Drop sets and pre-exhaustion are popular resistance training techniques often touted for enhancing workout intensity and muscle growth. A recent study by Keskin et al (2024) compared these techniques with traditional training.
But what are drop sets and “pre-exhaust”?
- Drop sets: After completing a traditional set to failure, the load is reduced, and another set is performed until failure.
- Pre-exhaust: A single-joint isolation exercise is performed to fatigue a target muscle before a compound movement, potentially shifting more emphasis on the fatigued muscle during the compound lift.
In the past, many have claimed that both techniques can potentially lead to greater muscle growth than simply performing traditional straight sets. However, the efficacy of these methods compared to traditional set training has been debated. This new study provides insights into whether these methods truly provide a hypertrophy or strength advantage.
The Study:
Keskin et al. (2024) investigated the effects of six weeks of training on three groups: traditional, pre-exhaustion, and drop sets. Each group followed a structured leg press and leg extension routine, with volume matched across groups.
The main outcomes measured were changes in:
- Maximal strength
- Muscular endurance
- Muscle thickness
- Perceived exertion
- Muscle soreness
Results showed that all groups saw increases in strength, endurance, and muscle thickness, with no statistically significant differences between groups. However, the drop-set and pre-exhaustion groups experienced greater perceived exertion and muscle soreness, suggesting higher fatigue and recovery demands.
The results of this study align with existing meta-analyses on drop sets. A meta-analysis by Coleman et al (2022) found no significant advantage for drop sets over traditional sets for strength and hypertrophy when total volume is equated. However, an interesting benefit of drop sets is the potential time efficiency; in certain cases, they may allow you to achieve similar training volumes in half the time of traditional training (Sødal et al, 2023). This makes drop sets particularly appealing for those looking for time-efficient ways to train without sacrificing progress.
Pre-exhaustion has been studied with mixed outcomes regarding its effectiveness for hypertrophy and strength. Trindade et al (2019) compared traditional and pre-exhaustion training and found no significant differences in strength gains or muscle thickness. The authors highlighted that while pre-exhaustion could increase overall training volume, it might compromise performance on subsequent compound lifts due to localized fatigue. Essentially, while pre-exhaustion can serve as a method to change up training or emphasize a lagging muscle group, it may not necessarily enhance overall muscle growth or strength when volume is controlled.
This study reinforces the idea that as long as you’re performing enough training volume and training at a close proximity to failure, you won’t necessarily see more muscular gains from incorporating drop sets or pre-exhaustion. Drop sets and pre-exhaustion can provide a novel stimulus and make training more enjoyable or time-efficient. However, they do not appear to confer unique benefits beyond traditional training when total workload is matched.
To incorporate drop sets for time efficiency, you can perform a set of an exercise to near failure, then immediately reduce the weight and continue without rest, allowing you to accumulate more volume in less time. In practice, you could do your first set for 5-20 reps, followed by 2-4 back-off sets with a 20% reduction in load each time, while keeping rest between sets to a minimum.
Additionally, based on the current literature on exercise order, performing isolation exercises before compound movements won’t hurt your gains, allowing you to be more flexible with your workout structure. You can also use pre-exhaustion as a strategy to use lighter loads for your compound lifts while still remaining in a relatively low rep range, versus opting for a lighter load from the get-go and having to perform more repetitions than usual.
The takeaway from this body of research is that traditional training, drop sets, and pre-exhaustion all serve as viable methods to improve muscle size and strength. Their use should primarily come down to personal preference, recovery capacity, and specific training needs rather than hypertrophy or strength stimulus. Traditional sets are tried-and-true for steady progress, while drop sets can add time efficiency, and pre-exhaustion can target specific muscles or add variety.
