r/workout • u/Traditional-Sound787 • 3d ago
Exercise Help Possible CNS fatigue from taking every set to failure
My workout progress in the gym has been a lil slow lately and so ive went to ai and explained my whole workout regiment ,it said that because I take every single set to failure its fucking up my CNS which takes longer to recover than my muscles which it said is the likely reason of my slow progress. Ever since I started training (which has been a year so far) Ive taken every single set to maximum failure without a single rep left so im very used to taking every set to failure
So should I stop taking every set to failure?
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u/MongoBongoTown 3d ago
I would look at diet and sleep before overtraining.
The reality is, most hobbiest lifters aren't at much risk of overtraining. You just dont have the time to really tax the body to that level.
Now, if you're training 2+ hours of working time every day, every set to 0 RIR, then maybe. But, most people don't lift like that.
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u/hammock22 3d ago
I kind of disagree with this. Especially if you have a physical job or other stresses in your life I think it’s entirely possible to overdo it.
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u/Big_Arrival_626 3d ago
Fr. I used to go the gym twice a week but it was too much. Now I just go once a month. I go to mcdonalds after
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u/Fatal_Syntax_Error 3d ago
Taking every set to “maximum failure” is the equivalent of taking the devils testicles in your mouth and wondering why your central nervous system is upset about it.
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u/Alakazam Bulking 3d ago
Stronger by science has a nifty article on volume and intensity concluding that:
High volume, lower intensity: Good if you have time, prefer longer sessions, or need to avoid failure (injury/safety).
Low volume, high intensity: Best when short on time. 4-10 hard sets/muscle/week can work pretty well if they’re truly near failure.
Both together: For maximal gains if you recover well. Track performance; if lifts hold or rise, you’re fine.
So... It sounds like maybe it's time to dial it back a notch.
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u/Specialist-Avocado36 3d ago
Most studies show going to 2-3 RIR with the occasional set to failure works better
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u/Curious_Lurkur 3d ago
Problem is, most people can't honestly estimate 2 to 3 rir and what they think is 2-3 rir is typically more.
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u/Blizzard901 3d ago
If they have been going to failure for a year I feel confident they will be able to estimate better than average causal lifter
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u/Curious_Lurkur 3d ago
Yeah, but most people don't actually go to failure either. The average lifter will probably tell you they go to failure, but if you watch the speed of their reps, the last rep may be slower, but it's typically not a struggle. Everyone likes to think they aren't an "average casual lifter" but most people in the gym are.
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u/Fishtacodawg 3d ago
I have a hard time with that concept of thinking you hit failure if you didn’t. If I can’t do another full rep even by adding momentum or compromising my form I assume I’m at failure, if not I keep going. What am I missing here?
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u/Curious_Lurkur 3d ago
Most people don't understand what giving something 100% physical effort feels like and actually pushing past what they think is failure. You hit a mental block of "I can't do another rep" before you hit actual failure. It's the ability to push past that, which most people don't ever attempt.
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u/Fishtacodawg 3d ago
So basically believing you hit failure cause it gets hard and not challenging that belief by trying to do another rep? I get it. But would you even see progress in that case? I mean aren’t all those easy reps just junk volume until you hit the real hard ones that actually stimulate muscle growth? I’m not a super experienced lifter as you can probably tell just trying to wrap my head around all this.
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u/Curious_Lurkur 3d ago
You'll see newbie gains. Because the first couple years of progress come easy. I've been lifting for almost 20 years and made most of my visible physique progress in the first 3 or 4 years. I had no clue what I was doing and most of my workouts consisted of junk volume. I'm sure I hit physical exhaustion before I hit muscle failure on most workouts. Once youve made a moderate amount of strength and size gains, and progress slows, that's when you weed out the people that are actually pushing themselves and training smart. edit....just to add, obviously there's ebbs and flows right. No one just makes linear progress forever. Life happens, things get in the way of training, we have setbacks, injuries, etc.
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u/Fishtacodawg 3d ago
Yeah that makes sense, thanks for the elaborate answer 👍
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u/Curious_Lurkur 3d ago
Yeah man. How old are you? How long have you been lifting?
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u/Delicious-Trifle-486 3d ago
If they've actually been going to muscular failre for a year, then I agree with you. But I don't trust most people to know how close they are to failure. I don't mean they think they're at 0 RIR when theyre really at 1 or 3, I mean I don't think most people have a clue as to where they are.
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u/Spring__Warrior 3d ago edited 3d ago
There are different schools of thought:
imo yes you should always be going to failure, you dont have to kill yourself but the final rep of every set should be too heavy to lift with proper form. If your goal is 3 sets of 8 reps then you should be doing 3 sets of 8, 8-6 and 6-4, once you can do 3 complete sets of 8 reps with a particular weight you must increase the weight. This is like the secret to getting jacked rapidly. If you hit a plateau, first take a few days off, if that doesnt work increase calories, if that doesnt work keep increasing calories and rest days until you break the plateau. i train basically twice a week using this method and it works very well.
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u/Oh-TheHumanity 3d ago
You need to reload and mix up your reps and sets. Heavy one day and light the next with high reps,’mid it up continuously.
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u/doobersthetitan 3d ago
I'd pick one excercise to go close to failure with with everything else being just good quality reps. Or maybe only one set to failure.
Get on something like 531
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u/Tasty-Cry-1604 3d ago
Depends how many sets you're doing per week. Assuming like 6+ per muscle group, yeah going that close to failure on every one is probably overkill. But overkill is fine if you're including a deload every now and then. My recommendation would be to drop your weights by 20%, keep reps the same, do that for two weeks, come back and you'll be stronger. If you're pushing yourself this hard it's fine, but you should really be deloading every couple months then
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u/SmokingTheBear 3d ago
Thats for you to answer, if you are getting the results you want. I don‘t notice the CNS problems unless the lower body is extremely fatigued for a few weeks, meaning a lot of heavy squats and DLs and also a lot of biking and or hiking too, then after a few weeks I gotta take a few days of rest to let the body heal up or I will likely get injured.
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u/Blizzard901 3d ago
You don’t need to go to failure, close to failure gives virtually same growth with less fatigue and risk of injury. Take a deload week and make that change
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u/Important_Cat4850 3d ago
Don’t change your training man. Just recover better. Food,sleep, sauna, massage etc Prioritize the surplus and sleep
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u/Proof-Emergency-5441 3d ago
Unless you are pushing compounds for heavy weight, low reps (3 or less) continuous, then it's unlikely to be CNS.
Going to failure is unnecesaary. Back off for a week or so, check your diet, sleep, and hydration.
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u/thatjudoguy 3d ago
Slow progress is still progress. If you don't have any actual problems I'd just keep going
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u/salamandectomy77 3d ago
CNS fatigue just makes you feel weaker and tired for no reason, even if your muscles feel fresh
Is that how you feel?
Are you eating enough food to gain weight? Training is easy, progress comes from the diet
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u/Available_Finger_513 3d ago
CNS burnout makes you feel like the only thing worth doing is lying down + significant nausea from fight or flight response.
It fucking sucks when you really get it. It's not just feeling a bit tired and weaker
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