you will crush it through sequential attempts at success. Here’s something you never thought you’d here as a motivational quote: “You know what to do, now go out there and fail!”

[IanGeda1]

great message

[bulkupfast.com]

Errm, I get what you're saying, but something seems real wrong to me about training to failure, at least all the time. But I'm not sure if that's what you're saying?

Do you have to fail to get through a sticking point?
Or is this only one way of making progress?

The other thing that I wonder about is the psychological affects of 'failing' on a regular basis. No-one likes to fail, after all.
Might it be that if you train to failure, one of the things you learn is how to fail?

What do others think?
George bulkupfast

[2020Wellness]

Errm, I get what you're saying, but something seems real wrong to me about training to failure, at least all the time. But I'm not sure if that's what you're saying?

Do you have to fail to get through a sticking point?
Or is this only one way of making progress?

The other thing that I wonder about is the psychological affects of 'failing' on a regular basis. No-one likes to fail, after all.
Might it be that if you train to failure, one of the things you learn is how to fail?

What do others think?
George bulkupfast

No, I am not saying to fail all the time. I am saying that if you never push yourself to a failing point, you will always stay in that comfort zone and not progress as a result. Failure is necessary, but not all the time.

[andrew2503]

Errm, I get what you're saying, but something seems real wrong to me about training to failure, at least all the time. But I'm not sure if that's what you're saying?

Do you have to fail to get through a sticking point?
Or is this only one way of making progress?

The other thing that I wonder about is the psychological affects of 'failing' on a regular basis. No-one likes to fail, after all.
Might it be that if you train to failure, one of the things you learn is how to fail?

What do others think?
George bulkupfast

bulkupfast!
we have the same point, I thought so, after doing everything possible, none of us want to fail at all!

[oopa]

I enjoyed reading the article.

I believe that both the OP and bulkupfast are correct in a way. You don't always have to push yourself to failure to break through a plateu...but doing so is a good alternative to shock the body and often works very well.

[araaa]

well said, couldn't agree more with the above poster

[k4y]

awesome article. great perspective on things. I'd have to agree.

[joeramzi]

Nice posts. Thanks for sharing.

[kickasskittykat]

This is exactly how I was taught to train failure isn't mentally damaging...

Does how ever get rid of the need for half a dozen sets and taking up a machine for half an hour!! Whilst still gaining... ;-)

[TrueAmateur]

No, I am not saying to fail all the time. I am saying that if you never push yourself to a failing point, you will always stay in that comfort zone and not progress as a result. Failure is necessary, but not all the time.

That's a very great point actually. Even better that you just broke it down because there is no telling how many took it wrong. (I got what you meant the first time though)

[2020Wellness]

That's a very great point actually. Even better that you just broke it down because there is no telling how many took it wrong. (I got what you meant the first time though)

Thanks TA, I appreciate it.

[TheBiz1214]

Good name choices lol. I began training in this method, 4 sets of 3-5 reps of my Max weight until failure, and have seen considerable increases weekly. Great article!

[Flinsbaugh]

Max's story was mine for the longest time. Thanks for the post

[2020Wellness]

Max's story was mine for the longest time. Thanks for the post

Your welcome, Max!

[Brian94]

Well when I go to my gym, I'm usually the only one there (it's kinda lonely). So I don't have any spotters.

Is it a good idea to still go for failure? Or wait until I am way past any newbie gains?

[cameraman2]

Excellent thread!

By Ryan Miller; B.S. Biochemistry, NASM Certified Trainer


Failure Is Not An Option

Depending on the context, “Failure is not an option” is either a strong motivator for success or a sure fire way to sabotage your success. . This concept is just one of those funny ideas that doesn’t seem right at first, but after an explanation will be as clear as water.

A famous saying comes to mind, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” There is great reasoning behind this statement. In order to see the reasoning, I want to take a look at the statement and show you how relative it is to everyone who has ever walked the earth. The creator of this statement is assuming that you will fail, are failing, or have failed at what it is you are trying to achieve. This statement is encouraging you to keep on trying, even though you aren’t able to achieve what you want at the time of failure.

Nobody will go through life without failing, unless they perform perfectly in everything they set out to do. So, like I said, nobody will go through life without failing. See, the thing about failing is that it should tell you something about yourself. You can’t fail if you haven’t tried. If you’ve tried, then you have a goal and you are making an effort to achieve that goal.

Failure is the first indicator of your next challenge to overcome. Failure is the result of that first push to try something you have never done before. Failure sets your sights high and shows that you are forcing true progression. Progression, my friend, is what the gym is all about!

