Should You Train To Failure?

[@neilcole3406]

Got to admit, lm sick and tied of the nice weather you have!

[@Kboges]

LOL it's pretty amazing.

[@ohlssonster]

@@Kboges Where you at? Here in Sweden we just had lowest temperature recorded -43C (-45F)

[@PontificusPinion]

I'm guessing Hawaii

[@CHARLESSBRONSON]

🤣

[@inder2015]

L

[@sherpa6071]

A lot of what Mt. boges sums up is learning how your own body reacts to the stimulus and recognizing when it is beneficial to go to failure based on how much your body can handle throughout the week/into your next workouts. Always leave enough to go tomorrow, but push yourself to overcome plateaus. *And that's right, I call him mount boges bc he's a mountain of fitness information*

[@Kboges]

Dude that is exactly it! Thank you for summing that up so cleanly. That totally encompasses my view on the topic. I think a lot of people have misunderstood my view here because I’m certainly not anti failure but I also am honest about the potential trade offs depending on the person and the context. Thank you for the kind words, my friend! 🙏💪

[@sherpa6071]

Right on! I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I think your info and how you present it is golden. You truly are in it for the long haul. Happy training in the new year.@@Kboges

[@idanyakobson4170]

Respect for responding to so many comments, awesome content by the way

[@Kboges]

Thanks man! Yeah I used to be able to get to every single comment but it’s impossible now. I still try to spend a few hours a day interacting with subscribers in the comment section. Thanks for the kind words!

[@NiquelBones]

bro youre living my dream, big ass house with beautiful views and just training outside on a nice day keep it up bro

[@simpleman283]

It all depends on what you want. A combat veteran told me: never do today, more than you can do tomorrow. That makes a lot of sense to me & I like that method. I know there are different goals for different people. Do em your way.

[@ocearbhaill3894]

Your short & sweet, straight to the point style is unique, really good, keep going

[@Telluwide]

I think a good rule of thumb is to do a set to where you can get the last perfect rep. If I feel that getting the next rep would require me to begin to bend, twist etc. lose that slow, perfect form rep, I stop right there....

[@Kboges]

That is a great definition. Simple, yet it accomplishes everything we need it to.

[@tyberiuszXIV]

It's a decent principle to abide althrough it's a technical failure rather than muscular one. Obviously both of them have their upsides and downsides.

[@wotterpovs]

This channel is a goldmine

[@Kboges]

Thank you, Wotter!

[@3frogman]

I did my first set of pull ups to failure today and next set I used bands because I already felt fatigued. Whereas push ups I can train to failure on one set and be fine for the rest of the workout. For me, I think it's clear that stopping a couple of reps short on the pull exercises is the way for me to get consistent volume in. Push exercises like dips and push ups it doesn't seem to matter too much

[@Eddie0102]

Agreed bro there’s just something about pull. After your last one spent you’re completely shot. I always do pull first too cause if I hit push/legs/Abs first I feel like it affects my output

[@mokyan7]

Love how you are doing full, clean legit reps, with pause and good contraction. You are moving smoothly and in control, well done. Quality.

[@Kboges]

Thanks, Matthias!

[@stevegraves8416]

I appreciate your short and informative videos. I’ve had better results doing one set of a given exercise to COMPLETE failure instead of 3 sets to near failure. The benefits for me: good muscle response, less time involved, fewer injuries, less wear and tear on joints and tendons.

[@Kboges]

Awesome! Yeah there is definitely something to this style of training. I've done single set to training failure in the past and had great results. I've always generally responded better to more volume though.

[@thedon9670]

I find this VERY hard to believe. How can you even do just one set to complete failure without massively increasing your risk of injury. I can't see how this is at all feasible.

[@itsmefriedpotato6429]

@@thedon9670 not just 1 set but 3 😂

[@mcewenben]

A brilliant video once again. As an endurance athlete who likes to keep my strength numbers up i've found this higher frequency style of training really beneficial. Training 7-12 hours a week I was finding 3 days of high volume weighted calisthenics was taking to much recovery time away. Using your trifecta style 3 sets rpe 8-9 of a pull, push and either a squat/lunge or kettlebell swing monday through friday, ive found the fatigue just peaks in line with the additional endurance training. My body composition has greatly improved as well as my max reps on the body weight movements. I can't really thank you enough for the information you're putting out here. Keep it up mate.

[@Kboges]

Awesome to hear! That's exactly the strategy. Stimulate the muscle frequently to improve the body composition, without racking up a huge fatigue debt that you have to pay at some point. So happy to hear you are enjoying it and it's giving you the results you want. Also great application for the KB swing! I might try that myself!

[@mcewenben]

@@Kboges yeah I find with cycling volume I am fairly quad strong anyway. I’ll throw in some kB swings either 10 on the minute for 10 mins or some single arm stuff for some posterior chain and core workout that’s not too taxing on my CNS.

[@Kboges]

@@mcewenben This is a great idea. Great alternative to squats and lunges. Still allows you to get some good conditioning in.

[@kent7525]

Finally something that makes sense on the debate of this. Good info bro thank you

[@Kboges]

Thanks Ken! I really appreciate the positive feedback.

[@iliveinsideyourhouse3943]

Thank you for the information! I will do my sets close to failure right now, when I do them to absolute failure, I get too fatigued and sore to finished my workout lol. Again, thank you for the valuable information!

[@Kboges]

Yeah that is a common experience. People vary a lot in their tolerance for sets to failure, but what you describe is what I typically see in most people. In your case, you would definitely benefit from leaving some reps in the tank.

[@kulhrada6900]

@sean tellier nah man

[@kulhrada6900]

@sean tellier if you finish your workout early you can miss out on exercises thet were meant for another body part you havent trained yet

[@vatoloco5805]

Yes bodyweight exercises are different than weights exercises with bodyweight exercises if you do high reps you get fatigued fast and if you do low reps you can last longer doing your workout and getting more volume

[@_Michal_Michal_]

@sean tellier agreed

[@jakemccoy]

Such an important and complex issue this is. Another factor is how advanced the person is. A newbie or near newbie is going to see lots of results training to failure. However, as someone who has been training for years, my training to failure is only good for me maybe once every two weeks just to shock my system. And I don’t know if “shock” is the right word because doing max reps of my regular exercises does not cause soreness. Anyway, I see my best results when I change up the exercise instead of training to failure. Like instead of maxing out with pushups, I may do archer pushups or some other pushup variant.

