When people who already train hard do different kinds of leg workouts—pyramid, failure sets, or regular sets—all of them get about the same boost in how much weight they can lift in a leg extension machine, around 17%.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Crescent pyramid and drop-set systems do not promote greater strength gains, muscle hypertrophy, and changes on muscle architecture compared with traditional resistance training in well-trained men

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2017 Feb

When well-trained men did three different types of leg workouts with the same total effort, all of them got about the same stronger—no method was better than the others.

Contradicting (0)

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Crescent pyramid and drop-set systems do not promote greater strength gains, muscle hypertrophy, and changes on muscle architecture compared with traditional resistance training in well-trained men

Score: 54

DOI: 10.1007/s00421-016-3529-1

Similar Assertions

Whether you lift weights using a pyramid, go to failure, or stick to a standard routine, if you do the same total amount of work, your leg strength improves by about the same amount—around 25%—after 12 weeks.

91%

Older adults, even those over 85, can gain just as much leg strength as younger seniors from 12 weeks of regular weight training — and some even gain a bit more!

81%

Even though drop sets make you do more total work, they don’t make you stronger than regular sets when you’re just starting out with leg extensions.

79%

If you lift heavy weights (80–85% of your max) instead of doing lots of lighter reps (60% of your max), your legs get stronger faster — after 6 weeks, you’ll likely gain 5–6 kg more in leg strength.

79%

Even though drop sets make your thigh muscle grow more in some spots, they don’t make you stronger in a one-rep max or in a machine test than regular sets—both methods improve strength about the same.

78%