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Tonal Coach Ackeem Emmons using Drop Sets during hammer curls.

Performing Effective Drop Sets

Help break plateaus using drop sets. Learn the effectiveness of this weight training technique for form, building muscle mass, and boosting strength.

Drop sets might be one useful answer when you start hitting a weight-training wall. You know, that frustrating plateau where it seems no matter how many sets or reps you do — or how much you focus on form effectiveness for your body and goals — your muscles don’t respond like they used to.

Drop sets are considered part of muscle-building training techniques that’s especially time-effective. With drop sets, you start your lift at your most challenging load limit, push yourself to failure (without throwing away form), then immediately “drop” the weight down to a more manageable range. Many of Tonal's Dynamic Weight Modes, for example, can intelligently "drop" the weight down based on analyzing your personal movement velocity. 

From there, you continue your reps at that new reduced weight, again till failure. You’ve now completed your second drop. Drop sets will then have you reduce your weight one more time, pushing yourself to complete as many reps as possible until again reaching failure.

"Drop sets feel challenging and controlled because they keep you working close to failure while allowing you to keep clean mechanics," explains Tonal Coach Joe Rodonis. "We reduce the weight to allow us to keep moving without compromising form. This process repeats until we hit what’s called ‘true muscle failure’."

No unnecessary breaks, no cluttering the floor with tons of weights. Just hard work and lots of variable resistance to help break through plateaus.

While there’s several individualized elements at play, most people can effectively incorporate drop sets into weight training once they've improved technique and form, feel committed to good recovery between workouts, and are ready to push their limits, safely. 

Drop sets are not designed for every style of workout. But when practiced strategically, it can be a great tool in your larger workout toolkit to bust through stuttering phases of muscle growth. Plus, it can just be fun to remind yourself how strong and capable you actually are.     

45-55 Minutes Minute Duration

Muscle Growth, Endurance Program

~230-400+ Calories Burned

5 Different Exercises

Recommended 1x/Week

Contents
  1. Drop Sets: Example Routine
    1. Warm-up & Cool-Down
    2. Estimated Calories Burned
    3. Recommended Number of workouts
    2.
  2. Muscle Groups Targeted
  3. Equipment Used for Drop Sets
  4. Coaching Tips & Best Practices
  5. Who This Workout is Best For
  6. Answers to FAQs about Drop Sets
  7. Concluding words on Drop Sets

Drop Sets: Example Routine

Part of a drop set workout’s effectiveness lies in their challenge.

"As fatigue builds, the body has to recruit more motor units to keep producing force. Drop sets extend that near-failure zone without forcing ugly reps at the original starting weight," says Coach Rodonis. Yet each reduction in weight allows you to keep moving after your muscles begin to fatigue.

By extending that work time, you’re asking your muscles to continue producing effort even when close to failure, which can drive muscle growth. It can help you explore both strength and control as your workout progresses.

Keep all that in mind as you explore this example drop set workout.


Drop Set Workout (~30 minutes)

  • Barbell bench press (3 drops | As many reps as possible each drop round)
  • Lat pulldown (3 drops | As many reps as possible drop round)
  • Dumbbell shoulder press (3 drops | As many reps as possible drop round)
  • Barbell curl (3 drops | As many reps as possible drop round)
  • Goblet squat (3 drops | As many reps as possible drop round)

Warm-up & Cool-Down

Warm-Up (4 minutes)

  • Dynamic arm circles and shoulder rolls (1 min)
  • Bodyweight squats (1 min)
  • Push-ups (30 seconds) 
  • Jumping jacks (30 min)
  • Light dumbbell curls (30 min, using 1-5 lbs)
  • Light shoulder press (30 min, using 1-5 lbs)

Cool Down (5 minutes)

  • Chest doorway stretch (1 min)
  • Seated forward fold (1 min)
  • Shoulder stretch (1 min)
  • Triceps stretch (1 min)
  • Slow diaphragmatic breathing (1 min)

Estimated Calories Burned

Average calories burned will always vary person to person. Use these ranges with this example drop set workout to get a general sense of the burn, not as an exact number to reach.

  • 120-140 lbs Adult: 230-300 calories
  • 150-170 lbs Adult: 270-360 calories
  • 180+ lbs Adult: 310-420 calories

Remember: Drop sets’ effectiveness requires two main things: 

As Coach Rodonis emphasizes, "With minimal- to-limited rest, we are able to keep the muscle engaged for a longer period of time. Longer set means more tension and more metabolic stress, allowing us to improve muscular endurance."

Recommended Number of workouts

  • Beginner weight lifters (0-6 months doing consistent strength training): 1x every 10-14 days, starting with 1-2 major compound lifts only instead of diving into a full drop set routine.
  • Intermediate lifters (1-2 years of consistent strength training): 1x every ~10 days, working to incorporating drop-set isolation and accessory lifts according to your fitness goals.
  • Advanced lifters (2+ years of consistent strength training and good movement technique): Up to 1x/week, maintaining a mindful rhythm targeting lower or upper body.   

