Strength training: lifting performance with drop sets

When progress in strength training plateaus, a new strategy is required. SPB looks at the evidence for and against drop sets

The benefits of strength training for athletes are wide ranging and backed by a large body of empirical data. These benefits include stronger, more resilient muscles and tendons, which helps reduce the risk of injury, and gains in strength and power, which are also beneficial to many athletes – even those engaging in endurance sports (which although primarily endurance in nature, require occasional bursts of power). In addition, more recent studies have demonstrated that strength training can significantly boost muscle efficiency – more technically known as ‘muscle economy’⁽¹⁾. Improved muscle economy means less oxygen is required to maintain a given sub-maximal pace – another benefit for endurance athletes!

Making strength training efficient

When strength training is initially introduced into a training program, strength gains are almost inevitable regardless of the number of sets, reps, weights overall program structure employed. However, as muscles adapt to the new strength stimulus, making further gains becomes incrementally harder. Simply continually upping the volume and loading is likely to be counterproductive; not only can it lead to fatigue, burnout and injury, it will also leave the athlete too tired or with too little time to pursue the main body of training required for his or her sport. At this point, a more targeted and intelligent approach is required – one that emphasizes quality over quantity.

One of the most commonly-used training techniques shown to produce time-efficient strength gains in athletes whose strength gains have reached a plateau is the use of eccentric training. Eccentric training emphasizes the ‘lowering’ (ie muscle lengthening under load) motion in the exercise being performed, and data shows that it can indeed produce a very beneficial additional stimulus for muscle growth and strength gains above and beyond those obtained from a conventional program^(2,3). For a more detailed description of the theory and practice of eccentric training, readers are strongly advised to see this article. Eccentric training however is not the only strategy that can be deployed for athletes on a plateau. Experienced strength trainers might be familiar with other techniques such as cluster sets, supersets, blood flow restriction etc. In this article however, we will look at the use of drop sets, and explore the evidence for their use by athletes

What is a drop set?

A drop set (or strip set as it’s sometimes called) is a resistance-training method of generating high-intensity and extreme fatigue in a muscle group at the end of a normal set of reps. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding’, the use of the drop set method was originally documented in 1947 by Henry Atkins, who was the editor of Body Culture magazine. Since that time, it has become a staple technique of bodybuilders, but can also be used by athlete or anybody seeking gains in muscular strength. Although there are a number of variations (see later), the basic drop set is performed as follows⁽⁴⁾:

• An exercise is chosen and the weight adjusted so that only about 8-10 strict reps can be performed before reaching failure point, or near failure point.
• The weight used for the exercise is then reduced by 15-20%, and the exercise is continued at this reduced weight until failure is reached again.
• The step above is repeated two or three times until it’s virtually impossible to perform any more repetitions.

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Box 1: What’s the theory behind drop sets?

When training for strength/muscle growth gains, the aim is to fatigue as many of the muscle fibres in a particular muscle group as possible so that it is unable to contract anymore. This fatigue sets into motion hormonal, chemical and physiological changes that eventually lead to super-compensation – ie the muscles fibers become stronger in order to be able to produce more resistance for longer should the same demands be placed upon them again. However, it’s important to realise that not all muscle fibres are firing in a muscle group, even when total failure is reached. This is down to recruitment patterns of fibres, which are related to the loading on the muscle. Therefore, if the weight is reduced and more reps are performed, muscle recruitment patterns change⁽⁵⁾, which means the muscle can involve some of those fibres that were previously not involved – ie produce a more total involvement of the muscle fibres in a group. And of course the more times the procedure is repeated, the more failure points can be achieved.

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How to construct a drop set

There’s nothing complicated about using drop sets in training. Let’s suppose an athlete is performing barbell squats and his/her normal training weight is 60kgs. Using incremental drops of 20% in between sets, he/she would then perform the following:

• One set at 60kgs to failure (ie normal training weight).
• A brief pause then as many follow up reps as possible at 48kgs (20% less than 60kg).
• A brief pause then as many follow up reps as possible at 38kgs (20% less than 48kg).
• A brief pause then as many follow up reps as possible at 30kgs (20% less than 38kg).

What anybody deploying this technique will find is that the greater the % drop between follow up reps, the more reps they will be able to achieve (because it’s comparatively easier). So for example, you’ll get more follow up reps if you drop by 20% each time, than by dropping just 15%. For how many sets you continue to drop the weight depends on how much willpower you have. However, once you’re unable to perform more than 3-4 reps, you have probably thoroughly exhausted those muscle fibres.

