After a strenuous session that leaves you sweaty and sore, even lifting your gym bag feels like a challenge. But does this fatigue mean your workout was truly effective?
For years, many fitness professionals and athletes have believed that training to failure—the point at which you cannot complete another repetition—is the most effective way to increase muscle mass. However, recent studies suggest that exercising just below this threshold can yield comparable muscle growth.
David Frost, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Toronto, emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between progress and exhaustion. He asks, “Are we improving, or are we simply fatigued?”
Beginners often struggle to gauge the appropriate workout intensity. Understanding what reaching failure feels like and knowing when to push to that limit can help develop a consistent strength training routine and promote safe progression.
Strength training failure can be categorized into two types. “Technical failure” occurs when you can no longer perform a repetition with proper form, potentially causing other muscles or joints to compensate. In contrast, “muscular failure” happens when your muscles are too tired to lift the weight at all.
While training to failure can stimulate muscle growth, experts caution about the potential downsides. Excessive muscle damage during a single workout may hinder recovery, limiting your performance in subsequent sessions. Moreover, lifting with compromised form increases the risk of injury.
