Explaining Set Decline: Single Set or Multiple?

Drop sets are a powerful method of increasing muscle fatigue and facilitating muscle development, although they can be strenuous and not ideal for every individual. Typically, a drop set counts as one set, despite involving several weight reductions.

Understanding Drop Sets

Drop sets are a fantastic training protocol that you can incorporate into your workouts.

They involve gradually reducing the weight you lift over consecutive sets without rest.

The main goal here is to continue exercising past the point of initial muscle fatigue.

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

in other words, drop sets should always count as one set.

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

This is achieved by the complete fatigue of the muscle fibers.

Additionally, although drop sets can increase strength, there is evidence published in Journal of sports medicine and physical trainingThis shows that simply performing normal heavy sets will lead to greater improvements in strength.

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

Furthermore, you can apply them to almost any exercise, which will increase the intensity and effectiveness of your workout.

Just make sure to maintain proper form at all times to enjoy the maximum benefits.

The most common way to use Drop Sets

Personally, I mostly used drop sets during the last set of the exercise.

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

Plus, I’ll usually reduce the weight by about 10-30% for each subsequent set of dips.

Here’s an example with barbell bicep curls:

Biceps Curls: The Single Dip Method
Set	Reps	Weight
1	8-12	70 lbs
2	8-12	70 lbs
3 + 3 Drop Sets	8-12	70 lbs ➡️ 50 lbs ➡️ 40 lbs ➡️ 30 lbs
Brought it to you mybodyweightexercises.com

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

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

Drop sets are simply a way to squeeze out a little more, while your muscles are tired and close to failure, by incorporating the same movement, but with a reduced weight.

So the biceps workout above only includes 3 sets, not 6 sets.

The “Every Set Drop Set” method.

The drop set method of each set is exactly what it sounds like, perform a drop set for every single set of every exercise throughout your routine.

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

Basically, you want to push your muscles to fatigue at different levels of resistance.

This will increase endurance and muscle growth by exposing your muscles to a wide variety of stimuli in one session.

I will say that this is extremely effective for muscle hypertrophy, but with a few caveats.

First, you must consider overall exercise intensity, training volume, and recovery strength to avoid overtraining.

Therefore, I would recommend that the drop set method be used only by experienced lifters, especially those trying to break out of a plateau.

Then again, use this method if you want to temporarily intensify your training.

So I wouldn’t recommend beginners try this method, plus I’d avoid training this way more than two days a week.

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

Finally, pay attention to your recovery as well as how you feel in the gym, as there is no point in continuing if you feel permanently exhausted or if you notice that your workouts are suffering.

Biceps Barbell: The Every Set Drop Set Method
Phase	Reps	Weight
Initial Set	8-12	70 lbs
Drop set 1	8-12	50 lbs
Drop set 2	8-12	30 lbs
Brought it to you mybodyweightexercises.com

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

This workout will still only consist of 3 working sets, not 9 total sets.

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

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

This is also a great opportunity to check out my article on whether you should perform biceps curls sitting or standing.

Key learning points

• A drop set counts as one set.
• Drop sets involve decreasing the weight with subsequent sets without rest between these “sets”.
• They are a great way to increase muscle endurance and muscle growth.
• The most common way to use drop sets is to include a drop set in the final set of a particular exercise.
• I would generally do 3 drop sets after the final set of the exercise.
• You can use the “each drop set” method, which involves performing a drop set after each individual set, I usually stick to 2 drop sets using this method.
• Any drop set is an advanced training method and should be avoided by beginners.
• Don’t do “each set of drop sets” more than twice a week and train normally for the rest of the week.
• Keep an eye on your recovery and make sure your workouts don’t suffer from potential overtraining.

One of the biggest benefits of drop sets is that they increase metabolic stress as well as promote greater muscle growth. Basically, you can burn fat while building muscle. Which is exactly the focus Massthetic Muscle Exercise Program.