What’s the evidence for drop sets?

Although there’s limited data in the literature, the evidence for the use of drop sets is quite persuasive. A 2018 Japanese study looked at the effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy (growth) and strength in young men⁽⁶⁾. In this study, researchers compared the effects of two different resistance training protocols on muscle hypertrophy and strength of the triceps muscle:

• A single drop set
• Three sets of conventional resistance training (with rests of two minutes between sets)

Both groups showed significant increases in triceps muscle cross-sectional area but muscle thickness (growth) was very significantly greater after drop set training, as was the maximum voluntary contraction. The researchers concluded that it was the high stress/intensity of the drop set protocol that was probably responsible for the extra gains.

A very similar protocol to/variation on drop sets is known as ‘sarcoplasm stimulating training’ (SST). In this mode of training, the first two to three sets are performed at the same weight but with only 20 seconds of rest between sets. Following these initial sets, the drop set protocol is used, sometimes with a static hold at the end. As with drop sets, the goal of SST is to create maximum overload and fatigue in the muscle fibers in a short space of time. Recently, de Almeida and his colleagues demonstrated that using an SST protocol resulted in greater acute biceps and triceps muscle thickness when compared to a traditional set scheme in trained subjects, even when total training volume was higher in the traditional set scheme (ie the SST protocol got better results with less training volume)⁽⁷⁾. It’s important however to make the point that continual use of drop sets/SST over a prolonged period of time does not seem to produce extra gains over conventional resistance training⁽⁸⁾. These techniques should therefore be considered periodic protocols rather than bread and butter ones!

Practical considerations

Although drop sets are easy to perform, there are practical considerations, namely how quickly and easily someone performing them can lower the weights in between sets. Machines with weight stacks are easily used; simply remove the pin and place it in the slot corresponding to the next weight down in the series. Free weights are another matter; if it’s going to take five minutes to remove the barbell locking collars, find the right weight plates and then re-secure the collars, much of the momentum of the drop set will have been lost. Therefore, at the very least, athletes should work out exactly what plates will be required and have them ready to hand, lined up in the order needed. A better way is to enlist the help of a training partner, who can either help swap the plates  between sets, or better still, be getting a second barbell prepared to pass to the athlete once he/she is ready. One way around this potential problem when using free weights is to use dumbbells from a rack; most racks have a wide range of dumbbells arranged in weight order, in increments of 2.5kg. All that is needed is to work out which weights will be used in the drop set and then to have them to hand at the ready.

Drop set variations

If you’ve never used them before, you’ll find even a basic drop set will give your muscles something to think about! However, once you’ve found your way around ordinary drop sets, there are other variations, some of which will push you to your limits:

• Wide drop sets – use a larger weight decrease (30-40%) between failure points, which makes it somewhat easier to maintain the repetitions, with small rests in between sets. These are good for building strength/endurance.
• Narrow drop sets – use a small decrease (about 10%) between failure points. Maintaining the rep count is obviously harder than standard or wide drop sets, and longer pauses between sets are therefore required.
• Ascending drop sets – use enough of a weight decrease so that you can increase the number of reps you perform with each successive weight reduction.
• Zero rest drop sets – as the name implies, the sequences of reps at progressively lighter weights is performed without any rest at all between sets. Zero rest drop sets require a training partner to hand over the next dumbbells/barbells or to change the selector pin. This is a very challenging technique - only the brave need apply!

Integrating drop sets into training

Because they’re so intense, drop sets should only be used sparingly. Moreover, the research also indicates limited rather than continual use is superior. One method of integration is to perform just one drop set per body part after the 2-3 normal sets for that body part. You’ll need to do drop sets at the end of your normal sets, because if you try and do them beforehand, you’ll be too wasted to then do any normal sets! For building outright strength, use narrow drop sets, with a slightly longer pause starting on 4-6 reps; for building strength/endurance, use wide drop sets with a short a pause as possible, starting with 10 reps.

References

1. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2021 Mar 17;6(1):29
2. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2002;16:25–32
3. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 2010;108:821–836
4. Strength Cond. J. 2011;33:60–65
5. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 Jun 21;12:217
6. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018 May;58(5):597-605
7. Front. Physiol. 2019;10:579
8. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 2017;117:359–369