Doing drop sets helps you do more reps with the same weight better than regular sets.
Scientific Claim
Drop set training enhances muscular endurance (repetition capacity at submaximal loads) to a greater extent than traditional resistance training protocols with matched volume.
Original Statement
“For muscular endurance, which is often examined by the number of reps that can be completed with a given percentage of your one rep max, we don't have any meta-analytic data on this. But analyzing the two studies that measured endurance, we unsurprisingly see that drop sets often produce larger increases.”
Context Details
Domain
exercise
Population
human
Subject
Drop set training
Action
enhances
Target
muscular endurance (repetition capacity at submaximal loads) to a greater extent than traditional resistance training protocols with matched volume
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Effects of drop sets with resistance training on increases in muscle CSA, strength, and endurance: a pilot study
The study found that doing one heavy set followed by lighter sets without rest (drop sets) helped people do more reps with a light weight, just as well as doing many light sets — and it took less time.
Contradicting (2)
Rest-pause and drop-set training elicit similar strength and hypertrophy adaptations compared to traditional sets in resistance-trained males.
This study looked at strength and muscle growth, not how long you can keep doing reps with lighter weights—so it doesn’t tell us if drop sets are better for endurance.
The study found that doing drop sets didn’t help people do more reps or get stronger than regular weight training when both used the same total workload — so drop sets aren’t better for endurance.