While some clients hire personal trainers to help them lose weight or increase muscle mass, many are focused on developing sculpted, well-defined muscles. While there are a number of different methods that can help promote muscle growth and increases in muscle definition, one of the most effective methods is called drop setting. Bodybuilders have used this technique for years for one reason—it works.
Drop setting involves performing an exercise with a specific amount of weight to start. The goal is to do as many reps as possible until momentary fatigue (unable to complete another single rep), rest just long enough to remove some weight (dropping the weight) and then continue to work until another moment of fatigue. To execute an effective drop set, it is important to continue dropping the weight and working until the muscle reaches a point of absolute fatigue. This is the complete inability to perform another repetition, which will ensure enough training stimulus to promote muscle growth.
Here are four reasons why drop sets work, along with a few ways you can use them to help your clients achieve the gains they are seeking.