Drop sets are a popular method of training for hypertrophy, otherwise known as muscle growth. In a drop set, after you cannot squeeze out any more reps at a given weight, you drop the load to allow you to keep squeezing out extra reps. Typically this involves 20-25% drops in weight, over 1-3 drop sets, with minimal to no rest.

Why Do We Use Drop Sets in Weight Training?

It is often understood that training with a close proximity to concentric failure with a given load is required for muscular growth, along with large relative training volumes. However, when we hit failure with a given load, we are still able to produce force at lighter loads; we haven’t actually hit muscular failure, nor are we likely as close to failure as we think.

Therefore, we can use drop sets to work closer to absolute failure in our pursuit of gains.

Two Ways to Utilise Dropsets

1 - Assisted Reps

After hitting failure during a given exercise, we can continue to work without needing to drop the actual load, by simply employing assisted reps, reducing the relative load and allowing you to continue squeezing out reps. Assisted reps can be done by using a stronger body part than the working muscles to assist with portions of the movement to allow you to lift more weight. This allows you to minimise the rest periods for a more time-efficient, potentially demanding sets.

Exercise 1 - Dumbbell military press

Drop set - Dumbbell push press

2 - Using Multiple Weights

Alternatively, you could use the traditional method whereby you take weights off between each set. This allows you to be more precise with the load you use and the amount you drop the weight between each set and also allows you to easier use multiple drop sets.

Exercise 1 - Barbell high bar squat

Drop set 1 - Barbell high bar squat (drop load by 20% from start)

Drop set 2 - Barbell high bar squat (drop load by 40% from start)

Who Should Use Dropsets?

The drop set is an advanced training method due to how incredibly demanding it is, even if it has reached almost buzzword status in its popularity. It should therefore be introduced and used in moderation to start. Our advice would be to only use it with one exercise per session maximum with exercises that you are very technically proficient in, given the likely decrements in technique as you get more fatigued.

This may not necessarily be an injury risk but with huge variations in technique come greater variations in the training stimulus, which may be counterintuitive when you are trying to target growth at a particular muscle.

There is no reason that drop sets cannot be used by beginners and advanced lifters alike, but we advise that the exercises you use drop sets on and the frequency at which you use them be specific to you.

Try introducing these two drop set examples into your training, on two separate days throughout your week, mixing up your training, continuing the pursuit of maximal gains!

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

For more content, follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and on our official Mirafit Facebook page.

Tags: Exercise Type > Strength