[@Kboges]

You are absolutely right! Training status makes an enormous difference. I agree with pretty much everything you say here, except I would say that people just starting out don't need to train to failure to get good gains simply because they are so deconditioned and can benefit just from getting quality reps in just to build the motor pattern. After that, sets to failure can be super useful for this group just so they can actually learn what failure is, and what constitutes a hard set. Many people in the early stages of training don't know what they are capable of in terms of effort. I've literally coached people who said they reached failure at 10 reps, then doubled their reps just because I was there motivating them in person. Advanced people know their limits and can gauge their proximity to failure much better. Also, I think a lot of people here "a few reps shy of failure" and think that this is an easy set. A few reps shy of failure is actually pretty dang hard, especially when you are reasonably fit and get into the higher rep sets. I totally agree on the introduction to variety. Excellent point!

[@Portitforward]

This knowledge helped me increase my volume and therefore gains over the last 6-8 months. Getting a lot of compliments on my physique :) For me, I do far more sets to failure when I am plateauing. In many cases I have found that my mental failure switch was earlier than my physical one, and pushing to total failure meant overcoming some sort of psychological obstacle instead of a physical one. Everyone is different, though. Cheers

[@Kboges]

I think this is a solid approach, and ultimately we need to experiment to find what works for us.

[@Gm-nx9je]

I gain so much confidence from watching your videos. They really help me develop my own training ideas. thank you K Boges.

[@bars1979]

Really good video Kyle, thanks for the upload. Personally, I can't just stop without failing in a set. Even though its not like that, I feel that my workouts are kinda useless if I don't push it until ultimate failure. Thats the main reason why I do need a rest day, (Im usually sore with HFT) But I don't really think this is too bad. Pushing until failure makes me focus on the movement and the quality of reps, instead of counting reps and trying to guess how many reps are left in tank, and then taking a note to an exercise sheet etc. Just going all in makes it much more simple.

[@Kboges]

I think this is a completely valid approach to training! Psychology needs to be taken into account for sure, and some people simply enjoy and prefer taking sets to failure. I think this is totally fine, and if this is the case, you simply adjust your program too reflect this. Many people have gotten excellent gains this way. Thank you so much for bringing this up!

[@chrisstanley9477]

Hey man i agree with the failure thing too. Im still getting stronger and improving even going to failure it just means i have to have longer days in between sessions.

[@bars1979]

@@chrisstanley9477 Yes Chris, this is more of a psychological thing imo. I feel much satisfied with my workout when i push myself the hardest, and i wear the soreness as a badge of honor the next day.

[@ft.the_equinox]

Failure in sets is great but I think that deload week is also important on this approach, am I right?

[@MMM-dj7ou]

@@ft.the_equinox ye it should be, but I honestly lose my motivation before that week comes, every single time, thats my problem ^^

[@WeightedCali]

Great video, you're really helpful. Keep being awesome!

[@Kboges]

Thank you Dinis! Much appreciated!

[@gabrieltisserantdealmeidag3791]

Outstanding channel and website. Tons of useful information in a clear and straight way. I have no idea how to express how you caused a positive impact over here. Thank you so much!

[@Zurek_]

man, you're a fuc*ing God! short videos, no ads, lots of knowledge and info! respect

[@Kboges]

Thank you, Pio! Much appreciated 🙏

[@vladophn8791]

I used to train with high frequency but throughout all those years i developed some joint pain in my knees, elbows and hip area. Now I am taking week off, and after that I am going to give a shot to High intensity training with only one set to failure, with 4 seconds positive, 1 second isometric and 4 seconds negative cadence, always keeping muscle under tension, avoiding joint lockout and limiting momentum. All those years I searched for ,,the best,, approach for the best results, but now the only thing i care about is living without joint pain. Im 22 , and i trained like a moron. Pulling movements without scapula protraction, squats to only 90 degrees, then pistol squats without sufficient time for joints to adapt, heavy triceps pushdowns, pushups without scapula protraction... all this with poor posture from sitting all day long. Btw thank you for your amazing content, always keen to watch your videos.

[@vladophn8791]

Or maybe not 4 second up, 4 seconds down, but always with control

[@Kboges]

Sorry to hear about your struggles with exercise. I always advise getting into training slowly, and listening to your body. I'm glad to hear you are trying some new approaches to stay at it! Remmerb, prioritize your movement quality, don't chase reps, and try to train in a way that is sustainable for you whole life. Good luck and keep me posted!

[@iamsampeters]

I really like Joe Delaney's guidance on this, calling it "Reps in Reserve". He echos your sentiment completely, that going to failure causing exhaustion to the point that you're hindering your workout, and potentially overall sets/reps for the week. By keeping reps in reserve, and having a goal number in mind when setting your weights I think is a great way to maximise growth. Say you're going for bench, and you're aiming for 8 reps, with 2 in reserve - I know I'd be wanting to set my bar at around 80-85KG to be comfortable with 2 in reserve.

[@Kboges]

EXACTLY! It's a no brainer in terms of the tradeoff.

[@frog6054]

What about pure bodyweight training approach? Since I use only my own bodyweight, won't it better if I go to failure since it's much lighter than benching 80kg?

[@iamsampeters]

@@frog6054 Me personally, I'd still say leave reps in reserve. 3-4 sets of going to absolute failure on push ups will leave you absolutely hammered but you may have only managed 100-200 push ups. Where as if you leave say 5-10 reps in reserve. Take a minute or so rest - in that same day you may be able to hit 400 reps - consistently. 400 reps vs 200 reps imo is always going to be better. It depends on how much time you've got as well. If you've only got 40 minutes to train or w.e, sometimes going for the heavy fatigue makes more sense as you won't be able to get in the 400 reps anyway?

