Do you need to reach muscle failure to get stronger?

For anyone who feels trapped in the body of a skinny teenager, it can be incredibly frustrating to try to make sense of the mass of confusing (and often conflicting) opinions about the "right" and "wrong" way to build muscle.

Proponents of high-intensity training, for example, recommend that muscle growth is best achieved with a low volume of training.

High-intensity training was made popular in the early 1970's by Arthur Jones, the inventor of the Nautilus range of exercise machines. In those days, training for two hours twice a day was considered normal.

Jones caused controversy when he claimed that you could actually get better results with very short infrequent workouts. Progress with a high-intensity training program is supposed to be immediate and continuous.

In other words, you're supposed to get stronger every workout until you reach your genetic limits. If you're not growing and gaining strength every time you go to the gym, it's because either you're not training hard enough, or you're training too often. The solution is to push yourself harder, or insert more rest days into your program.

Contrary to popular belief, there's little evidence to show that taking an exercise to the point of concentric muscle failure is necessary to stimulate gains in muscle strength.

In one trial carried in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers compared two nine-week training programs [1]. The high fatigue program consisted of four sets of 10 repetitions with 30 seconds of rest between sets. The low fatigue program involved 40 repetitions with 30 seconds of rest between each repetition.

Both programs were performed three times per week. In other words, the number of repetitions performed by both groups was identical.

After four weeks, the group on the high fatigue program was 50% stronger than the low fatigue group. However, the differences in strength between groups reduced over time. After nine weeks of training, the high fatigue group was 18% stronger than at the start of the study. The low fatigue group was 15% stronger.

An Australian research group based at the University of Sydney report similar results [2]. Their study shows that when a weight is lifted repeatedly 6-10 times without resting between repetitions (high fatigue), the strength gains are roughly 40% greater than when the same load is lifted an equal number of times with a 30-second rest between each lift (low fatigue). However, the low fatigue group was still 40% stronger at the end of the study.

Researchers from Appalachian State University have also shown that training to the point of concentric muscle failure is not necessary to stimulate gains in muscle strength [3].

Seventeen college-age women were assigned to one of two eight-week training programs. The first group performed one set (8-12 repetitions) of each exercise to the point of muscular failure (the point where performing another repetition in strict form is impossible).

Group two used multiple sets not taken to muscular failure, explosive lifting speeds and low repetitions. The exercises used by both groups, however, were the same.

Monday

• Squats

• Quarter Squats

• Bench Press

• Standing Press

• Abdominal Curl

Wednesday

• Mid/thigh Pull

• Shoulder Shrugs

• Straight-legged Deadlift

• Upright Row

• Abdominal Curl

Friday

• Squats

• Quarter Squats

• Bench Press

• Standing Press

• Abdominal Curl

On Monday and Wednesday, the multiple set group used maximum weights for all exercises. On Friday, the weights were reduced by around 20%. The single set group performed one warm-up set prior to their work set. If they were able to complete 12 or more repetitions, an additional 5-10 pounds in weight was added for the next workout. The multiple set group performed two warm-up sets, and used the following variations in sets and repetitions.

• Week 1 — 3 sets of 10 repetitions

• Week 2 — 3 sets of 5 repetitions

• Week 3 — 3 sets of 5 repetitions

• Week 4 — 3 sets of 5 repetitions

• Week 5 — 3 sets of 3 repetitions

• Week 6 — 5 sets of 5 repetitions

• Week 7 — 3 sets of 5 repetitions

• Week 8 — 3 sets of 2 repetitions

Maximal strength in the squat improved by 35% in the multiple set group, compared to 24% in the single set group. Jump height also improved by 11% in the multiple set group, compared to 0.3% in the single set group.

The bottom line is that your muscles will still grow stronger even when they're not subjected to concentric muscle failure on a regular basis.

References
1. Folland, J.P., Irish, C.S., Roberts, J.C., Tarr, J.E., & Jones, D.A. (2002). Fatigue is not a necessary stimulus for strength gains during resistance training. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36, 370-373
2. Rooney, K.J., Herbert, R.D., & Balnave, RJ. (1994). Fatigue contributes to the strength training stimulus. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 26, 1160-1164
3. Sanborn, K., Boros, R., Hruby, J., Schilling, B., O'Bryant, H.S., Johnson, R.L., Hoke, T., Stone, M.E., & Stone, M.H. (2000). Short-term performance effects of weight training with multiple sets not to failure vs. a single set to failure in women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 14, 328-331