Proximity to Failure: Hypertrophy vs. Strength | Teleport Strength
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How close to failure should you train? It depends on the goal.

A 2024 meta-regression in Sports Medicine found that muscle growth improves as sets end closer to failure, while strength gains look about the same across a wide range of effort. Here is what that means for your training, and where the popular summary goes too far.

Topic Proximity to failure Key study Robinson et al., 2024 Read time About 7 minutes
The Bottom Line

Two goals, two different rules

Tap any underlined term on this page to jump to a plain-English definition in the glossary below.

For muscle growth

Train close to failure

0 to 2RIR

Growth increased as sets ended closer to failure. Research comparing true failure to stopping 1 to 2 reps short found nearly identical growth, so 0 to 2 RIR is a practical target, not a magic number from a single study.

For max strength

Failure isn't required

2 to 4RIR

1RM strength gains were similar across a wide range of RIR. Leaving a few reps in the tank on heavy squats, bench and deadlifts gets comparable strength with less fatigue and faster recovery.

The RIR scale at a glance

RIR means how many more clean reps you could have done when you stopped the set. Hover over or tap each number for details.

Hypertrophy focus: 0 to 2
Heavy strength focus: 2 to 4
Hover or tap a number to see what that effort level feels like.
The Research

What the 2024 meta-regression actually did

In July 2024, researchers led by Zac Robinson and Michael Zourdos at Florida Atlantic University's Muscle Physiology Laboratory published a series of meta-regressions in Sports Medicine. Instead of asking the yes or no question "failure or not," they asked a dose-response question: as sets end closer to failure, what happens to strength and muscle size?

Because most studies don't report RIR directly, the team estimated how many reps in reserve each training group was leaving, then modeled the relationship while accounting for load, training duration, training status and how volume was matched between groups.

What they found

Hypertrophy: muscle size increased as sets were stopped closer to failure. The relationship was consistent enough that the researchers called it meaningful.

Strength: the relationship between RIR and strength gain was negligible. In other words, people got similarly stronger whether they stopped well short of failure or went all the way.

"Strength gains were similar across a wide range of RIR, while muscle hypertrophy improves as sets are terminated closer to failure."Robinson et al., Sports Medicine, 2024

The fine print

The authors were careful. Because RIR had to be estimated, they described the models as having a modest fit and said the exact relationship "remains unclear," calling for future studies designed specifically to test it. Treat the findings as strong direction, not precise prescriptions.

Fact Check

Common claims, checked against the research

This topic gets summarized a lot online. Here is how the popular version holds up.

The claim
Verdict
What the research shows
ClaimGrowth increases as you train closer to failure.
VerdictSupported
ResearchThis is the main hypertrophy finding of Robinson et al. (2024), with the authors noting their models were exploratory.
ClaimThe study found 0 to 2 RIR is the optimal sweet spot.
VerdictPartly
ResearchThe meta-regression did not set a specific cutoff. 0 to 2 RIR is a reasonable coaching target, supported by Refalo et al. (2024), which found equal growth training to failure versus stopping 1 to 2 reps short.
ClaimYou don't need failure to get stronger.
VerdictSupported
ResearchRobinson et al. found a negligible link between RIR and strength gains, and an earlier meta-analysis of 15 studies (Grgic et al., 2022) found no significant strength difference between failure and non-failure training.
Claim2 to 4 RIR produces superior strength gains to failure.
VerdictOverstated
ResearchThe evidence shows similar strength gains, not better ones. The 2 to 4 RIR range is a practical recommendation based on that finding plus the fatigue data, not a tested result.
ClaimFailure causes more fatigue and slower recovery.
VerdictSupported
ResearchA 20-study meta-analysis (Vieira et al., 2022) found more acute fatigue and muscle damage after failure training, and Morán-Navarro et al. (2017) found recovery took longer, up to 24 to 48 hours.
ClaimFailure on heavy barbell lifts raises injury risk.
VerdictNot measured
ResearchNo study in this research directly measured injury rates. The concern is reasonable (technique tends to break down on grinding, heavy reps), but it is a coaching judgment, not a proven finding.
Supporting Evidence

The other studies behind the picture

2024 · Journal of Sports Sciences

Refalo et al.: Failure vs. 1 to 2 RIR

18 trained lifters trained one leg to failure and the other leg stopping 1 to 2 reps short for 8 weeks. Quadriceps growth was virtually identical (0.181 cm vs. 0.182 cm).

