Training to Failure – Good or Bad for Hardgainers?

The concept of training to failure is based on high intensity training (HIT). First, let me explain what “training to failure” actually means. When you lift heavy weights to build muscle and do the maximum number of reps and sets possible by you, your muscles get tired and reaches a state of absolute failure, where you can no longer lift the weight through a full range of motion.

Many muscle building programs designed for hard gainers emphasise the importance of training to failure. I believe this is a huge mistake. The big question is, is training to failure absoutely necessary for hard gainers if you want to build muscle?

In my opinion, training to failure should be used very sparingly if you want to build muscle, perhaps every 6-8 weeks or so. Doing it occassionally can be a good way to measure strength gains/losses but the risks far outweight the benefits, in particular for hard gainers.

Let me explain. The muscles have to be sufficiently stressed in order to cause damage to the muscle fibers, if it has to be stimulated into growing. High intensity training enables you to reach the absolute muscular failure which indicates the maximum workout by the muscles, however I think it’s a big mistake for hard gainers to adopt this training philosophy on a regular basis. You certainly don’t need to be training to failure to achieve muscle growth. As long as you acheive significant muscle hypertrophy in the trained muscles, you will gain muscle.

The reason it can be so detrmintal to building muscle is because hard gainers have a difficult enough time as it is with CNS recovery. Learn why CNS recovery is important for hardgainers. Training to failure will only increase the length of CNS recovery time. As a hard gainer, if you consistently workout to failure, you will inevitably overload the CNS to the point where it will become impossible to always train with a high intensity, because you will have never recovered from the previous session.

Another important point worth mentioning is that when you reach a state of muscular failure, the higher the degree of failure, the less control you have with the weight because your muscles no longer have the strength to control the weight. Common sense should tell you that this can lead to an unsafe situation and may even cause an injury. So not only will your CNS get shot, but you may even get injured and have to spend more time out of the gym.

I think a good strategy to use is to stop when you feel you can only lift 1 or 2 more reps. The reason so many muscle building programs suggest that you should be training to failure is because they have one thing in common, they assume you are using steroids and that you have an obession with always increasing your training load. If you are training naturally then it becomes essential that you listen to your body and not push the limits.

by David on October 13, 2009 · 1 comment

tagged as muscular failure, overtraining in Exercise & Fitness

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