Does training to near failure produce the same strength gains as training with more reps in reserve?

This means that whether someone pushes their sets to the point where another rep feels nearly impossible, or stops a few reps short, the resulting strength improvements appear to be comparable over a five-week period. The key difference lies in perceived effort — training with more reps in reserve feels less taxing, while training closer to failure is more demanding. Yet, both approaches resulted in similar increases in strength across the three major lifts.

We don’t know if this holds true beyond five weeks, or for beginners, or for other types of exercises. The evidence we’ve reviewed focuses only on trained adults and these specific lifts. There’s no indication yet that one method is superior for long-term progress, muscle growth, or recovery.

For someone trying to build strength, this suggests you don’t necessarily need to push every set to the limit to see results. You might achieve the same strength gains by leaving a few reps in the tank — which could help reduce fatigue, lower injury risk, or make training more sustainable over time. What we’ve found so far supports the idea that effort level doesn’t always need to be maximal to produce meaningful progress.