If you go to the gym, you might have a goal in mind that you furiously want to achieve and you don’t want the result to be average but the best. There’s one drill to follow when you are practicing weight lifting, do one set of an exercise, take a rest and repeat. Doing only straight sets may not give you the extreme results you are looking for as they target only one type of muscle fibre. So, why go for average when you can push yourself to do better than that? We are going to be talking about drop sets! The key to increasing your muscle mass! In this article, you will find out all about drop sets!
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Read on to discover what is drop set and the importance of drop sets in your fitness regime!
What is A Drop Set?
A drop set is typically a technique in which you perform an exercise and drop or reduce the weight and do more reps until you reach failure. The goal is to repeat this procedure until you can barely lift any weight. There is little to no rest. This ensures working up both types of muscle fibres and also increases the training volume which can help you in muscle growth. It is an advanced training technique that is very intense, so it is not recommended to overdo it.
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Drop SetThe goal of this procedure is to as many reps as possible until the individual fails to do another single rep. There are several benefits of drop sets you never knew before which can literally make you try them once. Drop sets can be done with any exercise and in different ways. As long as you minimize the weight between the sets you will realize the benefits of a drop set.
Benefits of Drop Set
Benefits of Drop Set A drop set is an amazing way to make your training sessions and a lot better and productive. When the drop set is properly exercised, it can be very effective in building up muscle, strength and endurance. Performing a drop set is an effective way to promote muscle hypertrophy and muscular endurance. They intensely challenge your body. Here are some benefits of drop set you should know:
1. Improves Muscle Growth
Research has shown that people who completed a drop set had superior muscle growth as there was higher stress on the muscles. It does so by fully fatiguing the muscles fibres in a specific muscle. All of your small muscle fibre tires as you train a set to failure. This can promote more muscles to grow.
2. Builds Up Muscular Endurance
Muscular endurance is prominent in weight lifting. It is defined as the muscle’s ability to exert force continuously. It is how many reps you can complete. Drop sets may help you increase your muscular endurance even with less training time. It puts your muscles beyond the normal limits and increases the muscle’s time tension which can help in boosting muscular endurance.
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Types of Drop Sets
As you are now aware of what is drop set and the benefits of drop set, it’s time you know about a few popular variations of drop sets. There are mainly two common types of drop sets. They both share the same goal and squeeze your muscles to work harder. You can add a drop set to your daily workout too, whether it is cardio or legs or abs. Here are two popular types of drop sets:
1. Plate Stripping
When you are using barbells, plates are stripped from both sides until you can no longer perform reps. You can take the help of a friend or a training instructor to pull away plate off from each side of the bar until you can’t perform the given weight anymore. Make sure the first set is the heaviest and there is no rest in between. Try to have a training partner who can reduce the weight for you.
Here’s how to do it:
- Set 1: 4-6 reps of weight you would fail at.
- Set 2: Reduce the weight by 10 lbs and perform 8-10 reps.
- Set 3: Reduce the weight by 10 lbs and perform 10-12 reps.
- Set 4: Reduce the weight by 10 lbs and perform 12-15 reps.
- Set 5: Reduce the weight by 20 lbs and perform 15-20 reps.
2. Up the Stack
Don’t have a training partner? No need to worry! Performing this variation of drop set might be the easiest way to do so as you can pin and union the weight and do not require any partner to strip away the weight. How? Well, you would need a weight machine for this. This is also a safer way to do a drop set as the weight won’t come crashing on you once you can’t lift the weight anymore. Make sure the first set is the heaviest of all.
Here’s how to do it:
- Set 1: Start with 100 kg and perform 6 reps.
- Set 2: Reduce the weight to 80 kgs and perform 8 reps.
- Set 3: Reduce the weight to 54 kgs and perform 10 reps.
- Set 4: Reduce the weight to 45 kgs and perform 12 reps.
- Set 5: Reduce the weight to 35.4 kgs and perform 14 reps.
How to Add Drop Sets Into Your Routine?
Some weight lifters perform 6 or more exercises in a single session, performing a drop set for each session. If you are a beginner and have just started to use drop sets, it is advised to use them with just one exercise per muscle group for each training session. We know, it’s about pushing yourself to the maximum but be cautious not to overdo it as it can cause severe after-effects.
Conclusion
A drop set is an amazing way to mix up your workout and push yourself to do better and better. They are a perfect tool for adding strength, endurance and more muscle mass. Be cautious when you reach failure and make sure you have a partner who can help while you lose the form.
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