Near failure or to the failure on bodyweight ?

[valinor333]

Hey, i have a question. On isolate exercises like biceps curl, rear delts curl, triceps extension etc. i always go to the failure. On compound movements like deadlifts,bench etc. i go just close to the failure, not to the compelete. My question is , should i go to the failure on bodyweight exercises like dips/pull-ups ? I know its compound movements, but still, its bodyweight, what do you think, will be better for hypertrophy, to the failure, or just close to it ? Thanks

[Heisman2]

You're compartmentalizing things in ways that do not make physiologic sense. Also, it depends on your program, goals, and ranges. Considerations include:

- is there a technical component that will risk injury by going to true failure (a concern much moreso on squats and deadlifts than curls)
- what rep range are you working in? If you're doing weighted pullups and going for say 5-8 reps then going to failure will be very different than if you were doing 20+ reps. If doing 20+ reps the last reps are going to be key to getting as much as possible out of the set so going to true failure will likely be more helpful. This isn't the case in lower rep ranges

Personally, I would not worry for myself about doing pullups to failure but I would worry about doing dips to failure repeatedly from an injury perspective. Whether it makes sense to go to failure depends on the overall program.