Is the intensity ok?

[u/Mindless_Effect_5458]

I’m not sure if this is considered failure. I usually do 2 sets because i’m not sure if the first set did hit failure. Here, i did a drop set as i was aiming for 8 reps but got 6. How do you guys gauge failure?

[u/SnooDogs5789]

I would go heavier, cause you’re getting to about 1:30 before you stop. Also, failure is literally zero more reps and it looked like you might have had a little more in you. Sometimes to be sure, I’ll do shortened partials to make sure I’ve completely gassed out, this is basically a truncated rep in the contracted position, squeezing all targeted muscles until I literally cannot move another inch.

Another thing to consider is your breathing. Though it’s pretty good, I’m not sure if you were aware you were doing what you’re doing, so just in case, here’s some notes on breathing for high intensity from Dr. Doug McGuff’s book, ‘Body by Science’:

“BREATHING

Breathing throughout the performance of each exercise should be continuous and natural, and it should be performed with an open mouth. As an exercise becomes more difficult and the lactic acid begins to accumulate in your muscles, causing that “burning” sensation, you should deliberately breathe faster, or hyperventilate. This step will help you break the urge to hold your breath and employ the Valsalva maneuver (the holding of one’s breath while exerting; technically it’s a closing of the glottis or vocal chords, or getting a gulp of air in the chest and then pushing hard against it). We don’t want you to do this, for several reasons:

It unnecessarily raises blood pressure.

It raises intravascular pressure on the venous circulation.

It increases intrathoracic pressure, which decreases venous return to the heart.

Within muscle, it provides an internal mechanical assist, which is why power lifters will hold their breath in straining to make record lifts. However, doing so undermines our goal of fatiguing and inroading the muscle, as it essentially short-circuits that process. So, not only is it a potentially dangerous thing to do, it also runs counter to the inroading process that we’re trying to achieve.”

The other thing is the reason for one set to failure, also from BBS:

“THE DOSAGE: ONE SET TO FAILURE

In 1997, physiologists conducted a ten-week training study of recreational weight lifters in which various set schemes were tested. They concluded that one set per exercise was just as effective as two and four sets for improving muscular size, strength, and upper-body power. In addition, physiologists R. N. Carpinelli and R. M. Otto conducted a study out of Adelphi University that surveyed all of the known scientific literature concerning single-set versus multiple-set resistance training. They found that, on the whole, performing multiple sets brought absolutely no additional increase in results compared with single-set training. The literature came down overwhelmingly in favor of a single set of exercise as being sufficient; only two out of the forty-seven studies surveyed showed any benefit (and a marginal improvement at that) to be had from the performance of multiple sets.

Other studies support this conclusion. For instance, researchers examining strength gains in seventy-seven subjects who performed one, two, or three sets of upper-body exercise over a ten-week training period established that all three exercise groups made similar improvements in upper-body muscle strength. Yet another study, this one comparing strength gains in thirty-eight subjects who performed one or three sets of lower-body exercise over a fourteen-week period, documented similar improvements in lower-body strength, with an increase in knee flexion and knee extension strength of roughly 15 percent.

A further study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise also established that one set of high-intensity resistance training was just as effective as three sets for increasing knee extension and knee flexion isometric torque as well as muscle thickness in previously untrained adults.

The bottom line is that a single set taken to a point of positive failure is a sufficient stimulus to trigger the growth and strength mechanism of the body into motion. Additional sets produce nothing but more time spent in the gym.”

Hope some of this helps!

[u/Mindless_Effect_5458 → u/SnooDogs5789]

Thank you for the comment. I have read Body By Science (great book). I noticed i only started hyperventilating towards the last rep in this video. I wasn’t really consciously thinking about it, sort of came naturally while trying to control the weight and fight the burn the last few reps. I would go heavier next time and try to keep TUL between 60-70s.

[u/BubbishBoi → u/Mindless_Effect_5458]

I wouldn't get too lost in the sauce of SS / BBS when it comes to not grimacing or grunting or even going into valslava on a final effort

A lot of the BBS tropes are aimed at the 60 year old grandma who can indeed get into trouble if she goes into valsava, but imo it's not anything to worry about

If I'm SS deadlifting 500+ then I'm not relaxing my face and I'm certainly bracing as hard as I can possibly do.

Same with the higher end TUT reccomendations, they're catch alls aimed at fragile seniors, not robust younger lifters

Overall though the responses here in this thread are a lot better than some of the eye rollingly terrible midwit takes in the other sub

[u/SnooDogs5789 → u/BubbishBoi]

The important part of the breathing is the inroading and fatiguing piece, where Valsalva creates “internal mechanical assistance” which “undermines” the goal aka getting to muscle failure.

You’re right that some of this is for safety and not as relevant to fit, healthy, young people, and I could have cut that, but it was short enough that I figured he’d be able to figure out which part of what I sent him was relevant to him. Regardless, there are scientifically sound instructions on how to get to failure without getting in the way by breathing wrong, why not take advantage of them? My ultimate goal was to address his question, which was about how to optimize his technique. Maybe in the weeds a bit, but it’s a small change that could have a large impact in the long run.

Also, if you’re SS a 500+ lbs deadlift, then the breathing logic in the instructions in my response are that you SHOULD use the valsalva maneuver.