Coach Rodonis particularly likes using drop sets as part of accessory work finishers. "This is where I use them the most. I’ll use them on my last 1-2 movements during a session, for example, doing a two-time drop set or three-time drop on lat pull downs, bicep curls, or leg presses."

For certain progression goals, aim to increase your “top” or starting working weight generally every few weeks. Coach Rodonis cautions overdoing things here, though.

"This is something I would do sparingly — maybe once a month in a program during the most intense week. It can be a great way to finish off a set and empty the tank."

These gradual volume-based challenges can progressively push you to get stronger, whether you’re targeting specific muscles or your whole body.

Muscle Groups Targeted

Drop sets can be used to target just about any major muscle group. It’s more of a workout format, one meant maximize mechanical tension and do so in a relatively time-efficient window compared to some more traditional strength training styles. 

With traditional weight lifting, you’ll take longer breaks between sets as well as (mostly) maintain a consistent resistance load across the entire circuit. In some cases you may actually add to your weight during sets, not decrease. 

All this means you can adjust many weight-lifting sessions into an effectively “drop set-minded” one, by reformatting the session to start at your max safe ability. Know your goals and work from there.

Equipment Used for Drop Sets

Drop sets are very flexible. They can utilize a wide range of at-home or gym equipment, whatever works best tailored to your current setup.

You can use virtually any of the following pieces of equipment to try out drop sets when weight training:

  • Dumbbells, barbells, or a Tonal trainer
  • Adjustable cable machine 
  • Resistance bands (for better warm-up and cooldown) 
  • Bench or rack setup for easier load transitions

Coaching Tips & Best Practices

"I like to always say 'fight within the lines.' Fatigue is going to creep in. It’s part of training and where a lot of growth can happen — but only when we fight in good form. Focus on bracing and your breathing: Bracing is what allows us to stay protected and fight under fatigue. Focus on following the same lines and movement pattern every rep."
Tonal Coach Joe Rodonis
"Remember to keep your tempo. Don’t rush the set just to get through it. Sometimes we’ll feel the need to rep out faster just to get the set done when we are tired. It’s okay to hit failure — we just want to do it the right way and gain from it."
Tonal Coach Joe Rodonis

Who This Workout is Most Effective For

Drop sets are especially powerful for:

Answers to FAQs about Drop Sets

Yes, when used strategically, but really only after you’ve mastered good form across your chosen strength exercises.

Drop sets can be a useful and time-efficient tool when you want to add intensity without extending your workout. By lowering the weight and continuing the movement, you create a solid window of focused effort. Many people use them toward the end of a session when they want to challenge their muscles while keeping form controlled.

Drop set 10-10-10 is a structured "load-based" drop-set format where you perform 10 reps, immediately drop the weight, perform another 10 reps, drop again, and complete your final round of 10. The goal is steady, deliberate reps as the weight decreases keeping muscles under tension.

"This is the technique you probably think of when you hear drop sets," explains Coach Rodonis. "You start with your heavy 10 rep weight, then drop the weight by 15-20% and hit another 8-10 reps, and you can stop the set there or repeat until you hit muscle failure."

Some drop set beginners appreciate 10-10-10 for its precise target. Mentally, it can feel more approachable or manageable to lift with a specific rep goal in mind for every set, versus more traditional drop sets requiring you to pump out "as many" reps as possible. That's all based on personal preference, though. 


The main drawback is that they’re fairly demanding. Because you’re working close to fatigue, your form can slip if you rush or choose weights that are simply too heavy.

Drop sets can also add more overall volume than you realize, so it’s worth being mindful of how often you use them and how they fit into the rest of your strength-training routine.


There’s no single rule. A drop can contain anywhere from 6-15 reps per drop, depending on the movement itself and your goal. The idea is to pick a rep range that feels challenging yet lets you stay in control across weight decreases.

Always pay attention to your body. That’s what the drop set formula is all about! For instance, if you’re finding yourself killing 20 reps in your first set, it could be good to play around and add more starting weight, as you probably aren’t challenging yourself. Likewise, if you’re only able to knock out 2-4 reps while keeping form clean, you may have gone overboard.  

Generally speaking, beginners can try drop sets, but it's often recommended to build a strong foundation with standard sets before adding this more intense technique.

Beginners brand-new to weight lifting should focus on mastering form, their comfort with weighted equipment, and basic strength progressions first. After that, drop sets can be introduced occasionally. Especially to explore different types of controlled eccentric work and intense-output effort.

Concluding words on Drop Sets

We hope this drop set explanation helps reframe this style of weight training away from the stereotype that it’s just for bodybuilders.

Better yet, in the words of Coach Rodonis, "Drop sets are a great training tool when used appropriately, and they’re meant to complement your standard sets — not replace them." They're a powerful tool for anyone serious about strength progress, and willing to work their muscles past what seems to be their perceived limit.

Overall, drop sets are a time-efficient way to re-spark performance and see results where you look and feel stronger. They can be incorporated in a way that helps you develop real strength gains, load tolerance, and build up a new fitness skill.

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