Weight Training Tips and Articles

Finish Off Your Weight Training Workouts With Drop Sets

December 20, 2007 on 4:15 am | In Weight Training Exercises, High Intensity Weight Training |

  When you weight train you want to get that pumped feeling in the muscles you are working. You should also have that pump at the end of your workouts. One great way to get a great pump in your muscles is to do drop sets.

  While drop sets will give that pumped feeling in your muscles during your weight training workouts, doing them early in your workout may take too much out of you and negatively affect the rest of you workout. Because of this, you should save drop sets for the very end of your workouts to finish them with that pumped up feeling.

  To perform a drop set take a weight you can do on a weight training exercise for 8-10 reps, do those 8-10 reps, then quickly drop the weight by anywhere from 25-50% and continue doing reps until you can’t do anymore. If you want you can drop the weight a few times to really pump up the muscle you are training.

  Drop sets are best done on exercises performed on machine, with cables, or with fixed barbells or dumbbells because you can quickly change the weight you are using. If you want to do drop sets on certain compound exercises like the bench press you’ll be best off having somebody quickly drop the weight for you.

  Since you are saving your drop sets for the end of your weight training workouts you should stick with isolation style exercises for them. Try machine flyes, dumbell flyes, or cable crossovers for chest, cable pulldowns or rows for upper back, leg extensions for quadriceps, and leg curls for hamstrings. You will be able to easily and quickly drop the weight on these exercises. Most shoulder, bicep, tricep, and calf exercises can be used for drop sets.

  Do 2 or 3 drop sets to finish off every muscle workout for some added intensity and to finish with that all important pump.