In this week’s videos I explain what momentary muscular failure is and why it is important for getting maximum results from your workouts in part one, and answer your questions on training to momentary muscular failure in part two.
Video: Training To Momentary Muscular Failure
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Drew,
great video’s, my question pertains to genetic potential and progress:
when going to mmf for period of time and reaching a stalled progress in strength …how does one know they have reached genetic potential and should they stop going to momentary muscle failure when there is no weekly progress (which I have tried and lost strength and density, therefore am going back to mmf).
or are my expectations too high for increases in strength each time I perform the exercise to mmf.
sorry if this may be a little off topic
thx, dan
Hey Dan,
Unfortunately we can never really know whether we’ve reached our limits or not, and we should always focus on improvement (past some point we’re never really maintaining, we’re always fighting against the inevitable decline that comes with age). However, unrealistic expectations for progress are often a problem with more advanced trainees. I touch on this subject in my post on Microprogression.
Another great video Drew. I like the points about the so called weaker muscles being able to be adequately addressed in the compounds exercise. I also like the explanation on getting to maximum effort. Looking forward to more videos.
I had posted a question on Facebook but I’m not sure if it went through. As far as I know, you recommend about a 4/4 or 5/5 tempo when using free weights or machines. Do see any benefit to a speed slower than that in sort of “flying under the radar”, delaying the pump, or factors that my cause MMF not solely from the contractile tissues. The answer is probably or you would be advocating it.
Hey Donnie,
A slower speed might be more beneficial for strength and hypertrophy because it would allow for greater load to be used for a given time, but it’s also far more uncomfortable and it’s hard enough to get most people to slow down to a 4/4, much less an 8/8 or 10/10. In a comparison of different protocols, Wayne Westcott found 4/10 (negative emphasized) and 10/4 (positive emphasized) reps produced greater increases in strength and size in trainees who had previously reached a plateau on the traditional Nautilus 2/4 repetition cadence. I use 4/4 as a starting point with most people, but I often use a 4/8 negative emphasized protocol (for 4 to 6 reps) in my own workouts and with some of my more advanced one-on-one and phone clients.
Thanks for going into more detail about that Drew.I can remember thinking moving at slower speeds or what some would consider extremely slow speeds, being less intense less demanding. UNTIL I quit depending on the load to dictate my performance/effort. Thanks to you and some other guys I’ve talked with. That being said I still find having the external load helps me feel tension better. Gives my muscles eyes so to speak, and yes I got that line from RenEx, lol.
Some other things that stood out to me in the two new videos:
Talking about how you might not necessarily feel all of the muscles that are being worked in certain exercise, BUT still keep tension and form paramount.
Maintaining form when reaching the point of concentric failure. I know you have talked about this a lot. But I think this a key point of differentiating between “lifting weights” vs. achieving “high intensity muscular contractions.”
Nicely explained Drew, Over the years…decades..I have gained from failure and sub-failure. A lot, I believe, lays in ones mindset. Being everything starts in the mind, if you firmly believe something will deliver … it will! But if you start a set wishy-washy about the outcome, then your results will be likewise.
Personally, having adopted failure shortly after I started, failure comes as natural to me as brushing my teeth. Once I grab the bar and the set begins, it becomes a fight between body and mind to eek out every rep possible. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Consequently, the brevity of my workouts is down to basics, I continue to progress each and every workout, which is what it’s all about when all is said and done.
Thanks. That was very helpful, Drew. I have a tendency to cheat a little bit to get that last rep (worrying about numbers). I’m going to put more focus on correcting that.
Hey Jeff,
It’s hard to do, but in the long run the more disciplined you are with your form the safer and more productive your training will be.
Hi Drew, very, very greatfull, that you make these valuable videos and likewise post the articles, that give so much info in a nutshell…
I have a little offtopic question, for which I apologise, but I thought you will see it here right away. How can I order your “Elements of Form” e book? I seem to be lost, looking at the site and a bit confused too. Is it already out? Can it be ordered separately? Perhaps you could gude me, please!
Hey Kamen,
Since I had to extend the release date again to May I stopped taking pre-orders, but since a lot of people are still asking I have made it available again for pre-order. Everybody who pre-orders will also be receiving a bonus ebook 100 High Intensity Training Questions and Answers in March, and a video discussing key elements of form in April.
https://baye.com/store/elements-of-form-pre-order-special/
Hey Drew,
Great vids!
Quick question:
Would doing a two stage ‘as slow as possible’ negative after the last positive rep trigger a deeper/greater adaptive response then simply completing the last rep at the standard cadence of say 4/4 or 3/6 etc?
The last rep would look something like this: 3-4 second positive, slower lowering the weight to mid-point and resisting it there for 10-20 seconds and then fighting against it for as long as possible as the weight comes down to end the rep.
Thanks Drew!!
Best
Jamie
Hey Jamie,
There’s no need to complicate it. When you reach momentary muscular failure on a normal dynamic exercise continue contracting isometrically for a few seconds just to be sure, then slowly lower the weight.
Thanks Drew,
Much appreciated!
You’re welcome!
Drew,
I’ve read exhaustively about your ideas and corroborated them will Doug McGuff’s principles and they make so much sense, i don’t know why so much bad information pervades the internet. Thank you sharing. I am super excited to switch to your ideas having been working on 5×5 stronglifts for the past 6 months with less progress that I’d like. However, a major question that I have that would make it much easier for me and other beginners is to get examples of workout records to get a gauge as to what kind of strength gains can be expected from the protocol. Having trained so many people for 20 years, i’m sure you have an idea of what range of gains can be expected from beginners from hard gainers, to genetically superior individuals. Perhaps for a below average, average and above average individual, I’d like to know their starting mass, the starting weights and TUL for say a big five progression and the weekly changes of those weights and TULs for say 6 months. This would give me (and other beginners) realistic expectations and allow us to track whether our own results mirror other individuals which would give clues to what kind of progress we are making and if we are performing protocols correctly. I understand it is a fair amount of data, so whatever information you can provide here would be much appreciated.
Randy Jung
Hey Randy,
I plan to cover a lot of this in a chapter on realistic expectations from exercise in a future book, including examples of people I’ve trained, but I don’t recommend people obsess over it. You might have above average or below average progress or potential, but all that really matters in the long run is that you are making good progress relative to your capabilities and not anyone else’s.