[@jeffmilligan7030]

These videos are excellent - easily the best on the internet

[@Kboges]

Thank you, Jeff!

[@victoriajones7463]

Excellent advice. TTF has it's limitations overall trying to compete with daily demands. TTF is exhausting.

[@indiegemsthatjam3986]

Another key part of this is the common trend of adding this move and that move, and ending up with 5 moves that work the same muscles. Ending up with a 2 hour workout that eventually beats down the motivation.

[@jominj5307]

Well motivation only gets you started, you have to rely on discipline if you want to make working out a life long thing!

[@Mark-xw5yt]

My ego always sours my workout when I can’t go to failure. I feel like a failure because I can’t push myself when I know I have the strength to do more. I’m just too exhausted and fatigued. This would really bother me because in my early days of training before injuries and quitting, I wouldn’t have this problem (or i think I didn’t). However when trying to get back into working out, I would always have this imposter syndrome where I felt like I just couldn’t push myself hard enough. I would feel like there was something wrong with my will/drive that just wasn’t improving enough with time. To think that this mindset has been holding me back from having a good workout. It all makes sense.

[@SeyferX]

this is my problem as well. I fell like if there is no failure, you didn't do enough. and then I suffer from soreness the next 2 days...

[@hushboi4671]

Same for me and I'm just a beginner

[@yellowflame3798]

Yeah

[@mmustap3]

This was my issue. I used to do sprints once a week and destroy myself to failure, but I noticed that I literally didn't want to lift a finger for the rest of the week or even eat healthy. I also noticed my sleep for the first day or two after sprinting was poor because my body was overheated and so I couldn't stay cool and it lowered the quality of my sleep and then my recovery wasn't great. Since then I've worked out moderately with decent gains, probably cumulatively better then those days too.

[@JumpingSquid]

Instawd of sprinted, must try eating poope

[@mmustap3]

@@JumpingSquid get well bro.

[@JumpingSquid]

@@mmustap3 get well of whate?

[@JumpingSquid]

@@mmustap3 well? Illl Get Well when it’s Water time Ibrahahms….

[@JumpingSquid]

@@mmustap3 thainkes

[@taichitsao]

Wow, proud of you!

[@Kboges]

Thanks so much, Sifu🙏

[@vegainlifestyle7693]

I train to failure sometimes when I give myself a Challange. It's then more out of a mental context, to grow stronger mentally than physically

[@Kboges]

Not a bad way to go at all!💪💪

[@marcusuni1969]

I think this is such an interesting topic. It seems to be another benefit of the high frequency approach, you can push it to failure when you feel good and then take it easy the next couple of days, you can almost have a daily undulating model but rather than rep ranges you can vary the intensity. Personally I think if you're trying to put on mass as effectively as possible, training to failure is required, but as always it's so individual it's difficult to say. Just on your point in the description about hitting failure across all sets but maintaining the rep count, I honestly don't know how people do that haha. This concept really clicked for me on a channel called natural hypertrophy. He has a concept called evolving rep ranges. You basically pick a rep range so 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps for example. So you would get 8,7,6( each set taken to failure) then progress eventually to 10/9/8 and then add weight. For such a long time I was trying to get to 3x8 but I could just never do it, by training this way you drive progress without the dogmatic approach of the traditional 3x8 or whatever. This doesn't necessarily work with your approach of higher rep basics in terms of adding weight, but it's an interesting approach none the less

[@Kboges]

Hey Marcus, great points here. I definitely prefer a DUP approach with proximity to failure as the primary variable to be manipulated daily. You hit the nail on the head. Everything in training is a tradeoff. If failure produces more gains per set (it's not actually clear it reliably does so it depends on the person) along with more fatigue, then it will certainly negatively affect the overall amount of volume you can accumulate, and less quality volume reliably leads to less gains. But, that may or may not be a problem. Several years back, I trained 3 sets, 3 times per week, with each set taken to failure. It worked extremely well. The extra fatigue generated by the failure sets didn't affect my weekly volume because I had other things limiting my weekly volume (running training, travel, school etc). Would I have made as good of progress stopping 1 rep shy of failure? I tend to think the results would have been indistinguishable, but since I wasn't training frequently, I just wanted to hammer out each set and leave nothing on the table as a way of idiot proofing my training. Today, my position is still that if I'm not going to train a lot, I'm going to train as hard as I can, and if I am going to train a lot, I'm going to leave a bit more in the tank. If I were running like a PPL split, I would include more training to failure. My point is, context is everything with this stuff and training to failure definitely has smart and practical applications. It's just about knowing the tradeoff you are making, and ensuring that the tradeoff is the one you intend to make. I like the approach from natural hypertrophy. Very logical.

[@marcusuni1969]

@@Kboges totally agree with everything you've said. Really great discussion and so much to talk about as well. One thing I would ask is, if not training to failure and not going "balls to the wall" so to speak, does adding extra reps come naturally. Ie if you get 3x10 not to failure but next time you get 1x11 and 2x10 perhaps that set of 11 would have to be to failure so by default you would end up training to failure anyway? I suppose by rotating variations and training frequently it might not be an issue and you would go with the ebs and flows of training?

[@Plug042]

Your videos motivate me 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@Kboges]

Your comments motivate me! 💪 🙏

[@covingtoncreek]

I like your channel. I like your videos. Great content. If I might make one suggestion, because I think it would really empower your content, it would be to look into the camera all the time when you talk. I don't mean to focus too much on this, as you're putting really good information out there. Thumbs up.

[@Kboges]

Ahh thanks! Yeah I'm often reading bullet points when I record, so it can be tough. But great suggestion and I will try harder to look into the camera more. Thank you for the feedback!