2022 · Journal of Sport and Health Science

Grgic et al.: 15-study meta-analysis

No significant difference between failure and non-failure training for strength or overall hypertrophy. In trained lifters, failure showed a small advantage for growth.

2022 · Sports Medicine

Vieira et al.: Failure and acute fatigue

Across 20 studies, failure training caused bigger drops in jump height, bar speed, power and strength, plus higher lactate and muscle damage markers.

2017 · European Journal of Applied Physiology

Morán-Navarro et al.: Recovery time

Trained men did bench and squat either to failure or stopping halfway. The failure sessions slowed recovery for up to 24 to 48 hours afterward.

Putting It to Work

How to use this in your training

Building muscle

Push the last sets

  • Aim for 0 to 2 RIR on most working sets.
  • Save true failure for machines, cables and isolation lifts, where a missed rep is safe.
  • Go to failure on the last set of an exercise, not every set.
  • If you're getting close to failure but still progressing, you don't need to grind every rep.
Building strength

Bank quality reps

  • Leave 2 to 4 RIR on heavy squat, bench and deadlift sets.
  • Keep bar speed and technique consistent from the first rep to the last.
  • Use the energy you save for more quality sets through the week.
  • Save near-max efforts for planned tests or meet prep.

Most people want both size and strength. A common approach: heavy compound lifts at 2 to 4 RIR early in the session, then accessory work closer to failure. New lifters tend to underestimate how many reps they have left, so it's worth occasionally testing a safe exercise to failure to calibrate your RPE.

Glossary

Terms explained

Tap a term to expand it.

RIR (Reps in Reserve)
How many more clean reps you could have done when you ended the set. 0 RIR means you couldn't do another; 3 RIR means you stopped with about 3 left.
Training to Failure
Continuing a set until you can't complete another full rep with good form. Researchers often call this momentary muscular failure.
1RM (One-Rep Max)
The heaviest weight you can lift for one complete rep with good technique. It's the standard way strength is measured in research.
Hypertrophy
An increase in muscle size. Studies usually measure it with ultrasound (muscle thickness) or MRI.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
A 1 to 10 effort rating. In lifting, RPE 10 equals 0 RIR, RPE 9 equals 1 RIR, RPE 8 equals 2 RIR, and so on.
Systemic Fatigue
Whole-body tiredness from training, not just in the muscle you worked. It shows up as slower bar speed, lower jump height and longer recovery between sessions.
Meta-Regression
A study that pools data from many earlier studies and tests how an outcome changes along a scale, like how growth changes as RIR goes from 5 down to 0.
Meta-Analysis
A study that combines the results of many similar studies to get a more reliable overall answer than any single study can give.
Dose-Response
How much the result changes as you change the "dose." Here, the dose is how close to failure each set goes.
Volume-Equated
When two training groups do the same total work (sets x reps x weight), so differences in results come from effort, not just doing more.
Sources

References

  1. Robinson ZP, Pelland JC, Remmert JF, et al. Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions. Sports Medicine. 2024;54(9). Read the study
  2. Refalo MC, Helms ER, et al. Similar muscle hypertrophy following eight weeks of resistance training to momentary muscular failure or with repetitions-in-reserve in resistance-trained individuals. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2024. Read the study
  3. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2022. Read the study
  4. Vieira JG, et al. Effects of Resistance Training to Muscle Failure on Acute Fatigue: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2022. Read the study
  5. Morán-Navarro R, et al. Time course of recovery following resistance training leading or not to failure. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2017. Read the study
Keep Going

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For educational purposes only. Not medical advice. Talk to a qualified professional before changing your training if you have an injury or health condition.

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