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because it leads to overtraining. That’s why we recommend taking no more than 1–2 sets of each exercise to failure to find the happy medium between sufficiently overloading the muscles and not breaking down the muscle fibers to the point where adequate recovery in a reasonable period (a few days) becomes virtually impossible.
but using them too often leads to overtraining, which can result in injury, a compromised immune system and diminished results in the gym. For beginning trainees, as well as anyone coming back from an extended hiatus from the gym, taking sets past failure isn’t recommended, at least not during the first several months of training. The muscles and nervous system have enough work to do adapting to straight sets; using >> The max INTENSITY intensity techniques such as drop sets, number of sets PAST FAILURE per exercise that rest-pauses and forced reps can be overJust as training to failure is should be taken kill and is often unnecessary for getting to failure more intense than stopping bigger and stronger. An important thing short of that point, training you’ll learn as you become more experipast the point of muscle failure is more intense enced is when to add intensity to your training than simply terminating the set upon reaching and when to back off.
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The measure of intensity for a given set is whether it’s taken to failure — or even past failure failure initially. Several techniques allow you to continue doing reps after failing, including: drop sets, in which you immediately decrease the amount of weight you’re lifting and continue the set without resting; rest-pauses, where you put the weight down and rest anywhere from 15–30 seconds, then do 2–3 more reps with the same weight (typically not to failure) and repeat this process 1–2 more times; and forced reps, where a partner assists you in getting anywhere from 1–3 additional reps. In a bodybuilding workout, such techniques are the best means of maximizing training intensity. But these intensity-boosters are a double-edged sword — using them breaks down more muscle fibers and thus elicits gains in size and strength,
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INTENSITY AT REST Varying your rest periods between sets can greatly affect intensity. The most common way to manipulate rest in a bodybuilding-style workout is to take shorter breaks between sets (30–60 seconds as opposed to two minutes or more, as powerlifters and strength athletes often do). Decreasing rest periods prevents your muscles from recovering fully before the next set, making subsequent sets more difficult to the point that the number of reps you can do per set diminishes. For example, if you use the same weight on flat-bench dumbbell presses for three sets with only, say, 45 seconds of rest between sets, on the first set you might be able to get
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