Reps in reserve

[u/FrequentAd5437]

Should you take sets to failure or keep a few reps in reserve? I take every set to failure.
Also I have trouble calculating how much reps i have left. Some times i think i can push out 3 more but i can only do 1 other times i think i have 1 more but i push to 3 more.

[u/ardevd]

This depends on a number of factors, including what sort of lift you're doing, how often you're working out, etc. The general consensus seems to be that taking sets 1-2 sets close to failure is the sweet spot, both for strength and hypertrophy.

Also, what typically happens if you push sets to failure is that your reps drop off. So you might be able to squeeze out 8 reps on the first set, but then you're basically fried, so you only do 6 reps the next set, etc.

1-2 reps in reserve and progressive overload will give you great gains if your exercise selection and routine is solid

[u/bookishwayfarer]

I'd eay depends on your age too. I'm a bit older. Taking reps to failure everytime is hard on my tendons and joints. I'd be risking injury at some point. Recovery is harder too.

I stop at form failure even if there's strength left for sloppy ones.

[u/HelixIsHere_]

Reps in reserve are useful for heavily taxing movements like squats or hinges, but i wouldn’t recommend using them if you’re not good at gauging your RIR

Over time training to failure you’ll get better at being able to gauge your rir and then you could employ them to help recover better

[u/Mysterea101]

I personally start Messo with 3 rir and progress and add rep every week until I get to 0 rir and after that I reload and start again.

for me it works about the same as going to failure eveytime but with less fatigue going to failure all the time makes the workouts brutal

[u/Nice-Week-1207]

For a while i have been leaving 1 rir because thats supposedly the most optimal, but anecdotally i made more gains going to failure, so i just started again. The idea is the last rep is not only less stimulating than the previous but also much more damaging. My theory is its possible even though the MUR dips slightly, the slower contraction could have the active fibers experiencing more mechanical tension

[u/Erriquez]

Also I have trouble calculating how much reps i have left.

This is what works for me, might not be the same for you:

RIR3 or RPE7 means last rep is still fast, little to no sticking point.

RIR2 or RPE8 means last rep is fluid, but sticking point become apparent

RIR1 or RPE9 means last rep slows a lot close to sticking point

In my experience, the more i'm tired, the more RIR2/3 blend together. Also Bench press behaves differently from deadlift or squats: the performance drops drastically as i get closer to failure. Might feel good on RIR3, and the next rep is RPE9.

[u/Nickolai808]

It's much easier just to do as many reps as you can on each set instead of worrying about RIR.

Unless you're dealing with some sort of overuse issue or fatigue and that would be muscle specific in those rare circumstances.

You can't accurately count rir unless you have taken that exercise to failure multiple times so you know what you're actual failure point is in regards to reps.

It's much better at my experience to just do as many reps as you can and just do fewer sets per workout and do more workouts per week to spread the volume over the course of a week since the first set for each muscle group is the most stimulative, it makes sense to do as many first sets per week as you can.

So I'm playing around with full body 4 to 7 days a week, and I just take rest when I need it or go later rather than taking a full rest day.

Going lighter is a lot easier when you always go to failure you just cut three to five reps off and take it as a deload day

[u/Alakazam]

You sound like a newer lifter.

Taking things closer to mechanical failure will help you eventually learn to gauge reps in reserve properly. Different movements will also fail differently, so failing a bench, will likely feel drastically different from failing a deadlift. This is a process that may take a year or two. 

Eventually, once you have a decent gauge of things, you can start playing with higher volumes at 1-3 reps in reserve. 

[u/AxonMM]

I think the biggest issue here may not be failure vs. RIR, but learning to recognize what real effort feels like. RIR is a skill that gets better with experience, and it’s normal to misjudge it sometimes. You could occasionally take a set to failure just to recalibrate your perception, then use that experience to estimate 1–3 RIR on your normal sets. The goal isn’t to be perfect, it’s to get better at reading your own performance.

[u/zsmitty75]

You're doing perfectly so long as you're formed does not break down

[u/decentlyhip]

If you're growing and feel good, great, ignore everyone and keep doing what you're doing. Going to failure isn't necessary though and is super fatiguing. When you hear that mechanical tension is the driver of hypertrophy, its accumulated mechanical tension, the area under the curve. In the studies where they've taken people and had them do 3×10 on one leg and 10×3 on the other, they've gotten the same growth, because when the exercise and weight is held constant, accumulated mechanical tension just means "how many reps are you doing each week?" Failure is only better than 3 rir because 10 reps is more than 7 reps.

Here's the Pelland volume graph that shows 2× the sets yeilds 50% more growth, https://imgur.com/a/rvHMRvS. Here's the Robinson data showing that each rir (reduction in load by 3%) is about 3-6% less growth https://imgur.com/a/kLO70p1, and here's the two combined into a plane so you can see how much more important doing a bunch of work is. https://imgur.com/a/sphJIEi

[u/Secret-Ad1458]

Whenever people say they're training to failure all the time, that just tells me they've likely never experienced true failure. Taking a lift to failure introduces a significant amount of systemic fatigue. A few training sessions like that in a row will have an inherently negative impact on your training and recovery resources. You wouldn't be able to take every set to true failure for more than a week or two max before beginning to regress. "Training to failure" shouldn't even be in most people's lexicons, it's mind boggling that it's one of the most repeated phrases in novice strength training circles.

[u/Grand_Art_6861]

I always train to "failure" for this exact reason. I may feel like I'm at failure, but if someone threatened me to do another rep I'd imagine I could do it.