Weight Training Controversy - Training To Failure

There is an ongoing controversial debate going on with regards to the proper way to train with weights. The aim of this article is to give you some information on both sides so that you can make a determination for yourself.

The concept of training to failure is a fairly simple one: you continue doing repetitions of a particular exercise until you cannot do another repetition properly. This doesn't mean that you continue repetitions until you don't think you can do another repetition; you continue until you don't have adequate muscle strength to actually complete another repetition.

To effectively weight train, it's understood that you must push yourself. If you want to see increased improvement, then you have to operate under increased opposition. If you never read anything but first-grade level books, you'll never learn to read at a level beyond the first grade. This is obviously common sense and there is no argument against it.

It's the implementation of this concept that causes controversy. For ongoing improvement in weight training, you're going to increase the number of repetitions you do or increase the amount of weight you use at the same number of repetitions. Increased repetitions are advocated for developing a leaner, more toned physique while increased weight is advocated for developing increased muscle mass.

Some people advocate a schedule of increases of either the number of repetitions and/or the amount of weight used. Following this train of thought, for example, you plan to increase the amount of weight you use by five pounds every two weeks. Or you plan to add five repetitions of the same weight every two weeks.

The key to this plan is that you determine the number of repetitions in advance, knowing that you could go further but opting not to push yourself. The ongoing increase in either weight or reps ensures that you will continue to develop your strength and muscles.

On the other side of the camp, we have the folks who endorse training to failure. Following this method, you generally still have an incremental schedule for increasing the amount of weight used, but the number of reps varies. You do it until you can't do it any longer.

The controversy ensues, obviously, because training to failure increases the chance of overtraining and injury. Various studies have been done, showing that training to failure does not substantially improve muscle development, but many thousands of hardcore weight trainers disagree based on their experience.

For many weight trainers, they compromise in some way. If they are doing three sets of a particular exercise during their workout, they only train to failure on the final set. In some ways, this compromise is a bit illogical. If training to failure is worth doing, why only do it once? If training to failure isn't worth doing, why do it at all?

Ultimately it's a personal decision that each weight trainer must decide for him or herself.

With that in mind, I offer only two suggestions, one for each camp:

If you're training to failure, ensure that you are doing so as safely as possible. Failure should be defined as the time when you cannot do another rep properly. If you know you can squeeze out another few reps, but only by sacrificing proper stance, grip or movement…don't do it!

If you're not training to failure, ensure that you have set up a schedule that is sufficiently challenging. An increase of two pounds every three weeks certainly keeps you safe from overtraining, but you're not going to see much of a benefit. You still need to push yourself and challenge yourself consistently.