Meet the experts: Alena Luciani, CSCS, is a strength and conditioning specialist and the founder of Training2xl<\/a>. Melody Schoenfeld, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, the 2019 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year, and the founder of Flawless Fitness<\/a> in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to know that training to failure is just one approach to building strength, not the default for every workout. Many lifters, and especially beginners, train effectively without ever hitting that point where they physically can\u2019t do another rep. Feeling tired or winded after a workout doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you trained to failure; it just means you worked hard. Other common methods, such as stopping a set when you still have a rep or two in the tank, using progressive overload<\/a> (where you gradually increase weight, reps, or intensity over time to keep challenging your muscles), or focusing on slower, controlled reps to increase time under tension<\/a>, can also drive strength and muscle gains without necessarily pushing to total exhaustion, but still get you to a point of fatigue, every time.<\/p>\n The main perk of training to failure is that it can lead to greater-than-normal muscle breakdown compared to when you perform exercises with challenging loads but stop before absolute failure. With proper recovery, this can yield greater strength gains and hypertrophy<\/a>, says Luciani. (Win!) However, it can also lead to excessive fatigue, hinder performance later in the workout, and even increase the risk of injury. <\/p>\n With some pros and cons to consider, is training to failure right for you? Ahead, find out the benefits, drawbacks, and how to implement it into your routine, according to trainers. <\/p>\n Is training to failure superior for building muscle and strength?<\/p>\n Not necessarily, and here\u2019s why. To get stronger, your muscles need to be challenged. \u201cTraining to failure applies a greater-than-normal stimulus to your muscles\u201d opposed to most other forms of training, Luciani says. That stimulus leads to greater breakdown in the fibers of the muscle tissues. <\/p>\n With proper rest and recovery (think: quality sleep, solid nutrition, and low mental stress), the body mends those damaged tissues, leaving your muscles thicker and stronger than ever before, she says. Research backs this up: A 2024 review in Sports Medicine<\/a> of studies on training to failure and strength and muscle growth<\/a> concluded that hypertrophy, or muscle growth, improves as lifters approach the point of failure.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n That said, \u201ctrailing to failure isn\u2019t absolutely necessary to strength gains,\u201d according to Schoenfeld. Just as effective is a related protocol called training to fatigue, which involves stopping a set when you still have about two quality reps in reserve (RIR) rather than going to failure. Stopping just short of failure has been shown to be just as effective at stimulating muscle growth, she says. <\/p>\n In fact, a 2021 meta-analysis of 15 studies in the Journal of Health and Sport Science<\/a> looked at the effects of training to failure and not training to failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy during resistance training in young adults. There was no significant difference between the results in strength and hypertrophy. So, training to fatigue allows you to challenge your muscles enough to stimulate muscle growth, without some of the downsides of training to failure (more on that ahead). <\/p>\n Get our exclusive weight training for weight loss plan<\/a><\/p>\n All in all, the way you\u2019ll build muscle and strength is by training at the top of your ability. No matter your approach, if your reps feel too easy, you won\u2019t create enough of that microscopic damage to your muscle tissue, and in turn, you won\u2019t see as meaningful changes in muscle size or strength<\/a>, Luciani says.<\/p>\n Why Training To Failure Can Still Come In HandyIt teaches you how to work through discomfort for your gains.<\/p>\n Aside from increasing strength and muscle, the biggest benefit of training to failure is that it teaches people how to work hard, which is how you\u2019ll see those gains, says Melody Schoenfeld, CSCS, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and the founder of Flawless Fitness in Pasadena, California. \u201cWeight training<\/a> is inherently uncomfortable, and because people tend to be averse to feeling discomfort, it’s not uncommon for people\u2014especially those new to lifting\u2014to stop right when it gets hard,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n It helps gauge what your all-out effort feels like.<\/p>\n One critical component in building strength and mass is high intensity, according to Luciani. But unfortunately, a lot of people don\u2019t know what that intensity feels like because they haven\u2019t pushed themselves all-out before, she adds. However, training to failure helps you reach that state of complete exhaustion, which you can use when you\u2019re trying to make strength and muscle gains. \u201cIt\u2019s much easier for people to understand what intensity means when they experience what it feels like to literally not be able to do one more rep,\u201d Luciani explains. <\/p>\n Related StoriesIt can help you break through a plateau. <\/p>\n Sometimes, more experienced athletes hit a point where you feel like they’re not seeing any more strength gains, or they haven\u2019t been able to continue losing weight<\/a>. \u201cIf you’ve stalled out, it could be because you haven\u2019t realized that you have more in the tank,\u201d she says. By training to failure, you\u2019ll see how many more reps you could be doing that will then lead to those strength or weight loss benefits. <\/p>\n The Potential DownsidesIt might cause you to compromise your form.