Fatigue management is the number one overlooked aspect when training. We are all stuck in the mentality that more is always better. What about working smart, not hard?
Sure hard work usually pays off, but only if it’s productive hard work! Hard work by itself just leads to disappointment and doubt.
We create the most adaptation and performance increase while we are recovering with;
- Sleep
- Calories
- and stress management
these three indicators that most of us are either scared of or consider a sign of weakness.
I was terrible when school work, and instead of studying what I needed to. I figured because I spent all night reading the textbook, thinking it would guarantee me a good mark.
What if someone handed you all the answers to the test. And all you had to do was study those answers. Pretty easy, hey?
Thats what I have done with our E-course, Rookie Camp! It’s a weight training program designed for beginners that will increase your strength, teach you how to maximize recovery and of course, deliver top performance.
For other articles on recovery check out;
How To Deload For Elite Performance
What Are Reps In Reserve?
Pushing till failure caused joint pain and muscle injuries as I approached my late twenties.
The more injuries and joint paint I created, the more time I had to take off from the gym in order to recover correctly to help support muscle growth.
Reps In Reserve or also known as RIR
It will help regulate injuries with the correct formula for muscle growth and muscle stimuli, so you can grow muscles to their potential without causing muscle plateaus too fast.
Reps In Reserve is how many reps you are away from failure before you stop your working set.
For example;
- 5 RIR = 5 reps away from failure
- 4 RIR = 4 reps away from failure
- 3 RIR = 3 reps away from failure
- 2 RIR = 2 reps away from failure
- 1 RIR = 1 reps away from failure
- 0 RIR = 0 reps away from failure
Hypertrophy training muscle growth develops the best between 4-2 RIR
Because muscle growth is easier to develop for beginners, even the most inexperienced lifter will create muscle gains without proper form and incorrect load selection.
As you become more of an intermediate or advanced lifter, gains start to slow down. And focusing on the little things becomes more important in order to progress.
Consistently adding stress to your body by always going until failure will cause too much fatigue to your target muscle. Increasing recovery times, taking away from potential muscle gains.
At the beginner of a workout plan, you should try to aim for 4 or 5 RIR, while slowly increasing to 1-0 RIR by the end of a workout program will help with faster muscle growth and fewer injuries.
Muscle Failure
Pushing until failure is different for everyone.
Squirming around like a fish on the bench press, causing a hernia trying to squeeze out that last set is what most people think of when it comes to failure.
And this is EXACTLY how I used to relate the word FAILURE.
The fact is when you find yourself swinging your body for momentum or getting the supporting muscles to help.
You are now past your 0 RIR and beyond failure.
Once you lose form, the purpose of the motion is gone, and you are taking away from the targeted muscle.
Sure, you might feel like you could add more reps. But without working the targeted muscle properly, the point of the exercise is gone!
Technical failure is when eccentric and acentric movements, combined with a good range of motion, are put on the back burner. And lifting heavier becomes your priority versus gaining muscle.
Benefits Of Reps In Reserve
Training closer to failure is okay when utilizing the 5-10 rep range, and workouts are specific to strength training.
But when Hypertrophy training and the goal is muscle growth. Training in the ranges of 2-3 RIR will best support muscle growth for the long run.
Research shows that the muscle stimuli are activated the most in the last five working reps. NO MATTER WHAT REP RANGE YOU ARE IN!
More muscle growth is triggered closer to 0 RIR. However, consistently going to failure will cause muscle plateaus more often. Losing hard-earned gains at a rapid rate compared to using the principles of progressive overload.
When an exercise has gone stale, without the muscle stimulation you once had. Consider exercise variation to spice things up.
Using a higher RIR of about five while introducing new exercises will help you get used to the new movements.
The benefits of staying further away from failure will allow you to enhance your mind-muscle connection with that muscle before increasing your load while reducing the risk of injury.
Another great benefit of using RIR is to avoid excessive soreness.
As a beginner, aiming for a higher RIR will manage muscle soreness and recovery.
I remember after taking a couple of months off from working out, I came back to the gym over-motivated.
I was lifting load amounts that supported my training from three months ago compared to where I was that day! I pushed my chest and arms so hard that it was a struggle to brush my teeth for an entire week!
Mind Muscle Connection
Using less weight can give you better results by building a good Mind Muscle Connection.
Let me ask you, are you swinging your body to complete your reps?
Slow things down, grab less weight, and feel the muscle contract! Building a stronger Mind Muscle Connection will help improve muscle growth, help understand the target muscle and make it easier to know when to stop when hitting your Reps In Reserve.
Research has shown that focusing on the targeted muscle can enhance muscle fibers that lead to muscle growth.
Variation
Practice, practice, practice.
Has anyone ever told you to keep the muscle guessing? That could not be further from the truth!
Usually, it takes a couple of months for your muscles to get out of the pre-muscle-building phase when learning an exercise.
Muscle stimulus that an exercise can provide consistently week after week combined with frequency will help long-term muscle growth. The kind of muscle tissue that will not deflate after taking time away from the gym.
Changing exercises too much causes you to start back at 5 RIR, working different fibers in the muscle than the previous exercise. Making frequent changes will cause setbacks in muscle growth.
Progressive Overload
Overload Principles related to weight training are when you continually push your muscles beyond their current limits.
Without overloading the body, you will not see continuous muscle growth.
The main objective of progressive overload is to increase the stress on your muscles during your workouts over time.
Most of us believe the only way to progress is by adding more load to our workouts. When in fact, there are many effective ways to challenge our muscles.
Either by increasing your;
- weight
- sets
- reps
- increasing tempo
- And yes, of course, even Rep In Reserve
Using a 6-week progression related to our Rookie Camp:
- Week 1: 4 RIR
- Week 2: 3 RIR
- Week 3: 2 RIR
- Week 4: 1 RIR
- Week 5: 0 RIR
- Week 6: Deload Week 4 RIR
When starting a new workout program aim for about 5 RIR, allowing room to progress over a 6-week mesocycle.
Remember, going too hard too fast. (starting at a 0 RIR) will lead to burnout and muscle plateau twice as fast than slowly progressing week to week.
Adding progressive overload will ensure long-term muscle growth and more productive weeks spent building muscle.
Muscle Plateau
A plateau is when you are no longer progressing in your workouts.
If you find yourself hitting a muscle plateau before the end of a 5-week mesocycle, chances are Reps In Reserve will be one of the factors you need to consider.
Consistently pushing until failure during the duration of a mesocycle will cause a muscle plateau far faster than anything else.
Adjust your load to a more appropriate weight, so you can get the proper amount of reps without any technical failure.
Conclusion
Pushing till failure causing too much fatigued if repeated week after week, leaving no room for adaption and performance increase!
At the beginner of a workout plan, you should try to aim for 4 or 5 RIR, while slowly increasing to 1-0 RIR by the end of a workout program will help with faster muscle growth and fewer injuries.
Using a higher RIR of about five while introducing new exercises will help you get used to the new movements.
The benefits of staying further away from failure will allow you to enhance your mind-muscle connection with that muscle before increasing your load while reducing the risk of injury.
Slow things down, grab less weight, and feel the muscle contract! Building a stronger Mind Muscle Connection will help improve muscle growth, help understand the target muscle and make it easier to know when to stop when hitting your Reps In Reserve.