To achieve muscle growth with training, it is important to expose your muscles to new stimuli each time. Training with little variation will not lead to many new stimuli. This can significantly hinder your goals. An extremely effective way to expose your muscles to a new intensity is through dropsets.
What are dropsets
Dropsets are sets where you perform an exercise multiple times in a row, gradually decreasing the weight. You ‘drop’ the weight after each set until you can no longer continue. Choose the weights so that you go to failure with each set. In practice, this often means decreasing the weight four times during the dropset. For example, with the Arnold Press, it could look like this:
Set 1: 24kg, 8 repetitions,
Set 2: 20kg, 8 repetitions,
Set 3: 16kg, 7 repetitions (to failure),
Set 4: 14kg, 5 repetitions (to failure)
Overload
Dropsets are applied to maximally engage your muscles. You go beyond what you previously did, increasing the resistance of the muscles. This is also known as the overload principle. Overload is giving the muscles a stimulus they are not accustomed to. They will need to adapt to this by building themselves stronger during periods of recovery than before.
Dropsets and Hormones
The most ideal training is one that activates as many muscle fibers as possible, thereby creating an optimal state of muscle growth. The hormones testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1 (insulin growth factor-1) must be present in the muscle cells to optimize the growth process. The body has the ability to produce sufficient amounts of these hormones on its own, provided you do effective strength training that pushes the muscles to their limits.
Testosterone levels increase with intense strength training, in both men and women. After about 20 minutes, testosterone levels peak, which then begins to decrease after 30-40 minutes. The goal of each workout is to make optimal use of this testosterone peak and to finish training before it completely disappears! Growth hormone is released by the body in response to the lactic acid in the blood. Lactic acid is released during the first 2 minutes of anaerobic training. Growth hormone levels remain stable for a long time during training.
IGF-1 is one of the most important muscle-building hormones. IGF-1 occurs in two variants; paracrine IGF-1 is mainly produced in the liver and is in the bloodstream, while autocrine IGF-1 is released only in muscle cells that contract intensely. To benefit as much as possible from the hormone IGF-1, you need to push your muscles to the extreme and give everything in training.
Variations of Dropsets
There are many variations of dropsets. Some of these include strip sets, up the stack, drop sets with dumbbells, tight drop sets, wide drop sets, 50% drop sets, power drop sets, descending or ascending drop sets, drop sets with grip or stance change, zero rest drop sets, rest-pause drop sets, and drop supersets.
Strip Sets
A dropset with a barbell equipped with small plates, which are removed one by one when you can no longer continue.
Up The Stack
A dropset on a machine where you can easily and quickly reduce the weight.
Dumbbell Drop Sets
A dropset where you use progressively lighter dumbbells until you can no longer continue.
Tight Drop Sets
A dropset with a reduction of 5-15% of the weight. Often used for smaller muscle groups and isolation exercises.
Wide Drop Sets
A dropset with a larger reduction in weight, around 30-40%. Often used for larger muscle groups, such as squats. Due to the larger drop in weight, you can perform more repetitions each set.
Power Drop Sets
A dropset with a reduction of 10-15% in weight for 6 repetitions each set.
Ascending (6-12-20) or Descending (12-8-4-2) Rep Drop Sets
An increasing number of repetitions means that you decrease the weight so that you can perform the higher number of repetitions in the next set. A decreasing number of repetitions means that the weight decrease between sets is minimal, as you have to perform fewer repetitions.
Drop Sets with Grip or Stance Change
A dropset where you target all facets of the muscle by using different angles. For example, changing the foot position during a leg press to stimulate every part of the muscle effectively.
Zero Rest Drop Sets
A dropset with absolutely no rest between sets. Assistance is necessary because you typically need about 10 seconds to adjust the weight. The difference between 0 and 10 seconds is enormous!
Rest-Pause Drop Sets
Rest 5-15 seconds between sets to slightly recover. Use this method when both strength and hypertrophy are the goals.
Drop Supersets
A dropset where you combine the method of a superset with that of a dropset. So, you perform two exercises directly one after the other, and then repeat this circuit several times without rest, each time with less weight.
Execution of Drop Sets
To get the most out of your dropset, it is important to prepare well and push yourself to the limit in each set. Pay attention to the following:
- Keep the rest between sets minimal
- Set up your required materials beforehand
- Train when the gym is not too crowded so you have enough equipment available
- Go for 2 to 3 weight reductions
- Stay between 6 and 12 repetitions
- Start with a set where you can do a maximum of 6 to 12 repetitions
- Do not only use dropsets; a good ratio is 3:1 (3 ‘normal’ exercises followed by 1 dropset)
Finally
There are many training methods you can use to train at high intensity, and dropsets are one such method. However, do not focus solely on doing dropsets or a particular type of dropset; vary with the many methods available because even with just doing dropsets, you won’t achieve everything! Every body responds differently to a training or training method. So, experiment with different methods and try different types of dropsets. Ultimately, do what yields the most results for you and what gives you the most satisfaction.
