Drop Sets

[gymtime]

Yay or Nay????

'splain.

 

[endpoint]

another tool in the toolbox.......which there are many

 

[Shark01]

Love 'em.........great for assuring that you have reached muscular failure. Also like the other tools like rest-pause, forced reps, pre-exhaustion, forced negatives, and the one I picked up from the super slow guys.....make that failed rep last 10 seconds (keep pulling or pushing) then go back down as slow as possible

 

[Thaibox]

Good to toss in the mix sometimes.

Although, you may have some problems doing drop sets since you already train with the lightest possible weight

 

[endpoint]

haha thanks for the karma gymtime.

with my vague assesment i was stating the fact that they are good, but should be used only sometimes, and should be used to mix things up.
there are many things you can do(other tools in the toolbox), short rest times, 21s, long eccentrics, etc etc, like all these things, drop sets have a special place for a shock to the system.

I some times prescribe them as a body part finisher with someone who has a bit of experience behind them....but only on a day where they dont seem challenged

 

[overhead]

I have never understood drop sets, maybe one of you can explain them to me. Not how to do them , but why? It always made more sense to me to work up , not down. I am not by any means an expert, so if someone could explain I would appreciate it. Does complete exhaustion of the muscle tissue in anyway assit in increasing strenth? Once you start going down , assuming that you have already maxed out at a higher weight are you not just "beating a dead horse"?

 

[gymtime]

Agreed ep. Can't see doing them on every excercise. But I find myself throwing them in lately, especially on the more compound lifts, just as a good finisher.

Another thing I've tried for the first time in a while is super-slows. Did that with some lat raises. Forgot how demanding they were. But again, a nice change-up.

Oh, and Toybox...For your information, drop sets can be used on the pink weights too. So get the hell off me.

 

[revexrevex]

I say Nay. Interfers with recovery too much for me

 

[gymtime]

I say Nay. Interfers with recovery too much for me

Good point. Which is why I would never make them a habit. But once in a while....

 

[revexrevex]

For smaller muscles its good once in a while. Like a dropset of hammer curls will surely give you soreness the next day. But to do it for legs or chest seems unproductive, because you'll be so tired that you won't be able to do more sets (or reduce the weight on next sets), plus it hits the nervous system hard. Of course I am talking from a natural trainer perspective. All the partners that I had who juiced were recovering very fast from forced and drop sets.

 

[overhead]

I would agree that it increases soreness, but I have always wondered if soreness=strength gains. I have not noticed anything but a longer recovery time. Any insite as to how this effects the muscle tissue or cns in a way that increases strength?

 

[Shark01]

I live by the mantra "if you're sore you're growing, if not who knows" If I'm not sore, I'm pissed

Decreasing soreness also tells me when its a good time to switch exercises (every 4-6 weeks it seems)

 

[revexrevex]

I agree, soreness doesn't mean growth, but it means that that body part was not use to the exercise, and that the exercise worked the body part correctly.

 

[overhead]

I guess everybody has a different way of doing things. As long as I keep increasing weight or reps on each exercise I get sore, but not for more than a day or two. Drop sets seem to take me out to a three or four day recovery period. If I knew it would increase strength or size I certainly would do them, but at this point it does not seem to help me.

 

[gymrat]

YA

 

[SanFrancisconewb]

I really only do drop sets on the last set. I really like doing them with the incilne press, which is what i usually start with when training my chest. It wouldn't make sense to do the drop set for all the sets. I was doing drop sets for arms for awhile to.

 

[WarriorPL]

With my old training partner, we use to do them once a month. It was a great little addition. After our normal routine on flat bench, we do a drop set. AFter we're done, we scream in agony then shed tears knowing we still have incline and flys to do.