WOW. Probably the most informative, scientific, and overall useful article I’ve ever read on training and muscle growth. Everything makes perfect sense. The only issue, is that it ends as somewhat of a cliffhanger. To elaborate, we do learn that a ~5 RM set SHOULD provide roughly as many stimulating reps, 5, as all +5RM sets (moderate load), implying that the non-stimulating reps are “wasted”. To reiterate, this is due to not needing to contract slow enough in those beginning reps & not recruiting high levels of motor units, as the fibers are not yet sufficiently fatigued.
There are some pretty obvious downsides to the 8–12 rep range. No one wants to waste time or energy from those beginning reps, and yes, even though they may not be stimulating, they definitely expend energy. After all, why do reps go from non-stimulating to stimulating? AND, as mentioned, the weight used in the 8–12 rep range is not ideal for strength gain as so compared to 1–5. This bears the question, is there a way to maximize the use of our time and energy ? Rather is there a way to better utilize/convert the “wasted” energy typically used for the non-stimulating reps found in 8–12 rep sets, into not only stimulating but strength improving reps as well? After much thinking, I believe so! And the answer is something that we’ve probably all done before: DROP SETS
Think about it — You start with heavy wait that yields a 3–5 rep set. Now instead of stopping like most people, and thus limiting hypertrophy due to lack of volume, immediately switch over to a moderate weight for another 4–6 or so reps. Being already fatigued, which will trigger the high level motor unit recruitment AND slow contraction necessary for fiber stimulation, these secondary reps will effectively become just that — STIMULATING!
So in a nutshell guys, I think drop sets are truly the way to go. It seems as though it’s the best way to maximize the amount of hypertrophy stimulating and strength increasing reps you can achieve with your time and more importantly, energy. Note — I wouldn’t drop the weight so low to the point where you can do 8 reps because according to the article, if you can do that many, there’s a good chance a few of them aren’t stimulating.
What are your guys thoughts?