What Does Muscle Failure Look Like, Feel Like, and How Do You Know You Are Lifting Heavy Enough?

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

One of the most common questions I am asked is how heavy is “heavy?” And, how do I know I've done enough to stimulate muscle hypertrophy?

I answered a follower question on this in Mini Pause #25, which prompted me to write more on the topic.

Irrespective of the absolute weight we use, approximating muscle failure is going to have a few hallmark characteristics:

• You will not be able to perform the rep at the same velocity as when you started.
• The weights will begin to feel subjectively heavier as the set progresses.
• Your form may start to degrade in order to complete the repetition.
• You will start to feel the target muscle significantly more than when you started.
• You will possibly start to feel more accessory and stabilizing muscles tiring, too.

WHY

In the age of Muscle Mommies and Queenagers, more and more women are moving into the weight room to get stronger, build beautiful muscles, and work towards squatting the equivalent of a baby elephant.

But I still see many women confused about what heavy even means and asking “how do we know that we have lifted enough times to approach muscle failure?”

This is specifically what I’ll address in this Mini Pause issue.

WHAT

Let’s start with what constitutes heavy. What feels heavy to you is entirely subjective and the longer you train, “heavy” will change. What was once heavy will now feel light as you gain more muscle and strength.

Choosing a weight that you can lift for a given set in a range of motion that you can own is the secret sauce.

Let’s say you start squatting with just your body weight, which is a perfectly respectful place to start. You might be able to rep your body weight 10 times before noticing your form starting to break.

But let's say next week, you stayed with 10 reps at your body weight, and the next week, and the next week after that. You are potentially missing out on progressing with either weight or volume to increase muscle gains.

So in order to understand your heavy, I’d like to discuss the concept of Reps In Reserve (RIR).

RIR is basically a measure of how many reps you have left in the tank. Imagine I was training with you, and you punched out 10 reps on your body weight squat. If I didn’t let you stop at 10, how many more reps could you do?

Ideally, it would be no more than 3. Anywhere from 0-3 reps in reserve indicates you have chosen the right weight for you, for this set.

If you could punch out 5, 6, or more reps – the weight is not heavy enough.

Continuing with our example of bodyweight squats – if we decide the weight is too light for you – you could either increase the reps from 10 to say 15, or you could pop a pair of dumbbells on your shoulders and try 10 reps for the next set. If you can still punch out the set with no problem, we can continue to tinker until we find a weight or rep range where the last 3 reps become difficult to complete.

HOW

How do you know if the set was difficult?

A few clues to look for [*]:

• You will not be able to perform the rep at the same velocity as when you started.
• The weights will begin to feel subjectively heavier as the set progresses.
• Your form may start to degrade in order to complete the repetition.
• You will start to feel the target muscle significantly more than when you started.
• You will possibly start to feel more accessory and stabilizing muscles tiring, too.

With a squat, you might notice yourself slowing down on the ascent (coming back to standing). Or, you might notice your affinity to do the full range of movement is lowering and your fear of getting stuck at the bottom is increasing. You will start to feel your legs and glutes working more, and even accessory muscles like your back working, too.

I’m a fan of going to failure on occasion to really know what it feels like, but it isn't necessary [*]. And it can cause unnecessary fatigue and a longer recovery time [*].

As long as you are coming within one to 1-3 reps of failure [*], there is not a big difference in terms of muscle stimulation vs. growth.

But the kicker is the closer you get to failure (i.e., those last 1-3 reps) seem to be the MOST important for muscle growth. So like Mohammed Ali used to say, “I only started counting once it starts hurting.” Those are the reps that really count.

NOW

You don’t need to change up whatever routine you have now, but what you can and should evaluate is how hard you are actually working.

The next time in the gym, ask yourself:

• If Dr. Stephanie and I were working out together, does this weight selection and rep selection represent me working at my hardest?
• Am I 1-3 reps from failure?
• Is my speed slowing down on my last few reps?
• Is the weight getting heavier the more I lift this?
• Is my form starting to degrade?
• Am I less willing to do the full range of motion on this?
• Am I feeling the target muscles more?

Question of the Week

Q: I’d like to maintain my current muscle mass and spend less time lifting (I do three days). How many days a week does a woman need to lift to maintain her gains?

Well, here’s the fantastic news for follower Felicity who asked this question and any of my Bettys curious about the same thing. The research suggests that once you HAVE the muscle, it takes about one-third of the stimulus to maintain it. Isn’t that incredible?! So if you’ve been training three times a week and have built sufficient and desired muscle, you only need to lift 1x/week to maintain the muscle you have built.

YOUR TURN!

I’ll be answering your questions every week right here in the Mini Pause! Let me know what’s on your mind. I’ll be checking for both questions and feedback at support@drstephanieestima.com.

What I Recommend: Living Libations

Thank you to Doris for asking this thoughtful question!

“I am curious if you wear perfume and/or have any recommendations for a brand that isn't harmful. I went on the EWG site, but can't find those brands in Canada. I know it sounds silly, but I like smelling “pretty.” Unfortunately, all I ever hear about perfumes is that they are toxic hormone disruptors.”

I typically do not wear perfumes, and opt for essential oils instead. My favorite (Canadian!) brand is Living Libations. I use their grapefruit essential oil on my wrist as perfume, or one of the petal perfumes as my perfume. In the winter I use Vanilla Velvet Chocolate cologne as my perfume. I actually want to try their whole line! Next on my wish list is Moccasin Flower Perfume!

Visit Living Libations here to take a look at their “Perfumes + Colognes” section and read about their product philosophy. This direct link auto-applies a discount at checkout. Enjoy!