Less is more? Comparison of training to failure to buffer resistance training in rugby players

How many water molecules are needed to solvate one? How many water molecules are needed to solvate one? (Cunningham et al., 2018). Furthermore, the player’s size is crucial in overcoming the opponents (Smart, Hopkins, & Gill, 2013). Resistance training (RT) exercises carried to momentary muscle failure had been amply reported to elicit adaptation in both muscle size (Willardson, Norton, & Wilson, 2010) and strength (Schoenfeld et al., 2014) and is currently amply prescribed for rugby players (Corcoran & Bird, 2009). More recently, the practice of training to failure has been questioned in several studies which compared it to other prescription methods and reported it to inhibit adaptation (Carroll et al., 2018; Izquierdo et al., 2006), possibly due to delayed recovery time (Morán-Navarro et al., 2017) and the excessive amount of accumulated fatigue (Nóbrega & Libardi, 2016). Reducing the number of repetitions completed in each set at ta given intensity can increase movement speed and power generated (Pareja-Blanco, Sánchez-Medina, Suárez-Arrones, & GonzálezBadillo, 2017) and could decrease accumulated fatigue and expedite recovery (Carroll et al., 2018). Therefore, this study compares two RT programs, one carrying each set to muscle failure (training to failure, FAIL), the second with a reduced number of repetitions per set (buffer training, BUFF), on lower body measures of the muscle size, strength, power, and athletic perforance.