Muscle hypertrophy can be achieved through resistance training sets that do not reach within five repetitions of momentary muscular failure, which challenges the strict interpretation of the 'effective reps' model that asserts only the final five repetitions of a set significantly contribute to muscle growth.

Study: Similar muscle hypertrophy following eight weeks of resistance training to momentary muscular failure or with repetitions-in-reserve in resistance-trained individuals

This study found that people who stopped their workouts 1–2 reps before total exhaustion built just as much muscle as those who pushed until they couldn’t do another rep. So, you don’t need to go all the way to failure to grow muscle.

Study: The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.

Even if you don’t push your weights until you’re barely able to finish the last few reps, you can still build muscle — as long as you do enough total work over time. The study shows that more lifting overall leads to more muscle, no matter how close to failure each set gets.

Study: Exploring the Dose–Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions

The study shows that muscles grow even when you don’t push to near failure, though they grow more if you do. This means you don’t have to always go to the very last few reps to see results.

Study: The application of training to failure in periodized multiple-set resistance exercise programs.

The study says you don’t have to push to absolute muscle failure to build muscle, which supports the idea that stopping a few reps short can still work.