To build muscle, do you need to train 'to failure'?

Among weight lifters, one of the most popular and trending habits is to train ‘till failure’ - which means to keep lifting weight until you no longer can do a single rep.

But does that really build muscle?

According to the latest review released in the journal Sports Medicine, training ‘till failure’ may only help you to grow bigger muscles, but not to increase your overall strength.

Researchers discovered that a person who has planned the number of reps to perform and a person doing reps ‘till failure’ would see similar improvements in their strengths.

However, results showed that doing reps ‘till failure’ does help to increase your muscle growth.

A senior researcher Michael Zourdos, chair of the Florida Atlantic University Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion said, “If you’re aiming for muscle growth, training closer to failure might be more effective. For, strength, how close you push to failure doesn’t seem to matter as much”.

55 past studies were investigated by the researchers for the review, which examined the number of reps people could perform before reaching failure.

According to the results, researchers said that anyone willing to increase muscle growth should train till failure, which will not only maximize muscle growth but also reduce the risk of injury.

Researchers also said that rather than focusing on training till failure, those who are willing to strength training should rather focus on lifting heavier weights.

In a university news release, lead researcher Zac Robinson, a doctoral graduate of Florida Atlantic University said, “When people estimate how many reps they have left, this perception influences the weights they choose. If the estimation is off, they might use lighter weights than needed, which could limit strength gains“.

Robinson also said “On the flip side, our meta-analysis shows that training closer to failure also leads to greater muscle growth. S,o for the average individual, training close to failure may be the best option - as it seems to improve the accuracy of our perception of effort as well as gains in muscle size”.

SOURCE: Florida Atlantic University, news release, 31 July, 2024.