If you’re short on time, using drop sets on a smart machine can build your arm muscles just as well as traditional lifting — you just need to spend less time doing it.

It doesn’t matter if you use a fancy machine or dumbbells — what matters more is whether you do regular sets or drop sets.

Even with fancy machine tech that automatically lowers weights, drop sets don’t make your arms grow more than regular lifting — the machine doesn’t give you an edge.

Drop sets on the Tonal machine let you finish your workout faster because you don’t rest as long between sets — so you get more muscle growth for every minute you spend lifting.

Even though drop sets don’t build much more muscle overall, they do it faster — you get the same tiny muscle gain in less time, which is great if you’re short on workouts.