For our final push of the off season, we are using drop sets in Lift Heavy, Swing Fast.
First - what the heck is a drop set?
Imagine this - you are at the end of your set, the weight is heavy and you are fighting for your last couple of reps. You couldn’t possibly do many more reps with that weight without rest, right?
Enter the drop set. Instead of resting, immediately (or as quick as possible) strip off some weight and do the exercise again - that’s a “Drop Set”
This final off season cycle of the year (until the winter, when we will do off season again) will end with a bang, using this method of training. The drop set will come just after the final set of our big partial lifts for the workout. (Split Squat, Rows, Bench Press, Deadlift and Press).
Here’s a few reasons why we are doing these.
Muscle Growth: The drop sets will stimulate muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth). The initial heavy weight engages powerful, fast-twitch muscle fibers, while the lighter weight activates the smaller, but resilient, slow-twitch fibers. This broader recruitment translates to greater gains in both size and strength.
Increased Endurance: By pushing your muscles to fatigue at multiple weight levels, you will significantly improve muscle endurance. Long walking rounds this summer anyone?
Time Saver: Off season training is about increasing volume in the gym, but sometimes that can cost time we don’t have. The drop set is a great way to get in another set without the rest period.
Expect a bit of soreness at first, but that should subside by the end of the cycle. This will cap off our off season training and we will be beyond ready to crush in season training!
drop sets are HARD!