Find out if moderate to low intensity workouts can help you gain muscle mass as effectively as failing techniques. Today, not all athletes are sure that rejection training should be used to gain weight. The division into two camps among specialist athletes happened a long time ago. This happened after the promulgation of the postulates of two theories - accumulation and destruction. It is the second that involves training for failure. The results of the latest research make one think about its correctness. Let's take a closer look at the question, is it possible to gain a lot of training without rejection?
What is muscle training failure?
Anyone who decides to take care of their body, and attends a fitness center at some point is faced with the concept of "muscle failure". Do not think that this is a state in which after training you do not have the strength to move your limbs. From a scientific point of view, muscle failure occurs directly during the lesson and involves bringing the muscles to such a state where the athlete is not able to continue to perform the approach technically competently.
Many of you have worked to your limit. At that moment, you felt that when the sports equipment went down, it would no longer be possible to lift it. The brain understands that at least one repetition can still be done, but the muscles categorically do not want to do it. This is what is called muscle failure.
It should be noted that almost all novice athletes do not experience this condition in the first year or a half. Although they can be sure that they have experienced muscle failure. In this case, the brain surrenders first, but the muscles can still perform a couple of movements. Before the "golden age" of bodybuilding, athletes knew about muscle failure, but tried to avoid it. However, from the generation of Iron Arnie to the present day, all elite builders consider it a matter of honor to work on failure. You will soon find out what is the reason for such a change in the outlook of athletes.
There are many schools and different theories in bodybuilding. However, all of them can be divided into only two groups. Adherents of one are sure that it is enough to work with medium weights, but a large number of sets and reps. Proponents of the second theory, on the other hand, are confident in the need for training with weights of extreme weights with a small number of repetitions. One of the supporters of the second direction was Arthur Jones.
Let us remind you that this man created the famous Nautilus simulators. However, back to the question, is it possible to gain mass by training without rejection. Admirers of Jones' teachings are convinced that in order to progress, it is necessary to bring the muscles as much as possible to such a state that even partial repetitions become impossible. It was with their light hand that the motto appeared among bodybuilders - there will be no growth without pain.
For a long time, representatives of the two groups argued about which approach to the training process is more effective. As a result, only one concept was to emerge victorious in a long-standing controversy. Today we can look at these theories from different points of view and draw certain conclusions.
There are two postulates in bodybuilding that it makes no sense to dispute:
- The growth processes of muscle tissue are activated under the influence of any physical activity and it is not necessary to raise iron for this.
- A uniform load allows the muscles to grow only for a short time.
Support for these theories can be easily found in practice. Any novice athlete is actively progressing during the first couple of months. This suggests that any load can activate muscle growth processes. However, then there is a slowdown in progress and if you do not take appropriate action, then the growth of muscles will stop.
To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to change the training process. Most often, beginner builders simply increase their working weights for this, but this approach is not effective. You must understand that there is no training program that has worked with the same effectiveness over a long period of time. In order to constantly progress, it is necessary to switch from one technique to the second on time. If this is not done, then you will be marking time in one place, which most often happens.
We want to say that when you slow down your progress, you need to start looking for a new training system, For example, start using lower weights, increasing the number of repetitions, do not forget about the basic principles of Joe Weider, refusal training can also be useful. You must be in constant search and only in such a situation will you continue to grow.
When the theory of destruction was created, builders were convinced that only failure training could bring results. A little later, we will answer the question of whether it is possible to gain mass by training without refusal, but now we should turn to theory. We have already said that scientifically speaking, muscle failure is caused by fatigue on the last repetition of a set. This leads to the fact that the athlete does not have the opportunity to continue working without disrupting the technique of movement.
If we turn to the numbers, then if it is impossible to perform eight repetitions, you are using excessive weight of weights. In a situation where you easily do more than 12 reps, the weight should be considered underweight. According to the latest scientific studies, the best option is to work with a weight of 70 percent of the maximum in the repetition range of 8 to 12.
