Today’s newsletter is a special contribution from Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor.
Since the early days of StrongFirst, we have preached against pushing sets to failure for serious, continuous, and sustainable strength gains. Instead, we’ve always advocated keeping some reps “in the tank” at the end of each set. With the introduction of Plan Strong™ and successively Built Strong, we refined this concept and introduced a guideline: keep the rep range within a set from 1/3 to 2/3 of RM (Repetition Maximum).
At the time, our statements surprised the fitness and bodybuilding industry, where the typical exercise prescription for both strength and hypertrophy involved pushing sets to failure—assuming that the last, most effortful reps were the most effective.
Since then, concepts such as RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion), buffer, and RIR (Reps in Reserve) have been adopted across the industry, and what we’ve been preaching for years is now universally recognized, at least in strength training.
However, what about hypertrophy?
Most modern bodybuilding strategies still prescribe pushing sets to failure, or at least to RM, and it’s true—they deliver results. The increased Time Under Tension (TUT) and consequent mechanical stress on muscle cells provide an effective stimulus for muscle growth.
At StrongFirst, however, we adopt a different approach to hypertrophy training. Rather than pushing our sets to failure, we stick to our principle of keeping some reps in the tank and increasing the overall training volume within defined intensity ranges. This method may not be the quickest way to build muscle, but it’s the most sustainable, building muscles that are as strong as they look and last longer. High-rep sets with light weights will “pump” your muscles and increase their size, but the gains from increased sarcoplasm and glycogen storage are often fleeting. The quicker the gains, the quicker the loss.
Our strategy instead increases muscle volume through a higher number and size of contractile proteins, enlarging muscles and enhancing strength. Of course, it takes longer, but the gains are more durable—the slower the gains, the slower the loss.
So, is there a place for sets conducted to RM in our system?
Believe it or not, there is! But, of course, with some caveats:
Definition of RM sets: In our system, there is no room for less-than-perfect reps. When we say, “do as many reps as you can.” we mean “do as many PERFECT reps as you can.” Also, if you’re not 100% sure you can complete another rep with perfect form, don’t even attempt it. This is aligned with the StrongFirst Stop Signs, which prioritize form over quantity.
Placement of RM sets: Conducting the sets to RM should be the very last thing you do in a training session.
A strategy I’ve used successfully with many athletes in recent years involves starting sessions with heavier sets in the 4-7RM zone, complemented by lighter sets in the 12-15RM zone at the end.
Let me provide an example with three movement patterns (BTS3) to illustrate how we apply these principles in a practical training session:
