Drop sets: what they are, how to do them and how much weight to drop

Drop set key numbers

How much weight to drop

In a drop set you usually cut the weight by 20-25% per drop (Varović et al. 2021). Pick a drop that leaves you 6-10 reps to failure: if you only get 2-3 reps, you dropped too little weight, and if you get more than 15, too much. With light dumbbells one step down the rack is a lot: 10 to 8 kg is already 20%.

When drop sets are worth it

Drop sets, like other intensity techniques, don't build more muscle than regular sets. For hypertrophy they give a similar result in less time and cost more fatigue, so they make sense when you're short on time or when reps on an isolation exercise have stopped going up.

When time is short, a drop set replaces some of your sets. In the Sødal et al. 2023 meta-analysis, some drop set protocols took half to a third of the time with similar muscle growth; in Ozaki et al. 2018, the drop set session took about 2 minutes and the regular one almost 7. For example, dumbbell lateral raises for 4 × 12-15 with 90 s rest take about 7 minutes if a set lasts about 40 s. Two sets with a drop set on the second take about 3.5 minutes and count as 2 weekly sets instead of 4.

When reps have stalled, a drop after your last working set adds work without an extra rest. In Vargas-Molina et al. 2026, a drop set was the first progression step once reps in the final sets stopped going up. Before you add one, try the usual fixes for a plateau.

For strength, drop sets add nothing: in a meta-analysis of 12 studies, strength went up the same as with regular sets (Havers et al. 2026). You build strength with heavier sets and full rest.

Beginners don't need drop sets: in untrained lifters they didn't produce more muscle growth either (same meta-analysis), and they add fatigue. As long as you add reps or weight each session, regular sets close to failure are enough.

How to do a drop set

1. Pick an exercise where you can change the weight in a few seconds: a pin-loaded machine, a cable stack or dumbbells.
2. Get the lighter weight ready before the set: at peak hours, grab two pairs of dumbbells just for that set; on a machine, keep the seat setting and move only the pin.
3. Do your last working set of 8-15 reps to RIR 0-1, e.g. 50 kg × 10 on the seated leg extension machine.
4. Cut the weight by 20-30% right away (50 → 35 kg), within 10-15 s, and rep out to muscular failure, usually 6-10 reps.
5. Stop there or do a second drop of another 20-30%.
6. Rest as you would before the next exercise, e.g. 90-120 s (rest between sets).

Drop sets don't suit sets of 3-6 reps: too few reps are left after the drop. If you train with a partner, have them move the pin: that's how Fink et al. 2018 kept the break short.

Triple and mechanical drop sets

A triple drop set is 3 drops in a row, and running the rack is the dumbbell version: after each failure you take the next lighter pair from the rack. In a mechanical drop set you keep the weight, switch to an easier position, grip or angle, and keep going without rest. It helps when you have no lighter weight, e.g. at home: decline push-ups to failure, then regular push-ups right away, then knee push-ups. With a single pair of dumbbells, take lateral raises with nearly straight arms to failure, then bend your elbows to shorten the lever and keep going. We know of no studies on this variant, so keep the same rules: 1-2 changes, to failure, no rest.

Drop set examples with weights and reps

In each example the drop set comes after the last of 3 working sets; the table shows that last set and the drops.

Drop sets on machines, cables and dumbbells

Drop sets fit single-joint exercises best, and Iversen et al. 2021 advise against them in heavy multi-joint free-weight lifts such as the squat and bench press.

For barbell curls, take fixed-weight barbells from the rack, e.g. 25 kg, then 20 kg. With a regular bar and plates you need two people to strip plates from both sides at once.

Drop sets vs rest-pause, myo-reps, back-off sets and supersets

Myo-reps and rest-pause mini sets are separated by rest, so SmartWorkout counts each one as a set; the page on how to count sets explains how to count them when you plan your week. In Enes et al. 2021, drop sets, rest-pause and regular sets produced similar muscle growth.

