If you lift weights until you can't do another rep, your body feels like you worked harder than if you stopped before failure—even if you did the same total number of reps and sets.

54

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

54

Community contributions welcome

54

Acute effects of equated volume-load resistance training leading to muscular failure versus non-failure on neuromuscular performance

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2020 May

When people lift weights until they can't do another rep, their bodies get more tired than when they stop before failure—even if they do the same total amount of lifting. This study shows that failure training leaves you more drained for much longer, which means it feels harder and puts more stress on your body.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Acute effects of equated volume-load resistance training leading to muscular failure versus non-failure on neuromuscular performance

Score: 54

DOI: 10.1016/j.jesf.2020.01.004

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