I guess this article is a really complicated way to tell us what the biggest and strongest people have already told us. (though it is rooted in science as opposed to experience, which is why it is complicated.)
Bill Kazmaier rarely trains to failure. His concept is high volume of work, short rest, and strong reps. This is from his training books back in the late 70's and early 80's.
Paul Anderson did the same thing. (though applied differently) And that was back in the 50's.
We could go farther back into history, but I think I made my point.
So the concept is not new and has been used by some of the strongest people of all time. So we can say that there is validity to what Chad is saying.
I don't believe lifting as fast as possible (without compromising form) is any real benefit(IOW,will make a real world difference.)
If the weight is heavy enough, the body will adjust and recruit all fibers as needed. Remember though, I say this with muscle fiber recruitment as muscle fiber recruitment as my ONLY reasoning.
Start believing there is a benefit. The nervous system can recruit an amount muscle fibers when lifting a 600lbs max. You can also move 300lbs fast and use 600 lbs of force to move the weight. The difference is huge.
With the faster lift you are recruiting the same amount of muscle fibers as during a 600lb max. Since the 300lb lift is faster you are training your body to recruit 600lb worth of muscle fibers in a shorter period of time. The value of this is great.
Getting in that last 2-3 reps where its slow is important. As when the slow twitch fibers are activated, The form of energy which is most heavily used. Is blood Triglycerides. Meaning, once we hit that "slow" period we "IN THEORY". Could increase fatty acid metabolism due to the need to fuel these slow twitch muscle fibers, The ideal source of fuel for type 1Mf.
You are better off skipping the last 2-3 reps on these sets and doing 1 - 2 more sets. The work is higher. The benefit is greater. The chance of injury is lower.
For hypertrophy ALONE, we might not need to push past those final slow reps. However, with weight loss as ones main goal. I think those last reps are very important.
I have known many BB, fitness, and figure competitors who do not train to failure. Ever.
The girls lift fast and superset with a lot of body weight exercises. The goal is to keep the workout pace high so that their heart rate stays up and energy expenditure is higher throughout the workout.
The guys don't train to failure because the have a vested interest in staying healthy and not getting injured trying reps that will not necessarily get them the result they want.
I know, you are talking about weight loss. Ok, I will not let any of my clients with the goal of losing weight train to failure. (or even close to it) It is unnecessary at best, and does not help them to reach a goal faster.
(I used the BB, figure example because these people cut fat for a living)
It has been known for quite some time that training to failure on a regular basis leads to stagnation and injury.
very interesting. i always thought that you have to push it to some point of fatigue for growth. never knew it was aalot about all this recruitment and speed.
You do have to push to some point of fatigue. Remember that fatigue is not measured by failure. 4 sets of 12 reps with 30-45 sec of rest is fatiguing. Size generally comes from higher volume.
Watch any bodybuilders video. They are not straining and straining to get the last rep. Their reps are rhythmic and consistent. Just because you are not training to failure does not mean that work is not being done.