How to count a drop set in your weekly sets

In SmartWorkout we treat a drop set, meaning the working set plus its drops, as 1 set in weekly sets and volume zones, because there is no rest between drops. The 2026 ACSM position stand defines a set as exactly that, a group of reps without rest, and studies describe a drop set as one set: Fink et al. 2018 compared one drop set with 3 drops against 3 regular sets.

No study has tested how drop sets should count toward volume zones. This rule probably undercounts the stimulus, because one drop set produced no less muscle growth than 3 regular sets (in Fink et al. and in Ozaki et al. 2018). We still count conservatively: drop sets are more fatiguing, and the zones exist to protect you from doing too much, not to reward fatigue.

So 3 working sets with 2 drops on the last one count as 3 sets. With 2 such exercises per muscle group per week, that's 6 sets, which is MEV; counting every drop would give 10, the bottom of MAV. You can check your week with the sets per muscle group calculator.

Common mistakes

1. Too small a drop. At 5-10% it's almost the same weight, so the drop adds only a few reps. Drop 20-30%.
2. A slow weight change. After 30 s of rest it's a separate set: the Havers et al. 2026 meta-analysis excluded such protocols from its pooled results as not matching the drop set definition. Get the lighter weight ready before the set.
3. Drop sets everywhere. Perceived effort rises clearly (same meta-analysis), and right after a drop set workout, strength was 13% lower (Fink et al. 2018). Keep them for the last set of 1-2 isolation exercises, and if you train a muscle group 3 times a week, give a drop set to only one of its exercises.
4. Shortened reps in the drop. Late in a second drop it's easy to slide into half reps and swinging. End the drop on the last rep you can do through the full range of motion.

What the research says

The three drop set meta-analyses largely pool the same few small studies, so they are one body of evidence. The certainty ratings in the claims table are our assessment. SMD in the studies table is the effect size, and a value close to 0 means no difference.

It's unknown whether the extra fatigue from drop sets does harm over longer periods or whether 2-3 drops give more than one; 8 of the studies pooled by Havers et al. included only men.

What SmartWorkout logs show

Lifters in our logs, mostly in Poland, drop more weight than the reviews suggest (33% vs 20-25%) and usually stop after one drop, which is what we recommend to start with. Every number is based on at least 50 people.

How to log a drop set in SmartWorkout

You log a drop set in SmartWorkout as a set of the Drop set type: in the workout log, in templates and in plans.

1. In the exercise, tap “Add Set” below your last working set.
2. Open the new set's menu and choose “Drop set”. The set gets a “D” label.
3. Enter the lower weight and the reps from the drop. A second drop is another Drop set below the first.
4. After the last working set, skip the rest timer and go straight into the drop. A Drop set has a 0 s rest, so the timer doesn't start between drops; set the rest before the next exercise on the last drop (“Set rest timer”).

You log a mechanical drop set in one exercise too, e.g. Push-Up, as a working set followed by Drop sets. You can't choose Drop set for an exercise in a group (superset), and adding an exercise to a group turns its drop sets into working sets. You can also pick the Drop set type in the plan creator. The help article on set types and exercise groups explains how set types work.

In weekly sets and volume zones, SmartWorkout counts the whole sequence as 1 set.

With Premium, you see each muscle group's weekly sets against the volume zones while you train.

You can paste this fragment through plan import (Workout > My Plans > “+” > “Import plan”); “+ DROPSET” means drops after the last working set. Import costs 10 AI credits, so the welcome credits cover it.

DAY: Shoulders and arms- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press | WU 1x10 | 3x8-10 RIR 2 | TEMPO 2010 | REST 120- Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3x12-15 RIR 1 + DROPSET 1x6-10 | TEMPO 2010 | REST 90- Machine Preacher Curl | 3x10-12 RIR 1 | TEMPO 2011 | REST 90- Rope Triceps Pushdown | 3x10-12 RIR 1 + DROPSET 2x6-10 | TEMPO 2011 | REST 90

Our free plans have no drop sets; add one yourself on the last set of an isolation exercise that isn't in a group.