Even though drop sets felt harder and made muscles swell more, they didn’t make the body produce more lactic acid or raise the heart rate more than regular sets.
Scientific Claim
Six weeks of resistance training with either drop sets or conventional sets does not result in significant differences in blood lactate or heart rate responses during acute training sessions in young men.
Original Statement
“Acute pre/post measurements for one bout of RT showed significant changes in MT (18.3±5.8%, P<0.001) and MVC (-13.3±7.1, P<0.05) in the DS group only and a significant difference (P<0.01) in RPE was observed between groups (7.7±1.5 for DS and 5.3±1.4 for NS).”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The claim accurately reflects the absence of reported differences and uses appropriate non-causal language.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (0)
Contradicting (1)
Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength.
The study found that people doing drop sets felt much more exhausted and had bigger muscle changes after one workout, which means their bodies worked harder—so their heart rate and lactate were likely higher too, contradicting the claim that both methods feel the same.