Thread: Set to failure kills my muscles

Originally Posted by k.smith.4

I can do 15 push-ups in the first set, but on the following sets I can do no more than 2 reps. After first set to failure, my muscles are so exhausted I can't perform any more normal reps (I can do only negatives). That goes for all upper-body body-weight exercises. Is this normal, what should I do?

I've just started working out so I do only compound body-weight exercises:
Dips, push-ups, crunches, rest for one minute and repeat twice, or
Chin-ups, inverted rows, crunches, rest for one minute and repeat twice.

How many reps, sets and rest would you recommend to avoid this tiredness muscles?

Increase your rest period. What are your goals?

Stop doing supersets. On different days, you could use dips as your heavy chest/tricep exercise, chin-ups as your heavy back/bicep exercise. Likewise, you could do the same with push-ups and rows as your lighter exercises. Instead of crunches i'd recommend plank exercises and hanging knee lifts. You should also consider doing some leg exercises.

To keep things interesting you need to thing up some better shit. Where kids at school being bullies?

This might be a crazy idea but maybe its because you're going to FAILURE? I.e. the muscle has FAILED and can't contract any more!?

If you want to go to failure, put up with only doing one set, two at a stretch. If you want to do more sets, stop going to failure as its far too taxing on the muscles and the nervous system.

Originally Posted by Gazhole

This might be a crazy idea but maybe its because you're going to FAILURE? I.e. the muscle has FAILED and can't contract any more!?

If you want to go to failure, put up with only doing one set, two at a stretch. If you want to do more sets, stop going to failure as its far too taxing on the muscles and the nervous system.

Would you overtrain if you did every set of every exercise to failure even though you're doing a reasonable volume?
Would you see better gains by not going to failure except maybe on 1 or 2 exercises?

gee, there must be some reason they call it "failure"

Just don't goto failure, and you will be able to do a higher overall volume. Leave a couple repetitions in the tank at the end of each set.

If you just started working out, you might have very poor glycogen storage. Therefore, your primary substrate for performing a 15 repetition set is going to get more substantially depleted compared to a more trained individual. Still, that is really surprising you would drop quite so much on your second set.

Thanks for your reply, guys!

@PushAndPull:
Do you mean I should rest between every exercise?

Like: a set of push-ups, rest, a set of dips, rest, a set of push-ups ...
instead of: a set of push-ups, a set of dips, rest ...

You're not neglecting lower body compounds are you?

Originally Posted by T_man

Would you overtrain if you did every set of every exercise to failure even though you're doing a reasonable volume?
Would you see better gains by not going to failure except maybe on 1 or 2 exercises?

I rarely go to failure unless im purposefully building the program around it like on HIT or something (where a reasonable volume for going to failure is one set per exercise, and you are finished in the gym in less that 20 minutes).

The problems with going to failure is the immense difference between the rep before failure and the rep taking you to failure in terms of the CNS. Actually failing is incredibly traumatic, even though its just one more rep - or even half a rep. Its like a balloon - even though its just a little bit more air, the balloon still bursts regardless of it being perfectly okay before that last breath.

Use it sparingly, and plan for it in your program to give yourself more recovery time/resources.

Originally Posted by k.smith.4

@PushAndPull:
Do you mean I should rest between every exercise?

Like: a set of push-ups, rest, a set of dips, rest, a set of push-ups ...
instead of: a set of push-ups, a set of dips, rest ...

Exactly.
I also wouldn't recommended doing supersets with the same muscle even after you have been working out for awhile. A push/pull routine works better. For you that would mean set of push ups, set of rows, rest, or set of dips ,set of chin-ups,rest. There is also your rest period to consider, try two minute rests. Instead of training to faliure every set, try something else. For example. pick a good number for push ups(just push ups no superset), say 40, and regardless of how long it takes you, do your forty. What you'll find that starting off with sets of 8 reps, and saving your sets to failure for the end of your workout is more manageable, and in the end your gains in muscle and strength will be better. JMO