Pushing yourself too hard in gym might actually be counterproductive, study finds

Understanding nuances can help gymgoers optimise training, scientists say

Training with weights in the gym to the point of muscle failure can boost muscle growth but it may not be as crucial for building strength, according to new research.

The review of studies, published recently in the Sports Medicine journal, may have key implications for how everyday gymgoers approach physical training.

Those aiming to build muscle should work within a “sweet spot” of 0-5 reps short of failure for optimised muscle growth or while minimising injury risk, according to scientists from Florida Atlantic University.

And for strength training, they say, people should work towards heavier loads instead of pushing their muscles to failure.

The comprehensive new research reviewed 214 past studies to better understand the relationship between how close a person trains to failure and the resulting gain in muscle mass and strength.

Scientists surprisingly did not find any significant link between the number of repetitions left in a person’s tank and their strength gain.

Instead, they say the load intensity may play a bigger role to boost one’s strength.

Muscle growth, on the other hand, appeared to increase as more sets were performed closer to failure.

This suggests training towards failure affects the mechanical tension on muscle fibres, which is known to be crucial for muscle growth.

The findings highlight the challenges of training close to failure, which can be challenging and more difficult to recover from, and may hinder overall long-term performance.

So scientists suggest those training to gain strength stop about 3-5 reps short of failure without applying additional physical strain on the body.

Understanding these nuances, they say, can further help gymgoers and trainers optimise their daily regimens.

Citing an example, researchers say needlessly training close to failure may result in greater chances of neuromuscular fatigue.

“Practitioners should be aware that optimal proximity to failure may differ between strength and muscle hypertrophy outcomes,” the study noted.

“These relationships can inform future research and potentially improve the conceptual understanding of practitioners,” scientists wrote.

However, scientists say the exact numerical relationship between training close to failure and strength gain remains unclear.

They say future studies “deliberately designed” to explore the continuous nature of the effects in larger samples should be considered.