Dropsets with no spotter

HST_Rihad

HST_Rihad

Active Member
Hi, all. I'd like to know whether it is permissible to do drop sets without having a spotter or two drop the plates? It takes me roughly 10-15 seconds to get my hands back on the bar.

p.s.: I realize that some will say "hey, I do that and it works", but I'm rather interested in some scientific reasoning.

Thanks.
 
Why are you doing drop sets? And why do need a spotter to do them?
I see no scientific reason to do drop sets. Why not just do myo-reps, using the same weight. Some people have had good results doing reverse pyramid training, which is very close to drop sets. The science behind it has to do with fatigue management and fiber recruitment. I am personally using Borge Fagerli's Myo-reps which use this these scientific principles.
http://borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
 
Hi, Sci. What I meant by a "spotter" was a person or two who dropped a plate from each end, allowing me to continue with almost no delay.
I've read about dropsets in chapter 34 of the HST FAQ. I think that bench-pressing myo-reps style would be fine for 10RM but not for 5RM.
 
With drop sets, you want to minimize the time between sets, so obviously a spotter is ideal. Without a spotter, it may take too long to do a drop set properly, which is why I suggested myo-reps. After your last set near failure, rack the weight and wait about 20 seconds and then keep going. You could drop the weight during this time, but don't drop it too much since you will be somewhat recovered from the rest-pause.
 
But that's actually what I'm already doing: resting 10-15 seconds and dropping some weight. So I'll just name it myo-reps and be happy :)
 
I think it may be beneficial to keep the loads steady, instead of drop sets. If you can continue to keep lifting for multiple clusters of reps at the SAME HEAVY LOAD for all reps across, it is more beneficial than dropping the load.
For example, for my last bench press workout I warmed up with several light sets and then went straight into the heavy load for reps across.

e.g. Bench Press: 205x8+3+3+3+3+3+3+3
29 total reps.

So I did 8 straight reps until just before failure (no spotter, don't want to actually hit failure!), then rack the weight for 20 seconds or so, and then do 3 more reps, (11), then rack the weight do three more reps, etc. until you get fatigued so much that you can no longer do a 3 rep mini-set. It is exhausting, and a bit brutal, but it gets results. I may have to drop frquency to twice/week, though, the workouts are a bit intense, but are entirely workable and Blade actually recommends using this in conjunction with HST principles, (15, 10, 5, type progression, SD, etc.)

If this proves too exhausting, then drop sets might be better, working with a lighter load is better than working with none.
 
You are going to be hard pressed to find "scientific reasoning" for why it is ok to just strip the weights yourself real quick instead of using a partner to strip weights. Obviously all sane individuals will realize that 10 to 15 seconds to strip a few plates off isn't going to matter.
 
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