2023-09-28 13:30:29
Training to failure has become a powerful popular strategy for hypertrophy.
But it’s not that simple to apply… so here it is three tips for succeeding in failure…or fail successfully, it’s up to you!
The psychology of failure
The concept of failure is quite simple: push the series to the maximum of one’s capacity, to the point where you are no longer physically able to add another repetition to the exercise.
Basically, when you think you can’t do it anymore and have reached the end, there are often still a few repetitions to do, just watch the video above to convince yourself!
Indeed, research shows that we are, in reality, not not very good at detecting and achieving complete exhaustionand that we generally stop exercising well before reaching this limit, which is way too early.
In other words, We are failing to fail!
Here are three tips to help you miss successfully during your strength training sessions.
#1: Work one muscle group at a time
Most exercisers attempt to exhaust their body with exercises that engage several muscle groups at once.
It is true that multi-joint movements like squats and deadlifts are very effective.
Except that, when we aim to reach our maximum limits, the more we engage different muscle groups, the less likely it is that all of these muscles will reach simultaneously their point of no return.
It is then very likely that your triceps will no longer be able to perform an additional repetition, but that, at the same time, your pectorals will still have some in the vest!
Results, you are not able to reach your resistance threshold.
However, if you change tactics and focus only on intensive training involving only one muscle group, for example with lateral raises or bicep curls, you solve your problem.
Indeed, in this case, the entire exercise is focused on one or two muscles, it is then possible to push them to their last entrenchment.
The other advantage is that it becomes easier to listen to your body, you better feel the burning sensation, muscle fatigue, tremors when the muscle becomes exhausted.
You then pay better attention to your own limits.
So, the best muscle strengthening session, to allow you to reach muscle failure, consists of:
Practice an exercise involving only one muscle group (so-called isolation exercise) until total exhaustion; Move on to another exercise once you have reached this threshold.
You then benefit from an effective overall workout by working your entire body and having really given the best of yourself.
#2: Vary the number of repetitions
Your muscles should be close to failure, but rarely checkmate!
In bodybuilding, repetitions are a key part of training planning.
They refer to the number of times you are able to perform a specific exercise during a set. These reps therefore serve as quantity and resistance measurements.
However, the load you use during exercise will influence its intensity.
For example, if you put on a weight of 100 kilos with 5 repetitions, your final resistance is set at 500 kilos.
If the weight is 25 kilos with 20 repetitions, although your resistance is the same, this is not at all the case for intensity.
In general, we set a range of 3 to 5 repetitions for really heavy loads.
With each repetition, you feel the difficulty exponentially, as the weight seems to get heavier and heavier.
Conversely, if your goal is 15 reps, you work with slightly lighter weights, but the regularity of the movement associated with the load will make you feel an intense burn in the muscles and your speed will slow down at the same time.
The sensations felt are then very different and it is not always easy to detect the point of muscle failure.
However, to reach your maximum resistance threshold, a series of 8 to 12 reps is the most recommended strategy.
It represents the perfect cross between the sensation of gravity (but not too much) and that of burning (but not too much either).
Be careful, just because you feel heaviness and pain does not mean that you have pushed your muscles to failure.
In order to truly reach this point of no return, you must persevere through your suffering, to the point of questioning the meaning of life and the merits of your choices.
Because, know that in general, when you start to feel this intense burn, it means that, mentally, you still have some resources left, and that you still have the capacity to draw on your last strength to perform a few more repetitions.
Finally, it is essential to understand that each individual has their own thresholdeven with identical build and workloads.
So your neighbor on the right may be able to do 9 repetitions when you will be able to do 13 and your neighbor on the left will be at 15.
The moral of the story is that determining your own limits is personal and your goals should not be modeled on those of others.
Read also: ‘failure training, the key to developing your muscles? Science seems to have a completely different opinion
#3: Don’t guess your limits
Finally, our last advice is not to determine, in advance, what your limits will be, in this case, how many repetitions will you need to exhaust all your strength.
Once again, let us remember that human beings are not not competent to analyze its total exhaustion threshold.
By estimating, beforehand, your maximum tolerance level, the psychological risks taking over and will encourage you to stop while you could still continue.
A study has also demonstrated this inability to correctly predict its performance.
It appears that beginners tend to underestimate their number of repetitions with a margin of error of the order of 4 to 5 repetitions.
More experienced athletes also underestimate themselves, but to a lesser extent, with a difference of 1 to 2 repetitions.
Underestimating yourself acts like a prophecy and then becomes a reality.
So, do yourself a favor, don’t try to predict your maximum capabilities in advance, and if you do, see the results upwards.
When it comes to sports performance, it is better to overestimate yourself, rather than the opposite.
To conclude, understand that the objective is to push your limits in order to work to the maximum of your abilities, but in no case hurt yourself!
Respect the basic safety rules by training with a spotter or, failing that, with safety supports.
Last tip to finish: when you feel that you are reaching your limit, take a break of 5 to 10 seconds before resuming the repetitions.
This short period of time allows you to find a boost of energy to draw on your last resources.
Updated by Emma on: 09/28/2023
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