Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat (2015)

Status
Not open for further replies.
CaptainObvious said:
Failure to me is can't complete the last rep in any set, first to last.
More...
Then perhaps try this approach. Make sure that each rep is done in a controlled fashion and in proper form, no momentum, and don't do another rep if you don't think you will be able to complete it fully and in proper form. If you've been doing this a while, you'll know when that is.

So during that last full rep, if you think you'll have a bit left upon its completion (but not enough for another full rep), then slow it down a bit, both positive and negative, so you'll be fully spent when it's fully done.

That's my present definition of training to failure.
 
Frederick Foresight said:
Then perhaps try this approach. Make sure that each rep is done in a controlled fashion and in proper form, no momentum, and don't do another rep if you don't think you will be able to complete it fully and in proper form. If you've been doing this a while, you'll know when that is.

So during that last full rep, if you think you'll have a bit left upon its completion (but not enough for another full rep), then slow it down a bit, both positive and negative, so you'll be fully spent when it's done.

That's my present definition of training to failure.
More...
I just found this. The premise is you should only workout to failure once every 2-3 weeks, or at least not do it every workout. Would you agree? Thanks for the insight.
http://xbodyconcepts.com/workout-to-failure/
 
CaptainObvious said:
I just found this. The premise is you should only workout to failure once every 2-3 weeks, or at least not do it every workout. Would you agree? Thanks for the insight.
http://xbodyconcepts.com/workout-to-failure/
More...
First, please be sure to take my comments with a grain of salt. (As you would in, say, P&R. :))

I think the answer is It depends. It depends on how many sets you do per workout and per muscle group, how often you train, how often you train each muscle group, and specifically how you define failure, not to mention your individual recuperative capability. Even then I couldn't give you a definitive answer, although I'd be interested to know what others have to say.

Presently, I favor a very compact full body workout twice a week going to failure as I defined it in my previous post. The resistance portion takes about 35 minutes, with a few minutes of HIIT cardio thrown in after that. I've been playing around with this, but I base my approach in part on the findings in the study I posted earlier in this thread:

http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index.php?threads/gaining-muscle-and-losing-fat-2015.292625/page-11
 
Last edited:
I just finished reading Body by Science, which I had referred to earlier in this thread:

51feXxN9PqL._SX399_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg



http://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-...id=1439410339&sr=8-1&keywords=body+by+science

It seems to have been well received by a fairly wide audience. I thought it was a great read, even though I can't bring myself to accept the very low volume and frequency that the authors propose.

The science behind the benefits of resistance training over any other form of exercise is very well explained, and it gave me the added bonus of finally being able to do overhead pressing again. I had previously avoided overhead pressing for several years because it gave my shoulders grief. However, the authors explain how it is important to have your hands in front of you and not flare the elbows out to the sides (as I had always done in the past). Flaring the elbows, as many people seem to do, can cause impingement, which is exactly what it did in my case.
 
Frederick Foresight said:
Baron, in the predecessor thread you mentioned that you did 6 sets per muscle group per week to failure. Are you still doing that volume? Also, since there appears to be a number of definitions of failure, depending on whom you ask, how do you define it?
More...
No. Currently I am doing a full body workout with 10 exercises per workout, and one set per exercise, all in the higher rep range of 15 - 20 per set. All sets are done to failure, meaning that I am going to the point that I can't fully complete a rep on my own. I'm not using a spotter so there's no assistance to go "beyond failure" if you know what I mean. And I work out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On occasion I will do 5 sets of jump squats at 20 reps per set on Saturday, depending on how I feel.
 
Baron said:
No. Currently I am doing a full body workout with 10 exercises per workout, and one set per exercise, all in the higher rep range of 15 - 20 per set. All sets are done to failure, meaning that I am going to the point that I can't fully complete a rep on my own. I'm not using a spotter so there's no assistance to go "beyond failure" if you know what I mean. And I work out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On occasion I will do 5 sets of jump squats at 20 reps per set on Saturday, depending on how I feel.
More...
Four full body workouts per week, with each set to failure, seems like a lot. May I ask how long you've been adhering to this regimen? As to failure, you're saying you will stop mid-rep when you can't go further, rather than stopping at the rep before? Sorry for belaboring the point, I just want to be sure I'm clear on this.
 
Last edited:
Frederick Foresight said:
Four full body workouts per week, with each set to failure seems like a lot. May I ask how long you've been adhering to this regimen? As to failure, you're saying you will stop mid-rep when you can't go further, rather than stopping at the rep before? Sorry for belaboring the point, I just want to be sure I'm clear on this.
More...
I've been doing that regimen since my gym flooded, so I guess it's been about three weeks now. And yes, I will stop mid rep instead of stopping at the rep before.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top