We’ve all heard the yells and grunts of guys in the gym. Making faces and frowning as their muscles cry out in failure.
This article will show you why training to failure is important and how to do it properly.
Pushing your muscles to the limit is the biggest reason we go to the gym.
I reached failure yesterday on the incline bench with 85 lbs dumb bells. If I didn’t have a spotter, I would’ve been in serious trouble.
I knew I was done with chest for the day, and unlike so many other trainees, I moved on to another exercise after that.
Training to muscle failure means you’ve recruited just about all of your muscle fibers and they’ve all failed. Muscles produce lactic acid when they oxidize (move). Eventually they reach a limit of saturation and can’t move anymore.
Micro-tears to most of your muscle allows for maximum growth.
If you damage 60% of your muscle, that 60% will repair itself. But if you damage 98% of your muscle, you leave room for much greater repair. When more muscle repairs itself, you’ll see greater and faster growth. The time added to this growth is minimal compared to the extra gains you will see.
Make sure your tempo and technique remain constant. Be sure the failure is from your muscles and not your joints. Have a mind-over-matter attitude and push through the pain until you can’t perform the exercise any longer.
Beware when using this strategy as you will need a spotter. This is a great technique for maximum muscle growth though.
Of course, you need to know when you’re close to failing and communicate that, and your spotter needs to be vigilant.
The cliche no pain, no gain, isn’t always correct, so until next time, train hard, and train smart.
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