Drop sets are a powerful method of improving muscle fatigue and facilitating muscle development, although they can be tough and not ideal for every individual. Usually, a set of drops is counted as a single set, even if there are several drops in weight.

Understanding Drop Sets

Drop sets are a great training protocol that you can incorporate into your training routines.

It involves gradually reducing the weight you lift in a row without taking a break.

The main purpose of this is to continue exercising past the point of initial muscle fatigue.

However, when I say “set”, this does not count as an additional set, but as an extension of the original working set.

In other words, drop sets should always be counted as a single set.

The main reason for doing drop sets is to increase muscular endurance and promote muscle growth.

This is achieved by fully fatiguing the muscle fibers.

That being said, while droplet stacks may increase strength, there is some published evidence Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical FitnessThis shows that doing regular heavy sets will lead to greater strength improvements.

Drop sets are suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced, but should be used with caution to avoid overtraining.

In addition, you can apply them to all exercises, thus improving the intensity and effectiveness of your training.

Make sure you maintain proper form to enjoy maximum benefits.

The most common way to use drop sets

Personally, I’ve mostly used decline sets for the last set of an exercise.

My standard protocol would be a total of 3 drop sets after the last work set, ensuring that the reps remain the same.

Also, I will usually reduce the weight by about 10-30% for each subsequent set of drops.

Here’s an example with barbell bicep curls:

Barbell Bicep Curls: The Single Drop Set Method
set	Res	weight
1	8-12	70 kilos
2	8-12	70 kilos
3 + 3 drop sets	8-12	70lbs ➡️ 50lbs ➡️ 40lbs ➡️ 30lbs
Brought to you by mybodyweightexercises.com

However, the final work set that includes 3 sets of drops should only count as ONE SET and not as a total of 4 sets.

Realistically, your “real” sets (for lack of a better word) should be done with maximum weight, intensity, and repetitions.

Drop sets are just a way to push yourself a little harder while your muscles are tired and close to failure, incorporating the same movement but with reduced weight.

So the biceps workout above only has 3 sets and not 6 sets.

The “Every Set Drop Set” method

The drop-set-per-set method is exactly what it sounds like, you do one drop set for each set of each exercise throughout your routine.

This will significantly increase the intensity and volume of your workout.

Basically, you’re looking to push your muscles to exhaustion at various resistance levels.

This will improve muscle endurance and growth by exposing your muscles to a wide range of stimuli in a single session.

I will say that it is very effective for muscle hypertrophy, but with some caveats.

First, consider your overall training intensity, training volume, and recovery capabilities to avoid overtraining.

Because of this, I would recommend that the drops-per-set method be used only by experienced lifters, especially those trying to plateau.

Also, use this method if you want to temporarily increase your training.

So I wouldn’t advise beginners to try this method, and I’d also avoid training this way for more than two days a week.

Make sure you have at least 72 hours between these two sessions and train normally throughout the week.

Finally, be mindful of your recovery as well as how you feel in the gym, as there’s no point in continuing if you feel perpetually exhausted or find that your workouts are suffering.

Barbell Bicep Curls: Every Set Drop Set Method
the phase	Res	weight
The initial set	8-12	70 kilos
Place set 1	8-12	50 lbs
Place the 2nd set	8-12	30 kilos
Brought to you by mybodyweightexercises.com

As you can see in the table, I have reduced the number of drop sets from 3 to 2.

This workout will only consist of 3 sets of work and not a total of 9 sets.

Now, you can try the per set method with 3 drop sets per set, but this is high intensity and volume.

So this is something you could potentially work on, but I would err on the side of caution and use less until your body gets used to this type of training.

This is also a great opportunity to check out my article discussing whether you should do bicep curls sitting or standing.

Key learning points

• A set of drops counts as one set.
• Decline sets involve lowering the weight with subsequent sets, “without resting between those sets.”
• They are a great way to improve muscle endurance and muscle growth.
• The most common method of using drop sets is to include a drop set in the last set of a specific exercise.
• I would generally do 3 sets of drops after the last set of an exercise.
• You can use the “set of drops per set” method which involves doing a set of drops after each set, I usually stick to 2 sets of drops using this method.
• Set each set is an advanced training method and should be avoided by beginners.
• Don’t do “all down sets” more than twice a week and train normally the rest of the week.
• Be careful with your recovery and make sure your workouts don’t suffer due to potential overtraining.

One of the biggest benefits of drop sets is that they increase metabolic stress and promote greater muscle growth. Basically, you can burn fat while building muscle. What exactly is the focus? Massthetic Muscle training program.