Prime Example Number One

I want you to meet my first subject, Max. Max has been hitting the weights now for a solid year. He has seen some great strength gains, which primarily took place within the first 6 months of his training. But now Max’s newbie gains are wearing off and his strength increases are slim to none. He has hit the wall. He really has no idea why he isn’t getting any stronger. Max is doing now what he did in the beginning, 3 sets of 10 reps with a weight that pushes him but allows him to get his 10 reps for each set. You see, Max knows that if he’s not getting his 10 reps completed during each set, he’s failing. In Max’s eyes, this isn’t acceptable……but it should be!

Max knows that in order to get that third set of 10, he has to save some energy during sets 1 and 2. He is stuck in the mindset that he has to use the same weight amount for all sets as well. This is the wrong mindset for making any kind of progress. Max really needs to increase the weight of the first, second, and third sets to see gains. So what is he fails on his first set and only gets 8 reps. I still want him to use that same weight for his second set. So what if he fails on his second set and puts up 6 reps. Stick with that weight and go for a final set of 3-6 reps.

Max failed three for three, but in the long haul, he has taken a step toward achieving his goals and being successful. Within a few weeks, Max will be completing 10 reps with his increased weight. If he dropped back down to his previous sticking point, he would laugh at that weight and vow to never return to it again. So what does Max do when he completes his reps with the 100 pound dumbbells? He puts in a request for heavier dumbbells and gets back to work.

Max’s story is unbelievably common, and is a prime example of why failing is necessary for success.

Prime Example Number Two

Max’s wife, Maxine has been hitting the gym for a year as well. In fact, they go together all the time, the epitome of a healthy couple. Like most women, Maxine tends to stick to cardio for her workouts, which is a huge mistake, but I’m not getting into that right now. Right now I am focusing on Maxine’s cardio efforts.

Just like Max, she had a great six months. Weight was coming off, endurance was increasing, she was feeling like a teenager again! But sooner or later, the same old workout turned into the same old body weight. Maxine’s body adapted to her workouts, and at that point, the results diminished. I want you to ask yourself, when is the last time you couldn’t finish one of your cardio workouts because it was just too hard? If you can’t remember the last time a routine really took you down and caused you to step off and fail, you are probably relating to Maxine right about now.

Maxine has been forgetting to fail. She completes her regular routine, but doesn’t increase her settings on a regular basis. If she doesn’t increase her settings, she will be selling herself short, which is what too many people do in the gym. She needs to bump that resistance or that incline up a couple notches and see what happens. She needs to monitor her heart rate and make sure she is truly pushing herself. Physical feeling isn’t always enough, but heart rate doesn’t lie.

Once she passed her newbie gains period, she has been wasting her time. Once your body catches up to you, you better take the lead again and keep your body on the run. You see, when your body is constantly striving to keep up with what you press it to do, the results will keep coming. Effective workout methods will keep your body on the run, all the time.

Final Words

There has been important lesson learned here; if you want to succeed, you need to fail. Finding your limits and crushing them is important. Failure will set that limit and you will crush it through sequential attempts at success. Here’s something you never thought you’d here as a motivational quote: “You know what to do, now go out there and fail!”

[BIGNHYOOGE]

Great article!

[J_L_R]

I've always "failed" in the gym. I'm amazed to see people workout 30mins and say their biceps/triceps/chest/shoulders are sore then start talking and go home. I hit the gym to BRING THE PAIN, plain and simple Can't wait to get out of this hotel and get back to a gym, 200lbs natty or BUST!

[2020Wellness]

Just got repped on this, so BUMP!

[tandpr]

May be just what I needed to hear. I have been content to stay with basically the same weights for quite a while now, telling myself I am at a point where strength gains are going to be few and far between. So I have become content to hit the same weight same reps day in and day out (I really struggle with depression from failure). I need to get past that mental block and start FAILING Its time to get outa that comfort zone and start pushin again. Getting close to time to up the cals so will be perfect time to start making gains. Thanks!

[saeidsss]

nice.

[2020Wellness]

May be just what I needed to hear. I have been content to stay with basically the same weights for quite a while now, telling myself I am at a point where strength gains are going to be few and far between. So I have become content to hit the same weight same reps day in and day out (I really struggle with depression from failure). I need to get past that mental block and start FAILING Its time to get outa that comfort zone and start pushin again. Getting close to time to up the cals so will be perfect time to start making gains. Thanks!

Doing the same thing over and over is not how you make progress; just saying