One of the best ways to pretend you know something about a particular subject is to throw around some big sounding terms so everyone else is impressed. The muscle building world is no different, and many people use bodybuilding terms even though they have no idea what they really mean.
Instead of just throwing around such terms to sound impressive in the gym, shouldn’t you take a moment to truly understand them? Because it’s discussed so often, let’s take a moment to understand the concept of training to failure.
What exactly is training to failure? If you’ve heard this term but weren’t sure exactly what it meant, don’t be embarrassed. There are probably a lot of other new trainees who are confused by this, especially since many tend to use these bodybuilding terms in different ways with different meanings.
The concept is actually pretty simple, but many people make it more complicated than it really is. If you train to failure, you perform a certain exercise on a particular muscle group until that muscle cannot handle it anymore. The muscle is exhausted and fails to lift anymore. It cannot perform another repetition (at least not immediately) on its own.
Many people claim that training to failure is absolutely essential, but some proven experts like Vince Delmonte tell us to be careful when using the strategy.
Training to momentary failure means that you do a certain number of reps unto you cannot lift anymore with that particular muscle, and then you move on to another muscle after a certain amount of rest. Absolute failure means that you train until your entire body is completely wiped out from exhaustion.
Working out like a maniac is not good for your muscles, but it is terrible for the rest of your body. Your connective tissues can be overtaxed and increase your chances of injury. Even worse though, is the possibility of overwhelming your nervous system or immune systems. This is something you really need to guard against.
I know you’re probably eager to make progress as quickly as possible, but taking the time to learn a few things can go a long way in the future. Learn to take care of your body, and learn when to rest your muscles.
