LONDON (AP) — No pain, no gain, as the old exercise adage goes. But how much pain do you need to benefit from weight training? It depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, say fitness experts.
For years, some trainers have instructed gym-goers that in order to get the best results, they should train “to failure,” meaning you cannot physically perform one repetition or exercise. However, some recent research suggests that this extreme diet, when used for weight training, may only benefit some people.
“If someone wants to increase muscle mass as much as possible, training to failure is something to consider,” said Michael Zordos, director of exercise science and health promotion at Florida Atlantic University. Articles on the subject in the journal, Sports Medicine.
Zourdos and colleagues found that lifting weights “to failure” can build larger muscles, but not necessarily increase strength. People who work hard, but don’t push themselves to exhaustion, still improve their health and fitness, he said. “There’s a difference between training for health and training for optimal performance benefits,” he said.
For the average person simply looking to increase their fitness level, Zourdos said it’s easy to get results. He said people who work out regularly benefit from a hard session that falls within five to 10 repetitions of failure rather than full-fatigue training.
This article is part of AP’s Better Coverage, which focuses on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be well.
He also said that “training to failure” often comes at a cost, as people who work up to that standard may be so tired and fatigued that they skip their next gym session or two.
In very rare cases, its overuse can be harmful, causing a potentially fatal condition called rhabdomyolysis, where the damaged muscles begin to break down, possibly leading to kidney damage.
James Fisher, a sports science expert and consultant in Southampton, England, said the idea of ​​working out to the point of exhaustion can be off-putting for many people.
“What we’re really talking about is how hard you have to work when you go to the gym,” he said. He added that this concept should be interpreted to mean that people can spend less time in the gym – if they work hard.
“If you’re short on time, you can push yourself, and then you don’t have to work as long,” he said.
Fisher explained that to build strength, it’s important to push your muscles to a certain limit.
“If you lift a weight you can easily lift 10 or more times, you’re never really working that hard,” he said. “Now, if we increase the weight so much that by the ninth and tenth reps, it feels really hard, that’s going to benefit your muscle fibers.”
Still, Fisher said the best workout is ultimately “one that people will actually do,” regardless of how hard they push themselves. He said that to improve overall health, strength training is probably the single best thing people can do for their health, quality of life and longevity.
Whatever your fitness goals are, Fisher said the concept of failure training can be incorporated into your workouts. People should then rest the muscle groups they’ve trained for about two days, he said.
For people with more experience, experts recommend saving failure training for occasional workouts, or for the last set of exercises in your session.
“It’s not for everybody, every time they work,” Fisher said. “It’s a tough way to practice.”
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