There are three types of muscle failure:
- Negative - while lowering the weights.
- Static - with the retention of weights.
- Positive - while lifting a sports equipment.
It should be noted here that these three phases of movement accompany you in any exercise. In addition, it should be remembered that the positive phase is inferior in strength to the static one, and it, in turn, turns out to be less negative. Simply put, if you are no longer able to lift the weights, then you can still hold it. When the forces have run out here too, they will be quite enough to smoothly lower the projectile. Thus, complete muscle failure should be considered the state in which you are no longer able to work in the negative phase.
In addition to all of the above, there is one more thing that all builders need to know about - each of the three types of muscle failure corresponds to a specific type of fiber:
- Positive - accelerates the growth of myofibrils and for this you need to perform 4 to 6 repetitions.
- Static - an intermediate type of failure, immediately affecting 2 types of muscle fibers due to the rapid emptying of the glycogen depot. According to the results of scientific research, the optimal training regime is to work in the repetition range from 12 to 15.
- Negative - acts on mitochondria, which are connected to myofibrils. Mitochondria are "mini power plants" and the muscles use the energy they generate to contract and repair. A positive refusal is possible in a situation when energy reserves have run out, but the muscles are not microdamaged. You can achieve positive results by working with a number of repetitions from 20 to 25.
Is it possible to gain mass by training without rejection?
It's time to answer the main question of today's article - is it possible to gain mass by training without refusal. To do this, we will consider the positive and negative aspects of failure training.
Cons of failure training
The main task that builders need to solve is gaining muscle mass. If we consider this process in the long term, then it is better not to work on refusal. As you build up the workload gradually, you will constantly progress. Start with a light weight and add two or three pounds a month.
When an athlete immediately starts using extreme weights, it is difficult to expect to achieve great results in terms of using serious weights. To activate anabolic processes, it is much more important to perform a certain amount of work, which is the sum of their number of sets and repetitions. In addition, the body after refusal training will recover for a long time.
The second negative aspect of rejection training is the excessive stress on the nervous system. The more weight you use in training, the greater the stress on the central nervous system. This, in turn, will necessarily lead to a decrease in the sensitivity of the nerve cells of the tendons and a drop in power parameters.
In case of failure, the body experiences a strong oxygen deficiency, which causes the destruction of a large number of cells in all tissues, and you can dramatically lose body weight. The last negative point can be considered a decrease in muscle coordination. As a result, some stabilizing muscles will not be able to perform their function efficiently, and you risk getting injured.
Pros of rejection training
Known to many, Mike Mentzer often used rejection training, considering them the most effective tool for gaining mass. However, he achieved failure only in the last set. In addition, Mentzer quite often replaced failure training with forced sets. Quite obviously, then rejection is a strong stimulus for muscle growth. Often, builders will stop a set long before this condition occurs.
To stimulate muscle hypertrophy, it is necessary to create certain conditions for this. Often, only rejection training can be the only tool with which you can overcome the plateau state. And, of course, don't forget about the synthesis of anabolic hormones. You probably know that weight gain is impossible without them.
How to get to muscle failure?
Finally, it is worth considering a few simple ways to achieve muscle failure.
- Simple disclaimer set - perform movement in the repetition range from 8 to 12, until you can lift the weights with skill. The main difficulty here lies in the selection of the weight of the projectile.
- Chitting - a rather complicated technique and it is not possible to use it in every movement.
- Striptease - you do not have to undress, but you need to gradually reduce the weight of the burden. Note that in this case you will need the help of a friend.
- Supersets is a known way to achieve muscle failure. You must perform several movements on one muscle group without a pause between them.
- Forced replays - perform a certain number of repetitions on your own, and when your strength is running out, ask a friend to help you slightly. It is very important that the partner understands what he needs to do and does not take away a large amount of the load from you.
For more on training to failure, see the following video:
