Thread: To fail or not to fail

I almost never train to failure except on some leg exercises, I will go to eccentric failure on the hack squat and leg press. just not safe for me as I train alone...

I always train to failure, especially on squats.

I don't train to failure, unless I miss a lift. But we should define failure. If you were truly failing on bench, for example, you would have no capacity to perform triceps work afterwards.

Rather than call it failure, let's call it refusal. Because, in the end, your mind refuses to go on when your body can. This is the same idea as overtraining your CNS much faster and easier than you can overtrain your body.

I train to "failure" or "refusal" whatever you want to call it, although I think refusal is a better term, with somethings.

Those being my accessory isolation moves. My compound movements I do not go to failure.

Training to failure is just another technique that many rotate into their routines.
I feel that on some exercises it can be very effective.... Bicep Hammers for one. I like to do what they call run the rack where you start light and lift to failure thereby not counting how many reps you do and lifting till you can't lift another rep. Then moving to the next heavier set of dumbells and repeating the process ... Makes for a definate nice burn on the biceps.. Then there is Gopros popular program, P-RR-S where shock week you perform the lift to failure technique. Again, can be a very effective approach for many.

i train to failur on everything upper body

Its much harder on lower body

I almost always train to failure.

I always train to failure on upper body when i can drop it, like bicep curls, etc. For bar bench, where I cant drop it, I train up to just before failure, then rack it. Same for lowerbody. If I had a partner, it would be different though.

I am just a failure

As stated above, I think training to failure is ok every now and then, but I would not do it everytime. It puts too much stress on your CNS and it is an easy way to overtrain and get hurt.

if i dont go to failure, i feel like i didnt put enough into it and that i wont grow

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

if i dont go to failure, i feel like i didnt put enough into it and that i wont grow

I don't feel this way...

Especially in benching for example. I start at a warmup weight like most working light at like 10 reps then I jump to like 180 a comfortable starting weight and do 5 reps... This way I conserve energy as I go to be able to make it to like 290.I continue with 5 reps adding 20lbs each set . If I lifted to failure I would never make to 290 . So for bulk lifting, you can still feel a very strong sense of accomplishment without lifting to failure.

woah woah i dont go to failure on EVERY set
Just on the final one

edit:no wait...thats if im using the same weight for every set
If im pyramiding i sometimes go to failure on earlier sets, but i dont mean to
just the last set that is important

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

woah woah i dont go to failure on EVERY set
Just on the final one

edit:no wait...thats if im using the same weight for every set
If im pyramiding i sometimes go to failure on earlier sets, but i dont mean to
just the last set that is important

Ok...that makes more sense then

I train to failure almost always, except if I dont have a spotter for bench. Also on squats because of my previous back injury

No spotter for bench...that can be very dangerous even without lifting to failure. I guess that's where you get the name, "Warrior!"

when i was stupid newb (lol)

I would lift too heavy in my garage and i had it stuck on chest at least 4-5 times

and i would have to push it on the ground lolz

I train most excerises to failure or 10 reps, whichever comes first. Some compound exercises, such as squats, DL's, bench, etc..., where failure could result in injury, I go until near-failure.

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

when i was stupid newb (lol)

I would lift too heavy in my garage and i had it stuck on chest at least 4-5 times

and i would have to push it on the ground lolz

heh heh...my best 'oopsie' like this was with decline benches. I rarely have a spotter and more or less know my limits. One night I was on my last set and finished up rep 7 and felt like I still had another rep in me. I got rep eight 1/2 way up..then it came back down on me. I had to lie there with this dam weight on me until someone finally walke dpat to get it off. (It was later at night)
Finally some guy walked past, so I politely said; "um..a little help here?"
True story.
I just did something else kinda funny / embarrassing the other night...
luckily it was late at night..and hadrdly any one there:
I just switched gyms a couple months ago and am still gettign used to the equipment. I was doing a set of lat pull downs. After the set, I pushed back for my rest to get some water or whatever. This seat was about a foot shorter then the seat I was used to from the other gym..and I ended up shooting off the end, landing on my ass and and ended up flat on my back.
All I could do was laugh...
Until next time...

I personally belive that people who think trainning to faliure "can" overtrain your CNS are correct, also doing 16 sets for chest but going 1 rep short of faliure will also fry your CNS for most people I know, and I am sure that doing 16 sets for chest to faliure will overtrain your CNS even more, but I only train low volume i.e. 3 workouts a week, 3 exercises per workout, 2 sets per exercise, a grand total of 9 sets to faliure per week (no forced reps) which i am positive does not overtrain my CNS but also I feel that my muscle are really pumped and trashed after a workout (my worksets are done with strict form concentrating on the muscle being worked and not the weight being lifted), so just because you train "to faliure" dosnt mean you automatically fry your CNS just its a quicker route to that end if you train to much.

So people thought`s that incorperating to many faliure sets into "thier" routine of say 12 set for chest, 9 sets for tri`s etc will i am sure overtrain thier CNS but it wont overtrain "me" on my low volume workouts as i dont incorperate so many sets in my workout overall while not hitting the weight room for as long or so many times a week as others do.

I'm sure over training is about the amount of work going IN, wether it be low weight high rep, heavy and low rep, to fail, and even not to fail. You just need to learn how your body feels about certain things.

I try to train to failure on the last set or two. I don't routinely use a spotter, so I usually come within 1 rep of failure, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't do one more full rep. If I have a spotter, I'll go for that last rep and usually momentary failure.

I go to failure, or within one rep of failure on most of my sets, if I stop and still have three or four reps left in me then I feel it was a wasted set (maybe it wasn't it's just how I feel). Except of course when pyramiding up to a max bench.

I rarely train to failure yet I still make decent gains. Only time I really lift until I can't lift anymore is when I have a spotter and am benching. Also, somedays I'll train my arms until I can't really lift anything else. Other than that, I don't particularly like training until failure. Training to failure on a squat would suck.