Is all failure equal?

[xiangnimen]

Hi Cathe -

I know you are busy with the new DVD's, so not sure if you'll be able to reply - but, just wondering if lifting to failure will get you the same results no matter if you use heavy weights or light weights. For example, in your Burn Sets DVD you encourage us to pick a weight we can lift 8-10 times with good form and then the third set is to failure. My question is, if someone were to pick a weight that they could lift 20-25 reps and also went to failure - would the result be the same as with the heavy weight? Does all failure lead to the same result no matter how heavy the weight is?

Thanks for any response.

 

[SNM Videos]

Lifting to failue

It will be a while before Cathe can get back to the forums because of filming, but the answer to your question is yes you can build some muscle lifting lighter weights to failure - but it will not be anywhere near the same as lifting weights that are 80% of your one rep max. So,lifting to failure with light weights is not the same as lifting to failure with heavy weights.

There are two main things required to make a muscle grow. 1. Time under tension and 2. Intensity of the exercise has to be great enough to activate as many muscle fibers as possible and cause some trauma to the muscle.

Light weights certainly meet the "time under tension" minimum requirement which is around 45 seconds per set. However, light weights fail on the second requirement of causing enough trauma to the muscle. Going to failure certainly helps and is necessary to optimize building muscle, but lifting around 10 reps at 80% of your one rep max is optimum for building muscle.


When you lift lighter weights, 60% of your one-rep max or less for 16 or more reps, your muscles spend more time under tension – enough to create metabolic stress – but the tension generated with each rep isn’t enough to activate your fast-twitch muscles. In this case, muscle endurance or the ability to lift lighter weights a greater number of reps increases over time. This will make your muscles more resistant to fatigue, but you won’t get significant muscle hypertrophy or growth. To get the most muscle growth, you need a balance between muscle tension and metabolic stress. Lifting heavy but not maximal for a moderate number of reps (8 to 12) strikes this balance.

Here are some articles in Cathe's Blog you may want to read on this subject:

Cathe Friedrich - Can You Build Muscle Lifting Lighter Weights?

Cathe Friedrich - Should You Lift Differently to Build Strength as Opposed to Lean Body Mass?

Cathe Friedrich - Why Lifting Light Weights Isn’t Best for Building Muscle Tone

 

[xiangnimen]

Thanks for the quick reply and the attached articles.

Greatly appreciated!