what do you think about muscle failure?

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  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    As in lifting weights?

    I count failure as when I can no longer lift the weight in a consistent way to the required height (or depth) without having to cheat the weight up (e.g. flick the body to gain extra momentum).

    Some people count it when they cannot lift any more at all but in my eyes thats using momentum and the other muscles to get the weight up and thus fairly pointless.

    I feel the same way. Once my form suffers for a rep or two, I give it up.
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
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    As in lifting weights?

    I count failure as when I can no longer lift the weight in a consistent way to the required height (or depth) without having to cheat the weight up (e.g. flick the body to gain extra momentum).

    Some people count it when they cannot lift any more at all but in my eyes thats using momentum and the other muscles to get the weight up and thus fairly pointless.

    ditto this.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I LOVE it. It's made me so much stronger and so much quicker than lots of reps and low weight.
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
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    I've heard and read from more than one reputable, researching source that it is a failure that the muscle strength gains happen. The very well educated trainer I worked out with explained that I can get to failure in 3 reps or get to failure in 200 reps, but the failure is where we wanted to be. We went with heavier to get to failure faster, and yes, he'd pull the weight the rest of the way, have me lower it slower and then make me lift again.

    The added bonus was that it felt AWESOME. it's dead sexy to be spent like that.

    When I work out on my own (which is most of the time), I do my darnedest to try to get that last rep or two slow because I'm almost to failure, but of course, I don't do stuff that risks I lose control of the weight that is often right over my head.

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