In the gym, there are several ways one can work out on the machine or with the free weights. One is to lift/push/pull moderate weight for as many times as possible, another is to use heavier weights in three sets typically comprised of 10 to 15 repetitions (reps). And then there’s the “superset,” which is using the heaviest weight you can for three to five reps. Often, one should set and rep close to failure, meaning, you’ve got no more “oomph” in the muscle to contract on demand.

No matter which way is utilized, typically the goal is to grow both muscle and strength. However, new research finds that if you’re aiming for muscle growth, training closer to failure might be more effective. It doesn’t matter if you adjust training volume by changing sets or reps; the relationship between how close you train to failure and muscle growth remains the same. For strength, how close you push to failure doesn’t seem to matter as much.

While research has looked at this concept in different ways, to date, no meta-analysis has explored the pattern (i.e., linear or non-linear) of how the distance from failure (measured by repetitions in reserve) affects changes in muscle strength and size.

As such, it’s still unclear how close to failure one needs to go to maximize muscle growth and strength.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and collaborators analyzed how training close to failure or not impacts muscle growth and strength. The study primarily looked at how training close to failure affects muscle growth in the main muscles used in an exercise. For example, if an individual was doing leg presses, the focus was on how training close to failure affects the quadriceps.

Researchers estimated the number of repetitions in reserve, which means how many more reps you could have done before reaching failure. They collected data from 55 various studies and ran detailed statistical analyses to see how different reps in reserve levels affected strength and muscle growth.

found that how close you train to failure doesn’t have a clear impact on strength gains. Whether you stop far from failure or very close to it, your strength improvement appears to be similar. On the other hand, muscle size (hypertrophy) does seem to benefit from training closer to failure. The closer you are to failure when you stop your sets, the more muscle growth you tend to see.

“If you’re aiming for muscle growth, training closer to failure might be more effective. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you adjust training volume by changing sets or reps; the relationship between how close you train to failure and muscle growth remains the same,” said study senior author Michael C. Zourdos, PhD. “For strength, how close you push to failure doesn’t seem to matter as much.”

The researchers suggest that individuals who aim to build muscle should work within a desired range of zero to five reps short of failure for optimized muscle growth or while minimizing injury risk. For strength training, they suggest individuals should work toward heavier loads instead of pushing their muscles to failure. As such, they recommend that to train to gain strength, individuals should stop about three to five reps short of failure without applying additional physical strain on the body.

Reference:

Robinson et al. “Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions” Sports Medicine (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02069-2.

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