Drop sets are nothing more than one long set that reduces the load as the lifter fatigues. Proper warm ups are essential because this type of workout puts a great deal of stress on the system. We’re already putting enough stress on our system and although exercise is good stress, it can still be overdone. Overtraining should be avoided at all costs!
Standard Performance Technique
Typically, three drops are done, although you can certainly do more depending on the load increment, the exercise and your stamina. After a warm up, which should also include the body’s core, or torso, select a weight which you can lift for about 8 to 10 repetitions. Lift it until you can’t lift it for another rep without good form. It might be 7 reps or it might even be 12. Then with only the time it takes you to either reset a pin or grab another set of dumbbells or strip plates off a bar, reduce the weight and do as many reps as possible; this will probably be quite a lower number, like maybe 3 or 4. Then again, break only long enough to lower the load and do another round of reps until you can no longer complete the exercise with good form. You may get more reps than the second round, the same, or less. It really doesn’t matter.
The idea is to take as short a break between sets as possible which will serve to work the muscles in question to failure not only intensely but very quickly. It’s not wise to do more than two drop sets of each exercise and often one really good all-out effort is plenty.
You can also mix and match. If you are training chest, for example, you might want to do
- one drop set of a flat bench press,
- a second drop set of an incline press and
- a third drop set of a decline press.
Or you might opt to do
- a drop set with flat bench presses,
- a drop set of lat pulldowns and
- a drop set with shoulder presses followed by
- a drop set of some kind of rows.
Yes, there are two exercises for back in this scheme, but your back is a large area, so in essence the two exercises are not stressing the musculature in the same manner.
Setting the Loads
If you train by yourself, drop sets are much easier to do on a machine or cable apparatus that has selectorized plates because all you have to do is reach over and reset the pin. The drawback is that many of these often have too large of a load increase between one plate and the next. Newer cable machines, such as Ground Zero, have plates that are in 2-1/2 to 5 pound increments on certain machines. Newer Nautilus and Cybex selectorized machines allow users to increase/decrease load increments by as little as 5 pounds at any time as the manufacturers are starting to wise up!
If you work out in a facility that has older equipment, the gym probably has rubber covered 2-1/2 and 5-pound iron plates that fit over the top of the stack. Barring this, you may be able to hang a small plate on the pin, depending on how it’s designed.
Drop sets are easily done with dumbbells but you will need to assemble them so they are at the ready. You can’t go back and forth to the rack unless you’re right in front of it and are performing some exercise while standing upright. This is usually difficult to accomplish in a crowded gym where good etiquette requires that you not hog the equipment.
Loading a Bar
Performing drop sets with a loaded bar, depending on the exercise, is more problematic. Back squats are being used as an example because they are one of the most difficult to execute in this manner. It’s obviously advantageous if you have a couple of training partners who can strip the plates off for you, but since most of us don’t need to be quite so anal about perfect timing, you can do this yourself.
You will need to load the bar properly which requires forethought. The first load (plate) that should be placed on the bar is that which you plan to use for your last drop. Then add two smaller plates to each side (of whatever increment you plan to drop). This will vary depending on the exercise and the individual.
The amount of weight placed on the heavier of the two shows a 45 pound plate (which would be placed on the bar first), then a 35 pound plate (put on next) and finally a 25 pound plate for a total of 105 pounds on each side, or a grand total of 210 pounds (105 + 105 + 45 pounds for the bar).
The first “set” would be done with 210 pounds, the second “set” or “first drop” would be performed with 45 +35 pounds x 2 + the bar weight, or 160 pounds after the two 25-pound plates (50 pounds total) had been removed. The last/third or “second drop” would be done with only the 45 pound plates remaining on the bar, or a total of 135 pounds (45 + 45 + the 45-pound bar).
The lighter set up might be put on a short EZ curl bar, keeping in mind that most Olympic bars of this type weigh about 17 pounds.