[@tak4043]

Been keeping my sets a few reps short of failure for 10 months now, combined with the mindset of not caring about the rep counts, slow and steady repetitions with good form with a few hours between sets and I build up 15 kg(35 pounds) of muscle mass. Some of it comes from cycling but it's more than visible on the upper body. ie. 2 months in a buddy of mine started staring at my chest and mentioned 'you have fairly well defined chest'. Would not believe I had only trained for 2 months, apparently it should take more than a year.. First 4 months I got 10kg and got a bit scared of the growth rate, also was mentally and physically exhausting to do 3-5 sets of dips and push-ups everyday with hanging somewhere in between and I eased up on the training from that. Even though I trained for only 10 minutes a day, if that. Biggest downside of all this is that all clothes are starting to be skin tight.

[@PixelWavlength]

What do you mean “with a few hours between sets”? Like one set of push-ups until failure and then doing it again in a few hours? What’s this routine like? I’m super curious and inspired!

[@tak4043]

@@PixelWavlength Usually it meant that when I woke up I did a set of push-ups few reps short of failure. Then waited 10-15 minutes, did a set of dips a few reps short of failure, followed by hanging. Then I waited 2-3 hours and repeated it, then same later. *edit. I came to this program spending a month on KZbin fitness videos taking everything I had experienced myself into account when deciding whether it would work for me or not. For me this worked so well it was scary, that combined with the mental exhaustion was a bit much. First 2 weeks will probably feel fairly easy. 5th week hit me hard and I had to take it very easy, after which it became a routine. Easy day here and there but very few days off completely. Don't be scared of doing just one set some days if the fatigue has built up too much.

[@PixelWavlength]

@@tak4043 That’s fascinating. It seems so simple, yet effective after watching this very video about the bodily processes that dictate muscle stimulation. How many sets of each exercise do you aim for per day?

[@tak4043]

@@PixelWavlength First 4 months I did 3-3.5 sets a day on average. Also bicycle sprints to the store and back, that's 2x 3.5km trip 2x per week. Now doing about half of that, except bicycle which is constant.

[@Thomas-jq2im]

it's called greasing the groove, it was pioneered by Pavel Tsatsouline.

[@monocyte2210]

Makes so much sense

[@Kboges]

Thank! Glad you enjoyed!

[@MisterGames]

I like to think of it like this: my body has the ability to do X and have Y in reserve. If i train to X and never go into reserve my status remains quo. But when i go into reserve (not necessarily empty), and do so repeatedly, then my body makes adjustments so that the amount i am doing becomes X and the body still has Y in reserve. If i continue this same amount, i have reached a new status quo. And... Here we go with the requirement for more reps/sets/heavier to exceed the new X. So say my pushup X is 5 and i have failure at 8 and thus my body wants 3 in reserve. If i keep going to 6, my body will adjust to keep the 3 buffer and my new failure will become 9. If i do no go beyond 6 i will remain at that level... And my body always wants stuff in reserve else in the wild we would work until we dropped and be unable to move and get got by a lion or something. And it is the body's desire to have reserve that sees it make adjustments (growth or whatever) so it can comfortable to the X you are asking of it.

[@adam-lt8iy]

It does produce the most fatigue yes but Beardsleys research has shown ways you can train to failure and still recover within 72 hours. Some key point: Fail in 6-10 rep range, more than 10 will produce extra fatigue. Rest 3 min between sets. Do at most 3 sets per muscle/workout when training to failure. And use mostly bodyweight or machines, free weights will cause more fatigue because of stabilization (especially once you get to higher weights). For those of you who like to train to failure, try these out I guarantee you will be recovered in 72 hours.

[@mushshrap6471]

Very interesting! I've been training to failure every other day with calisthenics. It sounds like I may not be allowing the muscles enough time to recover.

[@JonasKeil]

Amazing content man!✨

[@cyrilleoural4410]

Hello, i think your video on Ladder is very interesting in this situation where you talk about failure. Yoour explanation about the ladder or pyramid way of doing high volume check all the box for me concerning the warm up, the failure and the cooldown. You slowly go into failure , or near the failure but without affecting the recovery as opposed to the more traditional approach of set. I think given your explanations about the ladder, when we talk about failure we should talk about the ladder as it is a good method of controling the intensity and the recovery , allowing you to to pursue the HTF. I am still new to your approach of training so i am just doing 3 set of push pull legs and abs everyday but I think when my body will accept more daily volume i will switch to ladder. Thank you for your videos

[@whydoyouneedmyname6508]

Honestly this is so fucking true but it's so hard to admit it. It seems those that can train to failure with out to much stress are those that don't know how to push to true failure.

[@Kboges]

Yeah this is an amazing point. I totally agree.

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

very interesting. thank you. the advice I have always followed is, the last three reps need to burn. so not necessarily to failure.

[@Kboges]

Yeah that will likely do the trick!

[@hypermangi8265]

3:00 But, because humans are the quickest to adapt. Surely, over time, one would be able to not be limited to reps cah the fatigue met a new threshold on how it's managed thus leading to unlocking +reps. 👽

[@navraj.07]

The more reps you can pull off from an exercise it gets less effective...surely it's great for the pump But for muscle growth you need to make the exercise difficult

[@joseespinal9380]

If u train more intensely and to failure u don’t need as much volume.💪🏾💙

[@michaellarnick3822]

Hey Kyle, I want to say that I really do appreciate the videos that you've been making. I've tried to stick to exercising for years, doing every kind of routine you could find, but always struggled with consistency and lack of equipment. You're approach with sticking to the basics and doing high volume actually gets me excited to workout in the morning and so I want to thank you for the quality videos you've been putting out. I did have a couple questions I was wondering if you could answer. You've mentioned that having slight variations of the exercises can help prevent overuse injuries, but if I was doing a bodyweight workout one day and cardio the next, would it be fine to not include as much variation? Or should I still mix in things like paused reps, weighted variations, different grips, etc? Also, if I'm unable to do pull ups (I don't have a good place to do them for the time being and I'm not strong enough anyway) is there anything I should include other than rows for my back? I'm still going through all your videos so I'm sorry if you already answered these somewhere else.

