SynthesisJournal of sport and health science2022
Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of sport and health science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 18 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 18 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of resistance training performed to repetition non-failure on exercise performance in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Creatine supplementation in young men under resistance versus non-resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis of strength, performance, and lean mass.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- The additive effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation and resistance training on muscle mass and strength.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Optimising the Dose of Static Stretching to Improve Flexibility: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Multivariate Meta-regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of blood flow restriction combined with high-load training on muscle strength and sports performance in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Optimal dose of resistance training to improve handgrip strength in older adults with sarcopenia: a systematic review and Bayesian model-based network meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Residual Effects of Physical Exercise After Periods of Training Cessation in Older Adults: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Resistance is not futile: a systematic review of the benefits, mechanisms and safety of resistance training in people with heart failure.Heart failure reviews · 2024Pooled it
- The influence of resistance exercise training prescription variables on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function in healthy adults: An umbrella review.Journal of sport and health science · 2024Pooled it
- Preferred Reporting Items for Resistance Exercise Studies (PRIRES): A Checklist Developed Using an Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews.Sports medicine - open · 2023Pooled it
- Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.British journal of sports medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Acute and Chronic Performance Enhancement in Rowing: A Network Meta-analytical Approach on the Effects of Nutrition and Training.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Influence of Resistance Training Proximity-to-Failure on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Resistance Training to Muscle Failure on Acute Fatigue: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Accuracy in Predicting Repetitions to Task Failure in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Load and Volume Autoregulation on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- The effectiveness of traditional vs. velocity-based strength training on explosive and maximal strength performance: A network meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- High Mental Fatigue Magnitude Generates Greater Impaired Resistance Exercise Performance Than Moderate Mental Fatigue Magnitude in Trained Adults.European journal of sport science · 2026Trial
- Partial Range, Full Gains? The Effect of 8 Weeks of Partial Range of Motion Training at Long Muscle Lengths on Elbow Flexor Hypertrophy and Strength in Trained Individuals.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of training to muscle failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy.
methodsMeta-analyses of effect sizes (ESs) explored the effects of training to failure vs. non-failure on strength and hypertrophy. Subgroup meta-analyses explored potential moderating effects of variables such as training status (trained vs. untrained), training volume (volume equated vs. volume non-equated), body region (upper vs. lower), exercise selection (multi- vs. single-joint exercises (only for strength)), and study design (independent vs. dependent groups).
resultsFifteen studies were included in the review. All studies included young adults as participants. Meta-analysis indicated no significant difference between the training conditions for muscular strength (ES = -0.09, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): -0.22 to 0.05) and for hypertrophy (ES = 0.22, 95%CI: -0.11 to 0.55). Subgroup analyses that stratified the studies according to body region, exercise selection, or study design showed no significant differences between training conditions. In studies that did not equate training volume between the groups, the analysis showed significant favoring of non-failure training on strength gains (ES = -0.32, 95%CI: -0.57 to -0.07). In the subgroup analysis for resistance-trained individuals, the analysis showed a significant effect of training to failure for muscle hypertrophy (ES = 0.15, 95%CI: 0.03-0.26).
conclusionTraining to muscle failure does not seem to be required for gains in strength and muscle size. However, training in this manner does not seem to have detrimental effects on these adaptations, either. More studies should be conducted among older adults and highly trained individuals to improve the generalizability of these findings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.