<\/p>\n Training to failure may cause you to use improper form due to muscular fatigue, which can increase risk of injury, says Schoenfeld. If you do train to failure, utilizing a spotter or spotter bars can help keep you from dropping or losing control of the weight,\u201d she says. \u201cThat won\u2019t eliminate all the risk, but it can reduce it significantly.\u201d <\/p>\n It may lead to overtraining.<\/p>\n The protocol places a killer demand on your muscle fibers, yes, but also your body as a whole, Luciani says. Because you\u2019re taxing your body to the max, your recovery will take longer, which may cause overtraining<\/a> syndrome, which is when an individual is not able to recover from their workouts. <\/p>\n Related StoryIt can make you feel extra sore.<\/p>\n Due to the degree of damage to the muscle tissues, \u201cyou\u2019ll certainly feel more sore when you train to failure,\u201d says Schoenfeld. And not just in the moment, but in the days after. People report more delayed onset muscle soreness<\/a> after training to failure than with other strength protocols, she says. <\/p>\n Who Should (And Shouldn\u2019t) Train To Failure<\/p>\n Training to failure isn\u2019t for everyone, especially newbies. \u201cBeginner lifters<\/a> are still learning the mechanics of how to train with good form,\u201d says Schoenfeld. So, this technique can be dangerous because you may accidentally hit too many reps with poor form, which can lead to developing bad movement habits\u2014and injury\u2014over time, she says. (Not ideal!)<\/p>\n Additionally, training to failure will likely leave you more sore than other strength strategies, which may discourage consistency\u2014especially for new lifters who haven\u2019t yet built a regular gym habit. \u201cWith strength gains, consistency over time is key,\u201d says Schoenfeld. If failure training leaves you too beat up to come back for your next session, it could slow your progress, she says. <\/p>\n Best Workout Shorts <\/p>\n Best Workout Top <\/p>\n Best Sports Bra <\/p>\n Now 10% Off<\/p>\n It’s also not the best fit for people who don’t enjoy higher-intensity workouts, says Luciani. When you’re training to failure, those last few reps are pretty grueling, which may not make your workout feel super fun. \u201cFor newer lifters still building confidence slinging weight, there are plenty of other effective strategies for building strength that don\u2019t require going all the way to failure,\u201d she adds. (More on that later!)<\/p>\n Sometimes, however, training to failure can be helpful. For instance, a personal trainer might show a client how much harder they could be working by having them train to failure. Here, the goal isn\u2019t for training to failure to be the new norm, but as a demonstrative tool, which you can do on your own, too. It\u2019s helpful because it highlights how many reps you can hit, compared to what you thought. <\/p>\n How To Implement Training To Failure Into Your Routine<\/p>\n If you\u2019re tinkering with how to add training to failure into your fitness routine, know this: You don\u2019t need to do so every set or sweat session to benefit. \u201cTraining to fail every set, every time isn\u2019t going to be sustainable,\u201d says Schoenfeld. Doing it too often can backfire, leading to excess soreness, exercise burnout, and injury, she says. <\/p>\n Your move: Train to failure once a week per body part. Make your last set of major movements for the day an AMRAP. Whether you\u2019re doing back squats<\/a>, biceps curls<\/a>, or shoulder presses, take \u201cyour last set to failure with a spotter and see if you can eke out a few more reps than you thought you could,\u201d Schoenfeld says.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n But remember: \u201cTraining to failure means tapping into a new level of hard work and will leave your tank depleted,\u201d she says. So make sure you\u2019re recovering well, including staying hydrated, eating enough protein<\/a> and carbs to fuel, and getting plenty of sleep.<\/p>\n Methods For Building Muscle And Strength That Don\u2019t Require Reaching Failure Every TimeTraining to fatigue: Stop doing the exercise when you still have about two quality reps in reserve. \u201cResearch<\/a> shows that leaving one or two reps \u2018in the tank\u2019 can still stimulate muscle growth, without the heightened risk of injury that comes with training to failure,\u201d says Schoenfeld. The catch is that it requires you to be able to really understand your body and level of effort to know when you have two reps left in you, she adds. Progressive overload: To continue getting stronger, you must apply the progressive overload principle, which is continuously increasing the stress placed on your muscles by tweaking variables like load, volume, time under tension, or rep speed, says Schoenfeld. \u201cIf your body isn\u2019t challenged, your muscles won\u2019t have a reason to continue to change and grow,\u201d she says. The best way for athletes of all levels to apply this principle is to follow a strength program just for you, but you can also go by feel if budget is a limitation. Eccentrics: Every lift has concentric (muscle-shortening) phase and eccentric<\/a> (muscle-lengthening) phase. 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