Doing more reps near your limit makes up for not resting between sets.

What we've found so far is that the evidence does not clearly support the idea that doing more hard repetitions in drop set training makes up for shorter rest periods when it comes to muscle growth. Our analysis of the available research shows that 49.0 studies or assertions support the claim, while 66.0 oppose it [1]. This means the current body of evidence we’ve reviewed leans against the idea that drop sets with minimal rest produce equivalent hypertrophic results compared to traditional training with longer rest intervals. We looked at a total of 115.0 assertions (supporting and opposing) related to this question. The majority of these assertions — nearly 58% — argue that the lack of rest between sets in drop set protocols is not fully offset by performing additional repetitions close to failure [1]. While doing more reps near failure may increase effort and time under tension, the evidence we’ve reviewed suggests this does not consistently translate into the same muscle growth benefits seen with traditional rest periods. It’s important to note that this is not a final conclusion. Our current analysis shows a trend, but we’re still building our understanding. The data we have includes numerical summaries of study outcomes, but we don’t have details on individual training programs, participant experience levels, or specific muscle groups studied. That limits how deeply we can interpret the results. Based on what we’ve reviewed so far, it appears that rest between sets may play a meaningful role that isn’t fully compensated for by extra hard reps in drop sets. However, we can’t rule out that certain conditions — like specific training volumes, frequencies, or individual responses — might change this pattern. Practical takeaway: If your goal is building muscle, don’t assume that cutting rest and piling on more reps with drop sets will give you the same results as traditional training — the evidence we’ve reviewed doesn’t strongly back that idea.