January 2001

The question-of-the-month for January comes from Daniel in Ontario, , a 20 year old bodybuilder who wants to know if all sets should be done to failure.  His question is:

Dear Mike:

I read all your training tips on legs, back, abs, etc.  They're great, especially the leg tips.  I just wanted to know if all sets are supposed to be done to failure.  I would assume so.  Is going to failure all the time bad or good?

Dear Daniel:

I first want to wish you and all my visitors a Happy New Year!  I hope this year brings all of you health and happiness. 

Daniel, thanks for your question.  In short, do NOT take every set to failure.  If you do this, it will lead very quickly to overtraining or, even worse, injury.  My recommendation to my clients is to go to positive failure on only one exercise per body part per workout.  All other exercises on that workout day should be challenging, but not done to failure.  What is positive failure?  I define it as going to failure on your own, not doing forced reps with the aid of a spotter.  

Note:  If you want to incorporate forced reps (with the aid of a spotter) into your workout program, only do them every third workout for a particular body part, again choosing only one exercise per body part.  

Thanks again for your question, Daniel.  I hope you found the information helpful and I clearly answered your question.

As always, don't forget to visit the Past Qs & As and my Training Tips section for more great tips and training info.

Until next month, train hard and stay healthy.

Mike Francois

Do you have a training question for Mike?  If so, visit our Ask Mike section and submit your question.

Note: Before embarking on any nutrition, supplementation, and/or training program, consult with your physician or other licensed health-care professional.