Training to Failure: A Starting Gym Buff's Basic Guide

“Pump up until you pass out.”

“Don’t stop until you feel the burn!”

“If you’re not squinting, then you’re not growing!”

At some point or another, you’ve most likely heard these lines from your trainers, idols, or gym buddies. But the commonality of hearing about going “all-out” on a training plan isn’t just coincidence, as it all goes back to one time-honed concept that’s much more sensical than you’d expect: training to failure for muscle growth.

What is it?

The concept of training to failure has been ingrained in bodybuilding principles alongside macronutrients, rest, carb cycling, cardio timing, and the like. When it comes to understanding how things work, the premise of the principle in question is simple: it involves following an approach wherein any muscle group that you work out must be done to the point of exhaustion or fatigue. From a more tangible standpoint, training to failure means doing so many reps that you physically can’t complete anything more. 

Does it work? And if so, how?

Admittedly, the concept of training to failure may seem like a counterproductive effort because of how exhaustion doesn’t seem like such a positive term, but it’s a secret muscle-building technique that actually works!

You see, when you train to failure, you’re inducing the most possible muscle growth by pumping a maximum amount of blood to the area that is being trained for a certain day. Although some may fear that such an approach won’t work because of its tendency to exhaust the central nervous system (CNS), the reality is that pumping blood at full force to targeted muscle groups is crucial for growth. It achieves such an impact by encouraging a much greater degree of expansion and contraction in trained areas so that the muscles can experience gradual tearing until they recover into increased amounts of lean mass! 

By sticking to a plan of training to failure on a properly scheduled basis, you provide your body with key benefits, such as: 

• Increased levels of motor unit activation

• Increased production levels of HGH and testosterone

• Improved strength levels

• Minimized plateauing (for both strength and muscle mass-related progress) 

The tenets of training to failure for muscle growth

Like any other subsect of bodybuilding, training to failure consists of various tenets in the form of key principles and techniques that allow it to work effectively. To give you a better idea of what you can expect to use when forging your dream physique, here are the critical factors you need to consider when following the method in question:

Proper frequencies: When it comes to the quote “too much of anything is poison,” training to failure takes things up a notch and enforces balance by only flourishing when the right frequencies of using such a training approach are employed. By using such a training method for four weeks at a time with one such burst every workout session, you’ll be able to maximize your body’s growth potential without putting yourself at risk of injuries!

Effective programming: If you really want to make the most out of the concept, you’ll need to equip yourself with a program that you can stick to as best as possible. With the help of Award Winning Fitness’s experts, you’ll be able to ensure that you have proper guidance over how you should employ the method in question for the best results throughout all your sessions!

Conclusion

While there are many different factors and principles that you’ll learn as you strive towards building your dream physique, only a few are as impactful as training to failure. Once you start using this key training principle or method to your advantage, you’ll be able to see amazing results at a much better and more progressive pace in no time! 

Do you want to start your bodybuilding journey on the right foot? Then you must only have the right guidance! Our experienced trainers here at Award Winning Fitness in Pflugerville, TX, will help you learn effective powerlifting techniques to help you through your journey. Get in touch with us today to learn more about what we do!