1 in the Tank
Knowing when to terminate your set is an invaluable skill that you can only learn through experience.
Many gym-goers never do.
That's why you see lots of trainees coasting through their sets like they could bang out another four or five reps, easy.
Most beginners fall in this category.
As do many females.
And men who spend way too much time on the elliptical for their own well-being.
Then you've got guys who take set after set to failure, coming dangerously close to meeting their maker until a training partner or fellow lifter rescues them from being crushed by the weight.
When these doods get under the bar, it's like a cookie, they all crumble.
So how close to failure should you lift?
I'm glad you asked.
Raw beginners should never train to failure.
They don't know how to remain tight under heavy weight or muscular fatigue.
So the risk of injury becomes way too high.
Then, after a few months of training, I instruct my athletes to go heavy but leave one rep in the tank on squats, deads and other max effort lifts.
That means you know you could lift another rep with good form, but choose not to.
Doing so ensures good technical execution on every repetition. Which is crucial for a lifter's confidence and him achieving technical proficiency in the long-term.
With someone I've been coaching for a year or longer, I trust them to stay tight during a true 3RM or 5RM effort without snapping their spine in half. So we can push things all the way to the point where they wouldn't be able to complete another rep on their own.
(a.k.a. "technical failure")
That said, for most athletes, leaving a rep in the tank when lifting heavy is a great guideline.
For continuous progress and staying healthy, you can't go wrong following it.
If breaking PR's without breaking your body sounds right up your alley, I have the perfect program for ya here:
http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com
Yunus Barisik
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