The Right Way to “Train to Failure”
Jan 15, 2025

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Whether you’re an athlete or a fitness enthusiast, you’ve probably heard of training to failure — an intense method that requires you to push yourself to the limit. Before you jump right into it, it’s crucial to understand its benefits and possible pitfalls and how to do it the right way.
What Is Train to Failure?
While it does have a negative ring, training to fail is a badge of honor in the gym. Also known as concentric failure, it’s the point at which the body you’re working out gives out, rendering you unable to complete another repetition. You might have encountered it online or heard it from your fitness buddies, who claim that lifting until you can do no more is key to growing forearms.
Here’s an example — say you’re doing two sets of 15 reps of partial bench press. To train for failure, you must choose a weight that’s heavy enough to challenge your body until you get to a point where you struggle. Your muscles give up when they exhaust their Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) reserves. ATP is the fuel for muscle contraction and other body functions.
The Benefits
It’s like what the adage says, no pain, no gain. Here are the advantages of training to failure.
1. Muscle Growth
A study from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) found that training closer to failure can help increase muscle size and enhance the accuracy of self-reported repetitions in reserve. Researchers also suggested that people work within zero to five reps short of failure to get the maximum benefits while minimizing injury risk.
According to Michael C. Zourdos — professor and chair of the Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, it doesn’t matter whether you adjust training by changing the number of reps or sets. The relationship between training to failure and muscle growth remains the same. However, it doesn’t have a positive impact on strength training.
2. Overcome Workout Plateau
A workout plateau happens when you’re stuck in a period where you’re not growing anymore. Despite staying consistent, you may not get the desired results. This can occur due to many reasons, including:
- Your body is still adapting to your exercises’ demands
- You become complacent
- You feel burnout
- You train without discipline or a solid strategy
- You make unhealthy lifestyle choices
If you’re feeling stuck, training to fail can help you push past your comfort zone. Start modifying your fitness routine, change the order of exercises, or go harder until your body quits on you during a specific exercise. Of course, this is best done with a personal trainer to ensure you’re getting the gains for the effort you put in.
3. Better Visualization
Also known as imagery, this involves using your imagination to convince your body to stay relaxed under tremendous pressure. According to Michael C. Zourdos, training to failure can help improve several psychological aspects, including visualization.
“As the load increases, motor patterns vary, so completing sets nearer to failure can mimic the needs of max strength assessments more. This method matches the principle of specificity by exposing you to parallel motor patterns and psychological challenges, helping enhance visualization, which is important for achieving maximal strength,” he says.
4. Push Mental Limits
Training to failure also challenges your mental fortitude and resilience, forcing you to push through the discomfort. This route is ideal for challenging people with self-doubt in their gym abilities.
The Risks
The train-to-failure method can have some drawbacks. Here are some possible risks to watch out for.
1. Fatigue
According to Jacob Tober, a strength and conditioning coach, the fatigue and stress you accumulate with each rep increase exponentially as you train to fail. While it has muscle growth benefits, the negative compounding effect of residual stress and fatigue may outweigh the advantages and even result in burnout.
2. Higher Risk of Improper Form
Training to failure means performing exercises until you cannot complete another repetition with good form, leading to a compromised form. Improper form increases your risk of injuries. As your muscles get tired, you get lesser control of your movements, which can cause strains.
3. Longer Recovery
Training to fail consistently pushes your body to its limit, requiring longer recovery periods. This is challenging for in-season athletes. It can also lead to significant neural fatigue, reducing power strength and lifting performance in the succeeding sessions.
How to Do Training to Failure Properly
If you’re considering trying this method to meet your fitness goals, here are some reminders.
1. Practice Safe Lifting
Suppose your goal is to rep until failure, know how to prioritize your safety. The best way is to have a spotter who can guide you safely. Training to failure requires working with a trainer for the first time to learn how to miss lifts safely in the next sessions.
2. Program Responsibly
There are programs that you can and can’t do while implementing this method. To avoid overtraining and longer recovery time, make sure you’re cycling failure-oriented exercises to ensure you’re not training to fail on consistent days. Keep these things in mind when trying training to failure for the first time:
Do Isolation Exercises
Try isolation exercises first, like tricep extensions or bicep curls. Use light weights with a controlled and slow form to further build your mind-muscle connection. Avoid compound moves like deadlifts and bench presses, which could increase your injury risk if your form breaks down.
Perform With Moderate Exertion
Moderate exertion gives you more recovery time between workouts and helps prevent the accumulation of fatigue across the week.
3. Work With a Personal Trainer
A professional trainer can help you physically and mentally prepare for this method. Pushing yourself to a certain limit makes you feel you’re working harder, but your efforts may be futile if certain workout aspects are not in place. A personal trainer can help craft a safe program that matches your goals and capabilities and helps you maintain proper posture when you’re reaching the point of exhaustion.
4. Make Time for Recovery
Ensure that you stick to your recovery period. This intense workout method significantly stresses your body, demanding longer recovery periods for growth and repair. Make sure to allow sufficient time for rest between sessions targeting the same muscle groups.
Try Training to Failure Safely
Training to failure can contribute significantly to better mental resilience and muscle hypertrophy. However, it’s not without a few risks and is not a one-size-fits-all solution that everyone should try whenever they feel like it. The best way to go about this is to hire a personal trainer to maximize the results and minimize the risks of injury.
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