[@Kboges]

Hey Michael, I'm happy to hear the content is resonating with you! For variation, my opinion is that you are going to benefit from more variety once you are past the beginner stage, so context matters here. When you are starting out, it is important to have consistency with the movement pattern to build proficiency with it. I don't usually recommend a whole lot of variation at this stage, so maybe 1-2 variations is totally fine. Once you get into more intermediate and advanced stages, more variety is useful. But with your set up, even 3 variations across the week would be plenty. Both options ultimately work though. Some people like to keep the same exercises for an entire training block, then completely shift variations and run another block with just the new variations. Either way, don't worry about "making a mistake" with whatever you decide to do. It's just a learning experience and as long as the fundamentals are in place, you can't really go wrong. Let me know if that makes sense. If not, just let me know and I'm happy to clarify further. Thanks for the support!

[@michaellarnick3822]

@@Kboges I completely get what you're saying. Thanks for the help!

[@nathanielringdahl]

Very interesting channel, I haven’t come across information like this before

[@mohameddafir6134]

Champions 💪🏆 Love the video Thank you 💓

[@Kboges]

Thank you, Brother!

[@mohameddafir6134]

@@Kboges thank you for the informations champion 💪🏆

[@nbl1ve804]

I've also heard that training to failure causes issues with nerve function in the body later in life that can lead to various serious diseases. So better to stay away from failure unless neccessary

[@Kboges]

I'm not familiar with that, so I can't say one way or another, but just in terms of fatigue management, it's a no brainer.

[@billywolf5958]

I personally love doing my last set to failure!

[@paulmarshall9189]

For me, it works better to push harder and rest longer - both between sets and also sessions. This has been true for decades with absolute strength, relative strength and also applied strength as a component of sports training. The only way reducing intensity in deference to volume of sessions works better for me is for situations where strength development isn't the primary goal, but technique is really the main focus. In those cases you're mainly learning kinesthetics, movement, etc., and strength development is a secondary concern. But for strength development, and for sure for max performance output, my mantra is crank like a beast and rest until you are ready to do that again - quality over quantity. And yes, this is a really interesting subject.

[@Wong-Jack-Man]

I have to un-train my mind to not go to failure. I grew up on the go to puke failure grunt mode and lifting for 20yrs but with aging it has become more counter productive with chronic pain injuries and most importantly the mental and physical fatigue.

[@bassiebassie3417]

Dude those push ups are cleaaaan

[@Adityasingh-hw1xv]

Thank you so much for this valuable knowledge 👍

[@Kboges]

It's my pleasure!

[@alen-commentnazi8774]

ive been learning about training to 70% more and more now from people like firas zahabi and mike chang

[@Kboges]

Yeah it's a smart approach. I'm going to make another video on this topic in the future.

[@alen-commentnazi8774]

@@Kboges YOU DA MAN

[@stevenscott2136]

I used to find full failure psychologically exhausting -- I'd eventually be so sick of it that I had trouble making myself exercise at all for a couple of weeks. Extreme example: when I was 29, I spent a summer doing nothing but 1-rep maxes in the deadlift and overhead press. Do a rep, rest 10 minutes, do another, for a total of 5 for each movement. I had impressive strength gains, even with only one workout per week, but after 12 weeks of this, I was SO sick of lifting that I didn't touch a barbell for four months. Now I only go to failure by accident, in the "crap, I thought I'd get 10" sense, and it's much easier to avoid that psychological burnout.

[@pedroloto]

Thanks a lot for this comment, you described something that happened to me too, but I've never heard anybody talking/describing it! I'll definitely stop training in this way, this video was very useful in that regard!

[@bars1979]

Hello Kyle, could you please do some sample workouts of some other splits, such as PPL, Upper Lower or even a body part split. I would love to see your layout of program, exercise selection, total volume etc. That would be great :)

[@Kboges]

Great question! So I don't have one single way I would program these. Instead, I like to start from foundational principles (I will be making a video on these shortly) and tweak them according to the particular context I was programming for. If I were programming for myself, each split would contains several variations of my main movement, sets would be taken close to failure, and I would try to get 10-20 sets per muscle group per week. My exercises selection would still revolve around the basics and their variations that I do now, and the only real difference between these training splits would be on what days the exercises would be done. I hope that makes sense. If you need more clarification, just let me know and I'm happy to go into more detail.

[@bars1979]

@@Kboges Thank you for the explanation, and i am looking forward to the upcoming videos.

[@dylanle8239]

Great video as always.

[@wade8130]

Most of the conversations on this seem to be about "growth" and hypertrophy. Is this meant to apply to aesthetics for the most part? I understand most people are focused on that. But what about strength gains regardless of size? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information on this. What are your thoughts on the correct way to train with body-weight if strength and power are your main goals? I've asked this question before. I'm just curious about differing opinions. Thanks! Great video!

[@sleazypolar]

Strength at what? this question needs the context of what you want to be strong at doing.

[@isallowed6293]

As intense as possible, little rests, much exhaustion

[@fax9650]

Did you find out? pls let me know

[@wer8990]

I was far too focused on training to failure, based on the understanding that the closer to failure, the better the gains. Was a complete failure for me, and I mean it. aprox. 4 year stall, no real improvement. Structuring my training, and getting closer to failure near the end of a training cycle has greatly helped me make incremental, but predictable results - and being able to perform predictably. So yeah, totally agree with you on this one, and I believe this is the biggest mistake the calisthenics community suffers from. Just shutting our ears and wanting to go all out, all hard. Might work fine, if you are 1,60m tall and the total fatigue is quite small; becomes much more difficult if you are 1,80m and weigh 25kg more. Totally different ballpark of total fatigue to manage by basically the same biology. If we look over to powerlifting, none of the guys who put up any respectable weight whatsoever would even dream of "just going hard because it feels good for the moment". Different ball park due to high external loads, yes, but we want to work ourselves towards higher loads/ higher fatiguing variations/ rep schemes/ exercises in calisthenics too, aka make progress, eh?

