Drop sets involve dropping the weight your are using and, without rest, doing another set to further push past failure.
Below are various ways to use drop sets and some tips to aid you.
1. Drop Sets With Barbells (strip sets)
This was Arnold’s favorite method for bicep training, but it can easily be used on any barbell exercise. All you have to do is put small plates on each side of the bar and strip them off when you reach failure.
2. Drop Sets With Machines
Drop sets are easier with machines. All you have to do is pull the pin out of the weight stack and move it up to a lighter weight.
3. Drop Sets With Dumbbells
These are self explanatory.
4. Tight Drop Sets
This involves a small drop in weight.
5. Wide Drop Sets
This involves a large drop in weight.
6. 50% Drop Set (the “halving” or 6-20 method)
After warming up, choose the weight you can perform 6 reps with strict form with. Perform six reps, then without resting, reduce the weight by exactly 50% and continue for 20 reps.
7. Ascending (6-12-20) or Descending (12-8-4-2) Rep Drop Sets (Pyramids)
Ascending Pyramid
• (Increase weight, decrease reps):
You’ll be increasing weight with each successive set using an ascending pyramid.
If you are doing four sets, on the first set, select a weight that will allow you to get around 16 reps; on the second select a weight that will allow you to get 12 reps or so; again increase the weight again on the next set so you fail at 8 reps; and for your last set, pick a very heavy weight that allows you to get only 4 reps.
Descending Pyramid
• (Decrease weight, increase reps):
This method entails doing your first set with the heaviest weight you plan to use. (Make sure to do a couple warm up sets before starting heavy) In this scheme, your first set might be somewhere around 5-6 reps; on each set thereafter, decrease the weight and do more reps until you’re doing 15-20 reps by your fourth set.
Triangle Pyramid
• (Ascending descending):
Here’s where you combine the first two pyramids into one giant pyramid.
The reps in the pyramid should look something like this: 16-12-8-4-8-12-16.
8. Drop Sets With Grip or Stance Change
This involves doing high rep sets on one exercises then low rep sets on another exercise. For back workouts its best to do high rep (lower weight) sets on machine exercises and focusing on isolating the correct muscle group, followed by low rep (higher weight) sets on free weight exercises.
9. Zero Rest Drop Sets
The difference between these and normal drop sets (when you usually rest around 10 seconds while changing weights) can actually make a big difference in training.
You may need a spotter or two to help you change weights quick enough to reduce rest periods.
10. Rest-Pause Drop Sets
This can be done by doing standard rest-pauses as explained here but by reducing the weights.
11. Drop-Superset
WTo perform these pick the exercises you wish to superset then perform normal drop sets as you cycle through the superset (perform bench press followed by flys then drop bench presses straight away and then drop for flys again)
Below are a few tips to help maximize drop set efficiency:
1. Keep Rest Intervals To A Minimum
2. Set Up Equipment In Advance
3. Train When The Gym Isn’t Crowded So You Have A Dumbbell Rack To Yourself.
4. Use Two Weight Drops
5. Stay In The Six To Twelve Rep Range Most Of The Time.
6. Begin With A Six To Twelve Rep Max.
A true six rep max means that you can’t do a seventh rep. You should reach failure or close to it with each weight before dropping weights.
7. Use Drop Sets Sparingly
Drop sets can lead to overtraining and should only be used sparingly.
