Grit Performance

Kojo’s goal is to lose 100 pounds and this clip is a real reenactment of a conversation from our training session.

There’s always a workaround, and this is exactly why I don’t believe in demonizing exercises.

Every movement has pros and cons depending on your body and your goals.

Follow me and Kojo for more fitness and fat-loss tips as he takes on this 100-lb transformation.

4x Mr Olympia avoided failure, my 15 years of experience training people has showed proof that touching failure isn’t mandatory for growth (and strength) and now the science. What more do you need?

This debate has circulated in fitness for years.

The original video by MuscleMeds featuring Kai Green and Adam Paz, spark the conversation long before research caught up.

Two key studies later provided some insight:

* Attentional Focus for Maximizing Muscle Development: The Mind-Muscle Connection (Schoenfeld & Contreras, 2016)

* Differential Effects of Attentional Focus Strategies During Long-Term
Resistance Training (Schoenfeld and Contreras., 2018)

Both explore how directing your attention internally toward the muscle or externally toward the movement can influence muscular adaptations over time.

Credit to Brad Schoenfeld and Bret Contreras research.

Both provide a wealth of reading material for anyone looking to deepen their understanding and together, they've done an incredible amount for the industry.

Citations:
PMID: 29533715
https://bretcontreras.com/wp-content/uploads/Attentional-Focus-for-Maximizing-Muscle-Development-The-Mind-Muscle-
Connection.pdf

In 2017, Brad Schoenfeld and a team of researchers pooled data from multiple studies comparing low-to-moderate loads (under 60% of 1RM) with high loads (over 60% of 1RM) finding that both can build muscle effectively when taken to momentary concentric failure.

Later studies by Bret Contreras and Brad Schoenfeld on trained lifters confirmed similar hypertrophy and strength responses.

Huge thanks to Sam Sulek and Arnold for reigniting this conversation, it’s something many have questioned in our mind many times.

And shoutout to Haniel Fernandes, whose 2025 systematic review on low-load resistance training adds even more depth to this topic.

Want to go deeper? The full article (10-minute read) complete with all sources and is now on the website blog.