[@Kboges]

Superb comment. I agree 100%

[@nordyj]

@Kboges Always appreciate your insights, thank you! For this next year we're looking at total work volume over months, quarters, and the year. For push-ups, pull-ups, and body weight squats. Since all of these can be done shy of failure, we can leave reps in reserve, we can space them out over the course of each day (do some in the morning, noon, evening, for example) - how do you respond to fun goals like 140 push-ups per day for the year (like 25-35 reps for four-or-five careful-good-form-sets)? It would yield 50,000 reps for the year and that sounds like a goal I'd like to hit.

[@jakobkristensen2390]

This advice is really useful. Thank you 😊

[@leonardvelasquez4162]

Awesome video! Very informative

[@domassaladzius1848]

im not gonna lie sometimes or maybe always i just love failure. i just love pushing myself until i cant move it just feels like therapy.💪

[@Kboges]

Nothing wrong with that, Domas! Preference is very important and if you love failure training, keep it up! My point with this is that we have options.. it can work either way.

[@jeromodellserra9477]

Very interesting to listen common things that you may think in your journey and see them together seems a good recapitulation of you experience about, like returning to the basics of knowledge about training to find some points of view to translate to the present. This is an stymulation to!!!!

[@hch6167]

Great video, good explanation, from my experience, both RIR and training to failure are equally good. With RIR you have steady process of bulding muscle/strenght and you can workout without breaks. With training to failure, i always progress faster with muscle growth/strenght, but downside of this is you cant do this for long periods of time, after 2-3 weeks, i just need to add deload weeks or just some days completely off or i burn out.

[@voidburger2989]

This was extremely well explained

[@lukewilson9386]

I recommend training to failure as I believe in what David goggings said about how physical training is more mental training than anything else

[@Kboges]

It's not a bad way to go. I look at failure as a tool, and like any tool it has tradeoffs. As long as your broader programming reflects these tradeoffs, you are good.

[@dimitrijeradojevic2306]

Although late, I recommend Mike Mentzer and his HIT workout. As someone who has been using this method for now 2 months, my muscular growth was quite faster than before. I train only 2 times in a week, thus the body can always recover by the time I do it again. Read his literature and he's given quite alot of examples of how it functions, thus I think the biggest problem is overtraining in people, as well as almost to none real rest days.

[@Kboges]

Hey Dimitrije! I'm peripherally familiar with Mike's work and have tried low volume, low frequency protocols in the past. They definitely work! But, the current state of the research is such that volume has a dose response relationship with hypertrophy... this is pretty well established. Mike Mentzer was an extraordinarily accomplished guy, but I would not give his opinion more weight than the combination of my own personal and professional experience, that of other accomplished bodybuilders, coaches, athletes, and researchers, and the current weight of the scientific evidence that has been replicated over and over again. Most people, most of the time, benefit from more training volume. There are very few documented examples of people making better gains with less volume, and the ones that do exist are typically an artifact of poor volume distribution, because there does seem to be a reliable upper limit to per session volume accumulation- and that's where frequency comes in. That is not to say some people will not benefit from lower volume and lower frequency training. But most people will have better gains with more work. As for overtraining... I think it is less of a problem than most people think. I think there is a tendency to look at humans as fragile and delicate, and I do not think we are. Being tired and being overtrained are two very different things, and most of us aren't doing near enough to approach true overtraining. I think everyday life in many places is WAY harder physically than my workouts are. Life for humans has been physically hard for most of our existence... WAY harder than the effort it takes me to train 30-45 minutes a day. Everything we did, from acquiring food, water, making shelter, prepping meals, defending ourselves, etc. took WORK. There were no breaks. We are capable of adapting to significantly more than we think, provided we have good nutrition, give ourselves time to adapt, progress appropriately, and structure our training intelligently. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/ mennohenselmans.com/optimal-training-volume/ weightology.net/the-members-area/evidence-based-guides/set-volume-for-muscle-size-the-ultimate-evidence-based-bible/

[@seanskelton866]

I have always noticed for myself that if I go to failure it makes it very difficult to do more sets or more exercises. After giving it some thought, I decided that my goal is not to fail, but to get stronger. In other words, I don't like the whole mindset of going till failure. At the end I feel defeated and don't really like working out. So I took a different approach. I decided to back off a bit, still challenge myself but aim for feeling strong at the end of the work out. This also makes me more inclined to want to work out the next time. Working out this way I have opted for more sets, like at least 3 maybe up to 6 or 7 depending on what I feel for that exercise and reps I'm doing. And I seem to have increased in how many reps I can do and have built muscle. I wouldn't say the gains have been super fast or super huge, but let's face it, if you want to get in shape and be stronger you have to be consistent and put in the work over time. Make it part of your life, not just, "let me get in shape real quick for summer." Which means also that you have to do things that are sustainable over time.

[@TheBoyzweekend]

Hi Kyle Great Content. Thankyou its helped me a lot. Do you recommend Working out everyday ? I've been doing everyday 50 pushups 50 assisted pull-ups and 150 Squats. Keep in mind Im fairly new to this. Thank you in advance

[@Kboges]

I recommend working up to training every day, for sure. It works well for most people and keep in mind that this doesn't mean that every day is hard. I believe taking easy days and sometimes even recovery weeks can be very productive, but these still involve training.

[@SacredCourt]

Volume should be defined as time under tension, not sets and reps. If your (slow and controlled) set to failure means your muscles are 90+seconds under tension, it is basically as doing 3 sets. Therefore you should be able to do the same amount/enough volume training to failure. Considering that also if you DO train to failure, those last reps are incredibly stimulating, which definitely results in a better stimulus and therefore better muscle growth. The metabolic/systemic stress/fatigue that builds up is also relevant for cardiovascular health, right? I‘ve read multiple times by people like arthur jones, mike mentzer and dorian yates that you should adapt your recovery to your training, meaning if you train to failure and need 3 full rest days, then take them, that would still be better than lowering your intensity just so you can train more often. This is confusing to me and i‘m trying to figure out which side really is correct or wrong.

[@SacredCourt]

@@r1ff3r that makes a lot of sense. Personally I‘ve applied some high intensity to failure sets for muscle groups that handle it bettet, like my biceps or lateral delts seem to be totally fine after 2-3 days, my back, chest or legs are fried so I keep intensity a bit lower. As you said, it’s all about balance i guess.

