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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.
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