Reading through online forums and blogs you may have come across a routine that implements "drop sets". Drop sets are nothing new and you are probably already doing them and just are not familiar with the terminology. So, if you've been...
Reading through online forums and blogs you may have come across a routine that implements "drop sets". Drop sets are nothing new and you are probably already doing them and just are not familiar with the terminology.
So, if you've been wondering "What are drop sets", the answer is:
"Drop sets" is a technique for continuing an exercise with a lower weight once muscle failure occurs at the current weight.
In other words, you rack the weight, take a few plates and continue your lift until the desired number reps are reached. Another common name for "drop sets" is a "strip set". A drop set would look like this:
This differs from the rest-pause technique in that you are lowering your weight and taking as little of break as possible and doing max reps at the lower weight - you rest for only the time it takes to change weights. Where as when doing the rest-pause technique you keep the weight consistent and shoot for a predetermined number of reps. Typically one should only perform 3 drop sets in succession and the weights should be predetermined.
Benefits of Drop Sets
In a nutshell, drop sets allow you to use unused muscle fibers and continue working beyond where you normally would have had to stop. This is accomplished by lowering the weight. More muscle fibers used should result in more muscle growth when they repair.
