Drop Sets: What and How

 Why do we workout, lift weights, or run for miles at way-too-early in the morning? In some small manner we are each trying to attain an Atlas-esque physique. In our minds we are trying ot be something like Steve Austen or Jamie Sommers, the bionic sci-fi duo of the 1970s. We are training to be stronger, faster, better than before.

 

That is the crux of training, is it not? To be stronger, larger, faster in some respect than we were before? It is. It most certainly is. We all train in our given arena to become more athletic and more aesthetically pleasing to someone. The issue is that, due to the microwave oven mentality, we want those results now and have little patience for the journey.

 

It is along the journey that we use a multitude of training tactics and techniques known by different titles. In this piece we will look at a few principles written by Joe Weider. He has left us numerous training principle to learn and grow with.

 

Weider Principles

Joe Weider, the Master Blaster himself, gave us a plethora of training principles. This list was built through trial and error over hours in the gym and in talking with exercise scientists as well as physicians. Among those is included Drop Sets. The premise and practice are quite simple. You do an exercise to failure, lower the weight, repeat. Why? To overload and fully exhaust a target muscle group for full development is why.

 

These are also called rack runs. You may have a few colorful terms for them of your own that the uninitiated would not understand. But, to what end? Do these really work? Is there a benefit to this style of training?

 

A 2018 study published through the National Institute of Health looked at the effect of drop sets on growth of muscles. It was found that drop sets increased growth in muscle tissue in trained muscle groups. This was most likely due to the higher amount of stress on the targeted muscles.

 

The technique trains both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch fibers are associated with more endurance activities. These take longer to fatigue. Fast twitch fibers, conversely, are associated with strength and power. Fast twitch are larger fibers than slow twitch.

 

Drop sets have the unique capacity for training both slow and fast twitch muscles in one session. There is also another aspect of drop sets which some may overlook. They include an increased time under tensions.

 

Time Under Tension-This refers to the amount of time a muscle is under direct tension during training. The concept is that the longer a muscle is under tension the greater the gains in strength. Time under tension has benefits to a degree. I am not going to tell you that a three minute curl is going to give arms the size of Schwarzenegger.

 

There is something to be said about slower, more controlled movements for a more thorough training of a muscle group. By properly increasing the TUT, time under tension, a trainee can see several benefits. Among these benefits are mind-body connection, stronger muscles, and better form which results in better training. One positive aspect is that by going slower you reduce the risk of injury due to bad form. Another benefit is that, by prolonging the TUT, you more thoroughly exhaust the target muscle.

 

By dropping weight and continuing your sets past regular muscle failure, as in drop sets, you can maintain proper form with the lighter workload. Training with proper form for greater periods trains in better habits. More specifically, we are looking at the increased TUT. This technique is a continual depletion of the amount of muscle fibers in the fast twitch group.

 

Each set is presumably to failure. By lowering the weight at the point of failure you can continue to train without stopping. This fatigues more muscle fibers with each set. In this, you can see how strength fibers are being exhausted and endurance fibers are being engaged and trained as well.

 

There is a limit as to the amount of muscle fibers that a given exercise can exhaust before the trainee can no longer do that given exercise. This is positive failure. By lowering the amount of weight used, the stress load on the muscle fibers is lowered. This allows the trainee to continue to do the exercise thus firing or tearing more muscle fibers. In so doing repeatedly, the trainee goes to positive failure multiple times throughout the drop set resulting in a more complete exhaustion of muscle fibers in the targeted muscl group.

 

This dual fiber training in connection with the continual dropping for fast twitch fiber training will, after recovery, provide the trainee with larger and stronger muscles. These results will also be seen in shorter periods of time according to studies. Most training cycles run 12-weeks. Drop sets are recommended to run for 6-weeks for results.

 

Overload

Progressive Overload is the idea that you will continually and gradually increase the weight you are training with in order to increase the stress on your muscles. This results in larger and/or stronger muscles upon recovery. How this applies to drop sets is simple.

 

When training with drop sets as your main exercise routine you will still need to increases the weight you are lifting. The method I use is taken from the Russian Squat routine. It is simple and straight forward. Each workout, increase the starting weight by five to ten pounds. In this way, each workout is an overload as it is an increase from the last session.

 

Growth in Size and Strength

Due to its capacity for training both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers simultaneously this method is effective and efficient in producing muscle growth. Growth occurs when the body recovers after training. The training is traumatic to the body as it tears muscle fibers. The body then compensates by rebuilding more fibers than there were before. What we see as the result is larger, denser, stronger muscles. The technique of drop sets brings results in as little as six weeks according to studies.

 

Science Says

In review, the National Institute of Health studies have shown that drop sets are very effective for increasing size and strength as well as endurance. This training method is, in this author’s experience, fast, effective, and efficient. It is also highly enjoyable.

 

Conclusion

Drop sets are fast and efficient as a training technique. Using them as a foundation for your workout is an advanced technique. Even at advanced levels you will experience muscle soreness for days afterwards. Increasing your nutritional intake of protein and carbohydrates is likely to provide you what is needed to repair the damage done through training.

 

This author has done several 12 week cycles of drop sets and enjoys them thoroughly. At the time of this writing, this author is one month in on a drop set cycle. The technique is not easy in practice, but worth doing. The gains you will achieve in size and strength are worth pushing through. The gains will not come steadily as you will hit the wall at some points. This is natural.

 

When you cannot do all the reps per set as you design, do not increase the weight for the next session as designed. Rather, replicate said workout at the next session and hit the reps per set at that workout. You will get there so long as you persevere.

 

If you have not yet tried drop sets, you should give them a go. The first few sessions will be painful the day after. Stick with it as the results will be worth the initial pain.