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Back to Study: Effect of Resistance Training to Muscle Failure vs...
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Strong Support

For beginners, stopping resistance exercises just before your muscles give out works just as well as pushing to complete failure for building muscle strength and size, whether you're lifting heavy or light weights.

54
Pro
0
Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

54

Community contributions welcome

54

Effect of Resistance Training to Muscle Failure vs. Volitional Interruption at High- and Low-Intensities on Muscle Mass and Strength

Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2018 Jan

The study found that stopping exercise before complete exhaustion gives similar muscle gains as pushing to total failure, whether using heavy or light weights, in beginners.

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

Effect of Resistance Training to Muscle Failure vs. Volitional Interruption at High- and Low-Intensities on Muscle Mass and Strength

Score: 54
DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000001787

Similar Assertions

When untrained men lift weights until they can't do any more reps, they get more tired over time compared to stopping earlier, meaning their muscles wear out faster.

0
54
87%

Whether you lift lighter weights or heavier weights until you can't do any more reps, both ways give you the same muscle growth and strength gains if you're already used to training.

61
46
83%

Lifting weights until you can't lift anymore makes muscles grow bigger no matter how heavy the weights are, but using heavier weights builds more strength than lighter ones.

48
41
83%

When young women lift weights until they can't anymore, they do more total work with lighter weights than heavier ones, but this extra work doesn't make their muscles grow any more, showing that just doing more reps isn't what makes lifting effective.

40
0
78%

When people who are already fit push themselves as hard as they can during weight training, it doesn't matter if they lift heavy weights for a few reps or lighter weights for many reps—both ways build muscle about the same.

53
0
78%