Doing drop sets (lifting heavy, then lighter weights without rest) builds strength just as well as doing regular sets with the same total weight, at least in young men who already lift weights.

If you do the same total amount of work, using drop sets won’t make your muscles bigger or stronger than doing regular sets over two months.

Drop sets don’t make you stronger than regular sets if you’re lifting moderate weights — but we don’t know if they’d work better or worse if you lifted really heavy weights.

When you train to near failure, doing drop sets doesn’t make your muscles grow bigger than doing regular sets — both methods build muscle about the same in young men.

If you're already experienced with lifting weights, doing drop sets (lowering the weight after failure) doesn't help you get stronger than doing regular sets, as long as you do the same total amount of work.

Drop sets made guys feel more tired and their muscles puff up more after one workout, but they didn’t make them stronger in the long run than regular sets.