Should you Train Pull ups to Failure?

Should you train Pull ups to Failure?

Should you train pull ups to failure? If you want results you have to work your hardest! This means squeezing out each and every rep your body is capable of, every single set.

Right?

Or wrong?

While most people believe that they must take all their sets to failure in order to grow and get stronger, they are sorely mistaken.  

While training to failure can occasionally be used to push through strength and size plateaus, going to failure comes at a big cost. Most of your pull up sets should not be taken to failure, at least if maximum strength is your goal.

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? Going to Failure will Keep you from Accumulating More Training Volume 

The typical trainee goes to failure on all his sets. He gets 14, 8, 6, 6, 4 on sets 1-5.

The next trainee leaves a couple reps in the tank on all his sets. He gets 12, 11, 10, 10, 8.

The second trainee trained with less intensity over all of the sets, “quitting” before it really got hard. Yet, he got 13 more reps over the course of the 5 sets than the trainee going “balls to the wall” on all 5 sets.

This hypothetical example is typical of what most strength trainees will experience. Going to failure on the first–and subsequent– sets will produce so much local muscular fatigue that the subsequent sets will suffer.

It is better to save a few reps in the tank so that you can be a bit stronger on sets 2-5. Leaving a few reps in the tank will allow you to accrue more training volume.

Training volume is the number one most important factor for size and strength. So if leaving a few reps in the tank allows you to increase your training volume, you should leave a few reps in the tank on your pull ups.

(This is not just true for the pull up. You can increase your training volume over time for exercises like the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press, without going to failure.)

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? Little Scientific Evidence to Support Training to Failure

In 2016 Sampson and Groeller studied the effects of failure vs. non-failure training protocols on 28 trained young men. They found no significant differences in muscular growth or strength between the group going to failure and the group stopping sets short of failure. They concluded that going to failure is not necessary to improve size and strength in trained individuals.

Izquierdo et. al found no difference in maximum strength or hypertrophy between trainees training to failure and those terminating sets before failure, as long as volume was equated. However, Izquierdo found that the group stopping sets before failure improved their power output more.

Navarro et. al studied three groups of trainees. One group did 3 sets of bench press and squats to failure. The second group did 3 sets of squats and bench press not to failure. Finally, the third group did 6 sets of squats and bench press not to failure but with a similar volume as the first group.

The group that trained to failure (group 1) had worse performance than the other groups. The authors also concluded that training to failure increased time for recovery of neuromuscular, hormonal, and metabolic systems. This increased recovery time could prevent the trainee from completing more training sessions over the course of the training week. This can prevent the trainee from adding more training frequency and volume over time; shortchanging progress. 

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? Strength is a Skill

Strength is a skill, and the pull up is no different. To get good at a skill, you need to practice it frequently, perfectly.

Going to failure will prevent you from getting more quality practice, as your reps will likely start to deviate from more optimal movement patterns.

And it will also prevent you from getting more total weekly training volume by compromising your recovery.

For these reasons, training to failure is likely a sub-optimal training modality for the pull up.

What is a better method for the pull up? 

Most methods of training will work better for the pull up than going to failure on each and every set, but one method I have had particular success for both myself and my clients is the “greasing the groove” method.

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? “Grease the Groove”

Greasing the Groove is a method popularized by Russian strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline. The method involves training as often as possible, multiple times per day, when you are most energetic.

 

With this method, you never go to failure, and you focus your energy on the specific exercises you want to improve.

So while bicep curls, lat pulldowns, and rows might help you build the muscles involved in the pull up, your best bet to really get great at pull ups is to practice pull ups. Crazy, right?

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? Practicing pull ups frequently will allow you to develop your strength as a skill.

To get good at the pull up, you should do it regularly, increasing your frequency up to daily or even a few times per day, with sub-maximal intensities. To learn more about high frequency training and how it may benefit you, click here.

Your goal is to “train” when you are as fresh as possible. Start by adding in pull ups during your lunch break, your coffee break, or when you get up from working at your desk. You are much more likely to be “fresh” at these times than after you have already worked out for a couple of hours.

You can do pull ups throughout the day, separate from your own training.

It would be best to even separate your pull ups from your training, so you can do them when you are very fresh. You could do a single set at a time, or you could do multiple sets, every day, stopping each set before form breaks down or you start accumulating fatigue.

Or, if you have access to a pull up bar at home, simply start doing a set of pull ups every time you pass the bar in your house. You do not have to go all out. Do a few easy reps every time you pass the bar. Start by accumulating 20 reps per day in multiple, easy sets, and increase by 5 reps per day for 12-16 weeks.

It is time to stop associating “training” with the 1-2 hour block of time you spend at the gym three times per week or every day. You have multiple opportunities throughout the week to “train.” Realistically, you can train the pull up without driving to the gym, warming up, and doing endless warm up sets.

Every few weeks, test out your abilities with pull ups. You will have likely improved a great deal just by getting more frequent practice with the exercise and by accumulating a lot of sub-maximal volume.

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? “Grease the Groove” Works Great for Pull ups

This method works great for pull ups because:

1. First, you don’t need a lot of equipment for pull ups: just you and a bar
2. Second, you don’t need a lot of time to dedicate to greasing the groove and training this movement pattern multiple times per day. Sure, you can “grease the groove” with squats or deadlifts. But squats and deadlifts require a lot more warm up and preparation than pull ups.
3. And Third, you can accumulate lots of training volume with little risk of injury (pull ups are very safe)

Here is a sample “Grease the Groove” Training Plan. You will accumulate a ton of training volume for the pull up. Over time you should find your pull ups getting much easier. Your lats and arms will also grow a lot.

You will need to set up a pull up or chin up bar in an easily accessible place in your home or office.

If you cannot do pull ups yet, this program is not for you. This program is only applicable to those who can do 6+ perfect reps already.

Remember, don’t do the sets all at once. Accumulate the reps when you are feeling good and high energy. You don’t have to break the sets up how I suggested. Just make sure you get the total reps in for the day. At the end of the eight weeks, you should find that your max pull ups has increased.

Should you train Pull ups to Failure? “Grease the Groove” Pull up Program

1st Week: 10 pull ups per day (4, 3, 3)

2nd Week: 15 pull per day (4, 4, 4, 3)

3rd Week: 18 pull ups per day (4, 4, 4, 3, 3)

4th Week: 20 pull ups per day (4, 4, 4, 4, 4)

5th Week: 22 Pull ups per day (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2)

6th Week: 24 Pull ups per Day (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4)

7th Week: 26 Pull ups per Day (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2)

8th Week: Test out Pull ups Max Reps. You should come out ahead from where you started.