Getting to Failure
When it's Good to Do so
Mr. Skeptical smiles when he sees the title of this post, and he adds, “This is something I truly feel I can help you with?”
I tilt my head. “Really?” Drawing out the e and a.
“Yes. I can guide you into getting to nonsuccess. I can help you for a nominal fee, get to failure more often. I can help you really go to the depths of defeat.”
I pretend I have an itch above my eye and use my middle finger to scratch it, hoping he gets the message, but I’m not sure he does. I know Mr. Skeptical is often sarcastic but is he now? Does he really think I’d pay him to make me fail?
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
The “failure” I write about is the muscle failure we should achieve when working out. Whether I train a client for an hour or a half-hour, I always push a client to complete muscle fatigue in most exercises. I also do the same for my online clients, constantly pushing them to failure.
“Why? What’s the point?” asks, Mr. Skeptical.
“Muscle failure is what truly stimulates muscle growth. I train only for about a half hour 4 or 5 times a week. It’s a short workout because I only do one set to failure.”
“I can’t help but think that doing more than one set is beneficial.”
“I’ve already written about why only one set to failure is needed. See that here. There’s research showing that getting to failure is ideal.
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2002 compared the effects of training to failure versus stopping short of failure on strength gains. The researchers found that training to failure resulted in more significant strength gains compared to stopping short of failure. (Izquierdo et al., 2006)
A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 2016 investigated the effects of training to failure on muscle hypertrophy. The researchers found that training to failure resulted in greater muscle hypertrophy than non-failure training protocols. (Sampson et al., 2016)
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
Mr. Skeptical yawns like he’s bored. He adds, “Whatever. Tell me about the times when you felt like a failure. I’m sure you felt that way in federal prison?”
My eyes narrow in on him. “Of course I did. However, I was very hopeful at first that I’d win release pending the outcome of my appeal. My attorney told me it wasn’t common for prisoners to get released pending an appeal, but the few who did were in a similar situation.”
“Nonetheless, you didn’t get released for the appeal.”
“No, I didn’t. It took about three months for me to find out. However, waiting for that news gave me hope that I could get released any moment.”
“How did you feel when you discovered you wouldn’t be released?”
“I heard the news from a family member. I then proceeded to go to my top bunk bed and cry.”
“That had to be a shallow point in your life.”
“It was, for I knew that by not being allowed release pending the appeal, I’d likely be in prison for quite some time. However, after a few days of being in a depressed state, I started to snap out of it. Working out helped, and there was still a glimmer of hope that I could win the appeal.”
“How long did it take for you to realize you lost the appeal?”
“Three years. The longer it took, the more hope I had, for my attorney had told me that the cases that win an appeal often take the longest to be decided.”
“Yet, you still lost the appeal. You must’ve been more devastated after losing that.”
“I wasn’t because I’d already served nearly half my sentence. So, I managed not to get too upset. I went through about 3-4 days of depression, but I snapped out of it like I did before.
“The hope of winning the appeal, the mere possibility of it, kept me going those first few years. I did go through phases where I viewed hope as something terrible, but in the long run, I realized it was better to hope and lose than not. In other words, it was okay and even beneficial to fail.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
John C. Maxwell wrote a book I read years ago called Failing Forward. There are benefits to failing in life. The start-up world of business is full of people who at first fail. One example is Drew Houston, who is the founder of Dropbox. He faced failure with his first start-up, an online SAT prep company called Accolade. The company failed to gain significant traction, and Houston realized he needed to pivot to a new idea. He then founded Dropbox and still got funding after previously failing.
Arianna Huffington: Before co-founding The Huffington Post, she experienced failure with her start-up called Resignation.com. The website aimed to provide resources and support for people going through career changes or seeking new opportunities. Despite initial excitement, the venture struggled, and Huffington eventually shut it down. However, she later found success with The Huffington Post, a prominent online news aggregator and blog.
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
When working out I psyche myself up to go all out to complete muscle fatigue. I sometimes pretend while doing pull-ups that my life depends on me hanging on and doing one more.
Keeping track of repetitions is vital to match or beat a previous record. One should only compete with oneself, the man in the mirror.
It’s not in the avoidance of failure but in its embrace that we discover the boundless depths of our capacity. So, let us not shy from the struggle but instead embrace it as the harbinger of transformation, not just in the gym but all areas of life.
Be aware.
PS Links in Facebook and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
PSS I’d also like to welcome the new subscribers from Legion’s Farmers Market, and special thanks to Simon from Cleaver and Hog.
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