Is it better to split strength training or to failure?

Regarding strength training, whether it is better to control the margin in groups or to achieve exhaustion in each group, there is no absolute right or wrong. It depends entirely on your training goals, the stage you are in, and even your physical condition that day. This is the most practical conclusion I have come to after practicing for 6 years, following coaches from 3 different systems, and going through countless pitfalls.

Last week, I met a young man in the gym who had just been practicing for two months. He couldn't even stabilize his shoulder blades when doing bench presses. He had to press the bar against his chest in every set and couldn't get up. After he finished practicing, he rubbed his shoulders and told me, "It's said on the Internet that not going to failure means practicing in vain." I sweated watching his shaky movements. In fact, different training systems have huge differences on this issue, and no one can convince anyone. There is no universal standard answer.

Old-school bodybuilding enthusiasts are really superstitious about exhaustion. A coach I used to follow who won a provincial fitness championship always said, "You can't do it until you feel pumped and exhausted." This is indeed the case when you practice isolation movements, such as lateral raises. Each set is 15 times. The first 12 times are standard. In the last three times, you have to go up even if your shoulders are shaking. After the exercise, the midsection is so swollen that you can't lift your arms even if you take off your coat. The next day, you are so sore that you can't reach the things on the upper shelf of the cabinet. The feeling of micro-tearing of the muscles and full metabolic pressure is indeed more direct than the stimulation of leaving two or three times in each set. There are now many studies to support this logic: For advanced trainers, under the same volume, the muscle hypertrophy gain of the exhaustion group is about 10% higher than that of the non-exhaustion group. Especially for isolation training with small weight and multiple reps, the stimulus difference caused by exhaustion will be more obvious.

But if you ask your friends who are into powerlifting, nine out of ten will advise you, "Don't go to exhaustion if you have nothing to do." I had encountered this pitfall when I deadlifted for a PR of 160kg. After warming up, I pulled 140kg in the first set. My head was so hot that I rushed to exhaustion. As a result, I could not even pull 120kg later. The original capacity of the 5 sets was cut in half. In the next week, I felt tight in my waist even when I was carrying a package. To put it bluntly, exhaustion is not just muscle fatigue, it is the nerves that consume the most. You can think of nerves as the main battery of your mobile phone. Muscle fatigue is just an APP that opens in the background. Just close it and rest for two hours. If the nerves are depleted, it can take as little as three to five days or as long as a whole week to recover, which will instead reduce the overall training capacity. Training that focuses on increasing strength is basically done in groups with a reserve. Calculated using the RPE (Perceived Exertion) scale, most are stuck in the RPE7-8 range, which means there is still 1-2 standard movements left after each group. This can ensure that the total capacity is increased without draining the nerves and affecting subsequent training. Several first-level powerlifting athletes I know will not even touch failure sets during the entire preparation period. Instead, they will increase their PR faster by building up capacity steadily.

There is still a controversial point in the circle. Many new studies say that as long as the total training volume is sufficient, the muscle hypertrophy effect of the non-exhaustion group is almost the same as that of the exhaustion group, and the risk of injury can be reduced. Therefore, many novices will recommend not to use exhaustion at all in the early stage. There is actually nothing wrong with this. When your movement patterns are not smoothed, your exhaustive movements will inevitably deform. Squat your legs until your waist collapses, and bench press until your shoulders are abducted. These are purely for the performance of orthopedics. I have several friends who injured their shoulders after practicing for half a year. They all did their best in the early days.

There is no need to stick to a certain faction. I am very flexible when I practice by myself now. If you are focusing on building muscle recently, leave 1-2 reps in the first few sets of compound exercises, and then rush to failure in the last set to feel refreshed. Isolate actions such as arm curls and rope push-downs are basically done to failure. Occasionally, add a drop set to continue the pump. ； If you want to hit a PR for the deadlift recently, then control the volume in groups throughout the whole process. Stop when you can do another pull after each set, and you won't even squeeze out the last set. When I stayed up until 2 o'clock the day before and didn't eat enough carbohydrates, I even left a margin of 2-3 times throughout the whole process. It's enough to stretch my whole body after practicing. There is no need to fight with yourself.

Really, there are no iron-clad rules that must be followed in strength training. Whether you want to increase your circumference or increase weight, whether you are just starting out and can’t figure out the movements or you have been practicing for three or four years and have reached a bottleneck period, and even whether you have slept enough that day and whether you are worried about anything, all affect which method you choose. Don't listen to those extreme comments on the Internet that "training to failure means practicing in vain" or "exhausting to exhaustion is all useless". The method that allows you to persist, feel comfortable after practicing, and slowly see progress is the method that is best for you.