[@hypermangi8265]

1:00 Effective training = How you manage stimulus relative to fatigue generated from training. Had to simply this shit so it's easier to understand. 👽 222 Comments rn.

[@domenicobertone1807]

Thank you... bless you from italy mate

[@LightningFreezer]

Nice explanation, Im pretty sure shaolin Monks doesnt care about too much fatigues they are training far beyond fatigueness

[@Kboges]

100% I love that about them. They just push past any perceived limit.

[@kimng4983]

Kyle - been using your method of training for a couple weeks and have been loving it! Thanks for the great videos!

[@Kboges]

Awesome Kim! Glad to hear you are enjoying. Let me know if you ever have any questions. Thanks for the support!

[@kimng4983]

@@Kboges Will do! Will you be doing another Q&A soon?

[@thenics]

Those 35 push ups were so beautiful haha

[@Kboges]

Thank you!

[@MonacoRocha]

Love your Vids..!! Great Bro!! I'm 64 been training for over 50 years HARD, no injuries.... Very Flexible .. BJJ, Karate, Boxing Swimming Yoga CALI. I Train 6 days a week...

[@Kboges]

Awesome to hear, brother! I'm trying to be like you when I'm your age. Very inspirational! Thank you for reaching out!

[@MonacoRocha]

@@Kboges Great Bro...!!

[@ZorAxe]

Please do a detail video on correct form for pushups

[@Kboges]

Dude, great suggestion! That is on the list!

[@RandomJin_]

Hi Kyle, have you heard of the one set to failure training style? Coaches like Dorian Yates and Jay Vincent promote this type of training, saying you only really need to do one set to failure per muscle group per week and that it is the most time efficient and effective way to build muscle. They are arguing that high volume is not necessary and generally a waste of time. For instance Jay trains 2 times per week, one day upper body, one day lower body. Doing one set to failure for each muscle group, with the workout taking about 30 minutes. What are your thoughts on that?

[@Iskandr314]

this works for fake nattys. But one hour a week? your body need to live in an enviroment where it is forced to be stronger. I doubt that so little time will do it. I mean you can just take steroids and you will gain more muscle than the average natty joe who's just lifting weights. If you than hit the gym for 30 minutes, yeah this will be enough to grow a descent muscular body.

[@PrhymeScheme]

I would also recommend avoiding failure in dangerous exercises like a heavy squat.

[@lanemir_sindjelic]

it depends on the load

[@PrhymeScheme]

​@@lanemir_sindjelic you mean like a heavy squat with light load?

[@lanemir_sindjelic]

@@PrhymeScheme yea

[@PrhymeScheme]

@@lanemir_sindjelic well then it's not a heavy squat

[@frog6054]

What about squats with lighter weight

[@ramireini]

Don’t burn out. Keep some strength in the bank, focus on quality reps.

[@domenicobertone1807]

Very nice explained bro... bless you from italy

[@halfofbeauty]

amazing video man, perfect timing too lol. came in my recc right after i strugglef with this. i was doing a pull day but trained biceps to failure (complete failure) and accidentally did that first! i do curls to target the short head more which i feel i lack. but i did these curls first and to complete failure so i couldnt actually do my pullups properly. next time ill train just shy of failure, or at least just train to muscular failure except the bicep curls (if i still choose to do them) will come at the end of the workout. love ur content man👍👍

[@michealsmith28]

Because you are a boss, ✨✨✨✨👑✨✨✨✨

[@Kboges]

🙏

[@SynerstarHealthOver50]

When I was younger, I tried to lift like the bodybuilders (who were on steroids) in the magazines and tried to always go to failure. I got gains but I also totally overtrained. Now, I almost always only do 40 to 80% effort on my exercises and things are really working out well.

[@clintford5315]

Good info, thanks👍

[@squazl]

My rule is train anything to failure but muscles in your legs. Not being able to train effectively again next day is one thing. Not being able to walk without fear of falling is something else.

[@RamssesPharaoh]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@cerveshred]

I trained to failure for years, but one day I reduce repetitions and no to work to the failure and for some reason my muscles grow a lot to this day and now I'm my best shape ever and I don't even drink shakes. I work 5 or 6 days a week and eat everything. I think that train to the failure reduce a lot muscles...well at last for me.

[@radercalisthenics]

Another excellent piece, Kyle. My questions would be this.... If I'm doing an exercise that allows a high number of reps per set, say, 30 or more, I usually end the set when the burn gets too intense. This feels different to me than when I'm doing something where I can get 10-12. There I stop not so much because of the burn but rather that I'm about to not be able to do another. In the case of high reps I could do more if I could tolerate the burn so it's not really failure. Any difference between these two in terms of muscle growth? The older I get (almost 56 now), the less I am able to recover from the former scenario ("heavier exercises", fewer reps) day to day and have been staying lately with the easier stuff. Rows, chest elevated push-ups, etc. and in fact, I've had so much lingering fatigue with 3 sets of push/pull/squat per day that I've moved over to the push, pull, squat split that you recommended in "a simpler way to train". That along with the easier exercises and high reps has me feeling like I'm getting really good workouts but am recovering. Any chance I'm missing out on muscle building potential here? Thanks.

[@Kboges]

Stephen! This is such a great question... There is so much I could say on this topic but I will do my best to be concise! So, technically, you may missing out on a full growth response per set, BUT there is a good shot that the added recovery you get from training this way allows you to accumulate more volume over the week because you are staying better recovered. This could more than overcome whatever is lost on a per set basis. However, it is totally possible that you are crossing that intensity threshold required to get a full growth response anyway. It's really hard to say. I will add this though, as far as the effective reps model goes, I think it's a really useful way to simplify the concept around an intensity threshold, but it is just a model. There are several studies that show robust growth in reps that, accord the the model, should never be stimulating, Moreover, it doesn't account for the growth of the contributing musculature that grows from training, despite that musculature never approaching failure due to its role as a non- prime mover 9think stabilizing muscles and synergists). So... it's just very simple way to look at training and it is especially useful for communicating these concepts to the masses. In essence, it's close enough and explains an awful lot, but not everything. I would say in your case, as long as your effort is high, you are probably getting a pretty good growth response, and I do believe that it's often a good idea to prioritize recovery so that you can train with more volume over the week. Personally, I like your approach a lot and if there is a tradeoff to be made, I would say you are making the smart one. Thanks, as always, for these super thoughtful responses and for raising these great points!