Often people use collars to keep plates from sliding off the end of the bar although in this case, you’ll just have to leave the collars off. Since a drop set is quite intense, you really don’t need as much weight on the bar as you would if you were doing heavy doubles or triples. Thus you should be able to hold the bar steady without tipping it to one side.
However safety considerations should never be ignored! If you feel like you are going to tip a loaded bar, then either use a different type of set/rep scheme, an exercise that doesn’t require free weights or lighten the load.
After completing the first set of reps, very quickly remove the outside plates and put them on the floor. In the case of squats, you would get back under the bar as quickly as possible. Technically this is not a drop set because you have taken a short rest to adjust the weight.
Squats were used as the example to bring attention to the problems associated with a loaded bar. Free weight squats are not really the best choice for drop sets. You would do better to find a squat machine with selectorized plates. Most commercial gyms have one.
Drop Deads
Deadlifts, unlike free bar squats, are a basic compound exercise that do lend themselves well to drop sets even though you should still reset your form after each rep. Load large plates on to the bar first. Some gyms even have a plate-loaded machine apparatus (Hammer Strength makes one) that works well here.
Depending on how much weight you use, choose smaller plates for the drops, such as 25 to 35 pound plates or less. In doing this, the bar rests on the “wheels” (45-pound plates) when it is on the ground which allows smaller plates to be removed easily without having to lift the bar to slide them off. All you have to do is reach over and slide the smaller plates off on to the floor.
Deadlifts lend themselves to fairly good sized drops because they are quite taxing, so 25 to 35-pound differences are good choices. For people whose top deadlift is in the 80-pound range, use 10’s, 5’s and 2-1/2 pound plates; you can always use the empty 45-pound bar as the third (second drop) set. In this case, you might wish to place the bar on the saftey’s inside a rack so that you can slide the outside plates off easily and quickly.
Start with a weight you can deadlift 5 times and don’t do more reps even if you think you can. Also be sure to reset your form each time. There is no race to complete reps, but don’t dawdle either. After you have done the 5 reps, simply reach over and slide the first plate(s) off each end of the bar, reset your form and begin lifting. Then perform 5 more reps, but only if you can; if you can only manage 3 reps, then that’s all you should do. Now slide the next load off and rep out, taking care to never lose proper form.
A nice way to perform Drop Deads is to load the bar so that the last drop is half the weight of the first drop and the second drop is in between the first and third sets. For example, the first 5 reps might be done with 200 pounds then the second set of reps would be done with 150 pounds and the last reps with 100 pounds, or in the case of smaller loads, 85-65-45 (bar only) pounds.
The first set will be the most intense when your energy is at its highest level. The second set won’t feel particularly light, but not particularly heavy. However since you are not resting any longer than it takes to strip weight off the bar, it’s more than enough. The third drop will feel quite light and this is a good time to use weights as cardio and rep out.
However just because the third drop load may seem easy, don’t allow your form to deteriorate. Doing deadlifts improperly can murder your lower back and put you out of commission for months.
Theoretically you could do one deadlift drop set (one should be adequate but do not do more than two) followed by a drop set for your chest and have your whole body toasted in 30 minutes.
Exercises that Lend Themselves to Drop Sets
As stated above, selectorized plate machines of any kind and especially those where it is easy to reach the weight stack are the best choice. This includes, but is not limited to, seated flat bench presses, incline presses, decline presses, shoulder presses, pullovers, bicep and tricep machines, abdominal machines, calf raises, leg presses, hack squats and various types of squat machines.
Exercises using dumbbells are ideal as long as the proper weight of dumbbell(s) can be assembled prior to starting the drop set. The micro-loads described above are very easy to remove and stick on to another dumbbell quickly.
Drop sets can be done for standing calf raises where you hold a dumbbell in one hand. In this instance perform one drop set for one leg, then switch and do one drop set for the other leg. Depending on your endurance level, you may need to take a short rest between the two. Always listen to your body and do what feels best.
source:www.maxs.com.au
