Is it necessary to train for muscular failure to gain mass?

To gain volume, many bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts choose to training for muscular failure. Conversely, others argue that this intensification technique This is precisely what slows down hypertrophy and increases the risk of injury. So what's the real deal? In this article, you'll discover the advantages and disadvantages of failure training, as well as my advice as a sports coach on how to include it in your training programs. workouts.

What is muscle failure?

Definition of muscular failure

Before going any further, let's answer a question asked by many beginners: what is muscular failure?

The failure technique aims to achieve as many repetitions as possible on an exercise, with the aim of promoting muscle growth. In other words, you should no longer be able to perform a single extra repetition at the end of a failed set.

There are two ways to train to failure:

• With heavy loads, and a low number of repetitions;
• With light loads, and a high number of repetitions.

Muscular failure therefore implies intense effort. Some athletes believe that training with this method is the best way to trigger muscle hypertrophy and gain strength.

But does not being able to perform one more repetition with a given load mean that your muscles are out of breath? Actually, this is more complex.

To understand failure, it is essential to know the role that the nervous system in weight training.

The role of the nervous system in your weight training

When you come to failure on strength exercises such as squats, pull-ups, biceps curls or bench presses, it doesn't mean your muscles are exhausted.

In reality, it is your nervous system that is preventing you from doing that extra repetition, not the muscle's inability to contract.

When it reaches a stage of exhaustion, the nervous system naturally initiates a safety process to protect you from injury. It acts like a fuse, protecting an installation from electrical overload.

This is because the nervous system tires more quickly than the body. muscle group solicited by the movement.

You'll see later in this article that it's important to take this mechanism into account when including the failure method in your weight training program.

The pros and cons of muscle failure training

The advantages of this intensification technique

Let's start with the benefits of muscle failure.

That's why it's essential to know how muscles grow. During a session at the gym, lifting weights causes lesions to form in your muscles. muscle fibres.

Once training is over, these same damaged fibers rebuild themselves. They become thicker and more resistant.

This is what makes it possible to gain volume and strength after a muscle-building session in which the fibers are solicited. This phenomenon is known asanabolism.

In light of this mechanism, it should be in every exerciser's interest to rip as many fibers as possible to optimize congestion. In theory, the failure method therefore seems ideal for become muscularIt is also a good way to get the most out of the muscle groups.

The failure technique can also help you break plateaus if you are in a phase of stagnation. By pushing your muscles close to their limits, you can unlock your progress and reach your goal of muscle development.

The disadvantages of failure in bodybuilding

However, the failure technique is far from perfect. In fact, it has several disadvantages.

As you can see, this approach places intensive demands on the nervous system. To recover fully, the nervous system needs a rest period superior to that of the muscles.

If you want to use the muscle failure method in your training plan, you'll need to ensure that you allow yourself sufficient recovery time between each session. This can have the effect of slowing down your muscle building.

And if you don't get enough rest, you'll put yourself at greater risk for injury.

The likelihood of injury is also higher because of the loads used. Indeed, heavy lifting can greatly affect your execution technique. And it's precisely when you're least focused on your movement that pain can occur.

Going to muscle failure: what does science say?

Several studies have looked at the concept of muscle failure, with sometimes conflicting conclusions on the benefits of this approach.

In 2020, four researchers (Jozo Grgic from Victoria University in Melbourne, Brad J. Schoenfeld and John Orazem from Lehman College in New York, and Filip Sabol from the University of Zagreb) undertook the production of aa meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis synthesizes the results of the 15 most relevant studies on the subject of muscle failure, involving a total of 394 people.

According to their conclusion, whether for build muscle or to develop strength, there are no significant differences between muscle failure and conventional bodybuilding methods.

Training to failure would therefore not be the best way to achieve maximum hypertrophy.

It seems that the training volume is a more important variable to increase the force. In this sense, it would be better to keep 1 or 2 repetitions of reserve before failure.

So, should we go to muscle failure?

Given these benefits and limitations, is it appropriate to incorporate failure into your strength training program?

To answer this question, let's take the example of two athletes of identical level whose objective is to gain muscle.

On basic exercises such as squats or bench presses, the former goes for failure while the latter focuses on volume. Thanks to his reserve reps, the second weightlifter will be able to perform three or four regular sets and thus lift a greater total volume than the first, whose performances will drop from one series to the next.

As a reminder, volume is the main criterion for developing muscles. It is therefore not recommended togo to muscular failure with each set of your session.

However, carrying out series with muscular failure can be beneficial for certain isolation exercises and more. You can incorporate this method into your program for biceps curls with dumbbells or triceps extensions with a pulley, for example.

In order to make regular progress, it may also be appropriate to set up a cycle trainingAdding a few sessions dedicated to short sets with heavy loads.

Bear in mind that your nervous system will need more recovery time during these phases. So don't hesitate to plan a deload week to recover well between each cycle.

Many students ask me my opinion on muscle failure. Personally, I always favourtechnical failure during my training sessions.

In practical terms, this means stopping the exercise as soon as you feel your technique is deteriorating. This approach has three main advantages:

• It minimizes the risk of injury;
• It helps to increase muscle mass and progress ;
• It limits the risk of overtraining.

Conclusion

The work to failure is a technique much appreciated by mass gainers. Controversial in the scientific literature, it is particularly demanding on the nervous system and requires long rest periods. Used sparingly as part of a training cycle, it can be beneficial for maximize hypertrophy.