[@chrisstanley9477]

The lower rep sets drain your central nervous system more its not just the muscles that are a factor. Personally when i train lower body i get the burn you speak of more because the legs can take a lot more intensity but my upper body needs a lot more recovery because i find once i get to 12-15 reps such as with heavy push ups my body gives up whereas with the legs i could keep going a lot more. I think either way the muscles adapt and grow.

[@radercalisthenics]

@@Kboges Appreciate your thoughtful reply, Kyle. I always go by feel with this and it's working so far. What you're doing here is so helpful to us because it really does simplify this stuff and make it understandable so we are not overwhelmed. Thanks again.

[@robertmichaels1854]

Hi, I recently discovered you as I’ve begun a calisthenics routine and I find your tips extremely helpful. How tall are you? I’m 6’2 185lbs and I’m always looking for examples of lean muscular men with an ectomorph body type like I have. Thanks again

[@Kboges]

Hey Robert! I'm 6'1" and 175. Classic ectomorph with a thin bone structure.

[@robertmichaels1854]

@@Kboges thank you sir.🙏🏾

[@manofsteel7728]

My personal method Take a set of reps to be done If you take 7 reps out of 10 till technical failure or 1 2 reps from complete failure then wait 10 15 seconds and do 3 reps again

[@ricardodiaz6187]

Not an exact answer to the video’s question…. I train to “finished”. If I set my rep goal for say 1000 push ups, I stop when I complete my reps; not when I’m tired. It’s equally a mental game for me just as much as a physical game.

[@Kboges]

Not a bad way to go, Ricardo! It will make you a beast, no doubt.

[@parakram7689]

I can't do a single chin up or dip. How do i build up strength for them? You should do a video for it since both movements are hard for noobs like me. Great stuff BTW. Also would you recommend training hard 3 days a week or 6 light days. I have heard that hormonal response to heavy squatting is immense which is why most training programs for novices are 3 days with the first exercise being heavy squats to near failure. Whether it is starting strength or super squats. I would want to know your opinion on this too. Great work btw.

[@Kboges]

Great question! For building your chin up and dips, focus on building the muscles used in those movements. So that is going to be lot's of rows and lots of push ups. At the same time, work on getting "athletic lean" if you aren't already and once your body composition has improved, pull ups and dips will be easier, and more than likely you will be able to do them automatically without practice. As for 3 days vs 6 days... if volume is equated, meaning you do the same number of sets per week either way, then it doesn't much matter. My preference is for more days than fewer days, because there are some advantages in terms of perceived effort- smaller workouts are not as fatiguing as bigger workouts. As for the hormonal response from squats... this has been massively over stated. The hormonal release from heavy squats is a short pulse. It is not a sustained release, and the pulse is still within physiological normal ranges, so it will not have super-physiological effects on the body. Basically, it is present to facilitate the adaptions that the exercise is driving, and that is all it is really going to do. These programs that emphasize the squat benefit from emphasizing the squat- it's an exercise that stresses a ton of muscle mass, and the hormonal release is a function of this level of systemic stress, and not an independent or extra driver of gains.

[@parakram7689]

@@Kboges thanks a ton fkr your insight

[@nickfifield1]

Where is this video shot? Looks amazing weather !

[@Zhadowz]

I don’t train to failure because I like to train everyday. I usually do 6 quality push/pull sets. For legs I never like doing an enormous amount of stationary squats so after my push/pull workout I go to the hills. I hike a bit before I take on what I feel like is the most brutal leg & cardiovascular workout their is. Hill repeats/sprints. High volume takes to much time & it always has me out for days. I rather slowly raise the threshold daily/weekly from quality sets. I think most people see the results of people who have been putting in the work for over several years & they think they can make those gains in a short amount of time. Hence running into plateaus or injury’s at some point. Edit* as I explored your videos I may have come to a realization that body weight squats are for more important than I’ve made them out to be. They’ll make repeats easier by being able to run them faster and harder. I will incorporate a few sets of 50-100 daily before hill repeats. Thanks for all your insight sir.

[@Kboges]

Spot on with the observation about people rushing progress. That is exactly it. The key to it all is to not chase it, do it for a long time (like your whole life) and let it come naturally without forcing it. I'm a huge fan of hill sprints! I agree they are one of the most powerful whole body exercises and a personal favorite of mine. I do feel like squats are very fundamental, especially for beginners, who need a base level of mobility and conditioning in the lower body. I'm also a big believer in the horse stance! If you want to test yourself physically and mentally, give it a shot. It's pretty amazing.

[@Dr-Basit]

Nice topic bro. valuable information....! Then what about drop sets? we push ourself past failure by reducing the difficulty of exercise... do they have any advantage or benefits as far as building muscles is concerned?

[@Kboges]

Drop sets tend to produce more fatigue than hypertrophy and the research on the subject shows they are not reliably effective for growth in mosts contexts. However, if you are on a lower training frequency, they may very well have an application for accumulating a ton of volume in a short period of time.

[@TomeRodrigo]

Be also careful that you don't train to a heart failure. Sometimes, when I try to train one set into a failure, I start to have extreme palpitations, even if my muscles could still go a bit. I don't personally think that (for some people, perhaps) training one set into a failure is healthy for their hearts.

[@Kboges]

Yeah this is a great point. If you have an intolerance to failure, or a health concern that is concerning, always see your doc, but don't feel compelled to force through it.

[@Setb5ko]

Great video

[@dennishines9996]

those are some very very good push-ups

[@Kboges]

Thanks!

[@doronuzanhebrew]

spectacular content

[@Kboges]

Thank you, brother!