Research

Mixed

Training to volitional failure, contraction velocity, set configuration, inter-set rest, periodization, time of day, and exercise order do not significantly influence skeletal muscle hypertrophy.

You do not need to obsess over training to failure, specific tempos, exercise order, or rest periods to build muscle. These variables have little to no impact on hypertrophy compared to the main drivers: load, frequency, and volume. Choose what is sustainable for you.

ModerateRefutesMEDIUM confidence
There was insufficient evidence to conclude that time of day, periodization, inter-set rest, set configuration, set end point, contraction velocity/time under tension, or exercise order (only pertaining to hypertrophy) influenced skeletal muscle adaptations.
Jonathan C. Mcleod et al. · Journal of sport and health science/Journal of Sport and Health Science · 2023

Why this rating

Based on 'insufficient evidence' across multiple reviews for these variables.

Source

The influence of resistance exercise training prescription variables on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function in healthy adults: An umbrella review

Jonathan C. Mcleod et al. · Journal of sport and health science/Journal of Sport and Health Science · 2023

DOI 10.1016/j.jshs.2023.06.005

Meta-analysis · 44 studiesCited 145×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →