Ever feel like when you’re designing your own workouts you get stuck in a rut doing the same layout every time?
You just create circuits and do the same reps for the same number of sets?
Do you feel like you’re kind of randomly stringing things together hoping it will be “hard?”
Feel like there just has to be a fun and new and BETTER workout combination you could do to help you train smarter?!
Well there just may be!
There are soooooooo many different workout designs we can use to help us reach our goals.
Supersets, compound sets, trisets, circuits, pyramids, ladders, density intervals, density sets, rest-pause technique….and many many more. (Yup…use them all in Dynamic Strength!)
There are many different training variables we can tweak to make sure our workouts are tailored to our specific needs and goals.
However, all too often people only focus on finding “new” moves instead of trying to figure out different and “new” ways to layout their routines using those SAME moves.
New moves are great. But exercises are just one training variable.
So on that note…I wanted to share with you a great quick tweak you could plan into your routine today even….
A DROP SET!
Ever feel like you have just a little bit left in the tank but not enough to do another rep with the weight you are currently using?
Want to push past failure just a bit to really burn out an area?
Then add in a drop set.
It can be used as part of a burnout OR even as a final set to your primary lift.
I love using it especially for things like hip thrusters or weighted glute bridges to create that little extra pump and burn.
Heck, I love to hate it on bench press even haha
So….What is a drop set?
Basically to do a drop set, you perform a round of an exercise with a certain weight and then reduce the weight to complete more reps without resting immediately after.
You are dropping weight to be able to complete more reps “past failure.”
For instance, if you hit a 6 rep max on hip thrusters, you could instantly finish that round, reduce the weight, and then without resting, bust out 15 more reps for a killer burn.
Those are 15 reps you wouldn’t have been able to do had you not reduced the loads.
And because you are doing them right after the 6 reps, you’re pushing through fatigue instead of getting to recovery like between previous rounds.
When using drop sets, you don’t always have to go up in reps for the drop set. You could do the same number or even fewer depending on how you want to use the drop set and how much you reduce loads.
You can even use more than one drop set in a row, especially if you’re using this as a burner to end your workout.
The point is, this is a new and different technique you may use that challenges your body in a different way with technically LIGHTER loads. (Too often we think adding weight is the only way to challenge ourselves!)
It’s an easy tweak you could make to your workouts TODAY even to test out.
And this technique can be implemented in different ways to benefit you and your specific goals.
Because guess what should ultimately drive EVERY SINGLE VARIABLE you adjust in your program?
YOU AND YOUR GOALS!
Below is one way you can try out a drop set!
Using Drop Sets:
If you set a primary lift to start your workout…say hip thrusters…you could start with 15 reps, rest, 12 reps, rest, 8 reps then immediately perform a drop set of 15 reps.
So you would do max weight for each round of reps, resting 60-90 seconds between rounds until the final round of 8 reps where you would do max weight for those 8 then immediately lower the loads and bust out 15 reps!
Try it today!
You can adjust the reps listed too based on if you want to work more on maximal strength or more on strength endurance.
You can even adjust the number of rounds you do or the reps you perform based on the muscles/moves you plan to include.
Drop sets can be killer for deadlift, bench press, lunges, overhead press…so many different lifts!
So have some fun with this simple workout design tweak!
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