Weight training: strength or muscle hypertrophy? This scientific study reveals the ideal workout

Optimizing muscle gain is a significant goal for weight training enthusiasts. A recurring question is how far to push efforts to maximize gains. A new study from Florida Atlantic University sheds light on the impact of training to muscle failure.


Training to failure, meaning until the inability to complete another repetition, has long been debated. However, no meta-analysis had previously determined whether the distance to failure (in number of remaining repetitions) follows a linear pattern or not for strength and muscle size.

Researchers compiled data from 55 studies to assess how training close to failure affects muscle growth and strength. The results, published in Sports Medicine, indicate that training to failure does not have a clear effect on strength gains but significantly promotes muscle hypertrophy.

Michael C. Zourdos notes that hypertrophy is more substantial when training close to failure, regardless of adjusted training volume. For strength, this proximity does not seem crucial. Recommendations suggest stopping 3-5 repetitions before failure for strength, and between 0 and 5 for hypertrophy.

The study highlights that training close to failure improves the accuracy of estimating remaining repetitions, positively influencing weight choice and, consequently, muscle growth. However, this type of training can be challenging to recover from and may impair long-term performance.

The findings offer perspectives for future research and valuable advice for trainers on the effect of muscle failure. However, the precise link between training close to failure and strength gains needs further investigation in larger-scale studies.