Drop sets, supersets and rest-pause: how to do them and how to log them

A drop set is a set that does not end when you fail. You finish your reps, take 20 to 30 percent off the weight at once, and keep going until you are close to failure again. One drop is the usual version; two is a lot; three is a party trick. The point is that the muscle keeps working past the point where the original weight stopped it.

• Where: machines, cables and dumbbells, where changing the weight takes a second and a sloppy last rep is harmless. Lateral raises, curls, pushdowns, leg extensions, pec deck.
• When: the last set of an exercise. Doing it on every set means the later sets are done exhausted, and the quality drops.
• Logging: the main set as normal, then each drop as its own row with the lower weight and the reps you got. Both count toward your volume, because both were work.

A superset is two exercises done back to back, then a rest. The common versions pair opposite muscles (a curl and a pushdown, a row and a press), or two exercises for the same muscle (a fly straight into a press). Opposite-muscle supersets cost you almost nothing in performance and halve your rest time; same-muscle supersets are a way to pile fatigue onto one area.

• Where: arms, shoulders and any session where you are short of time. Two stations next to each other help; a busy gym does not.
• When: whenever. Opposite-muscle supersets are the one technique you can run every week without much cost. The Arnold split pairs biceps and triceps this way.
• Logging: each exercise with its own sets, reps and weight, plus a note that they were paired. The pairing matters when you compare with last time: 10 curls straight after 10 pushdowns is not the same as 10 fresh curls.

Rest-pause takes one heavy set and stretches it with short breaks. Do your reps to a rep or two from failure, rack the weight, rest 10 to 20 seconds, and do as many more as you can with the same weight. Repeat once or twice. Something like 10, then 4, then 3 is typical. You end up with 17 reps at a weight you could only do 10 straight, in about a minute more.

• Where: machines and dumbbells. Anything where you can set the weight down safely and pick it up again without a spotter.
• When: the last set of a main exercise on a day you have energy. It is the most demanding of the three.
• Logging: the first set, then each pause chunk with its reps. Same weight every time, so if the weight changes it was a drop set, not rest-pause.

• Pyramid

  Weight up and reps down from set to set (or the reverse). Each step is a normal set.

• Back-off set

  A lighter set after your heaviest work, usually for more reps. Log it at its own weight.

• Myo-reps

  An activation set of 12–20, then several mini-sets of 3–5 with a few breaths' rest. Each mini-set is logged.

• Cluster set

  One set broken into clusters of 2–3 reps with 10–20 seconds between, so you can use a heavier weight.

• Mechanical drop

  When you cannot do another rep, switch to an easier variation (incline push-up after push-ups) with the same weight.

1. Last set only. Everything before it is straight sets at full quality.
2. Isolation and machines, not heavy compounds. Squats, deadlifts and barbell presses stay straight; fatigue is when form goes.
3. One or two exercises per session. More than that and tomorrow's session pays for it.
4. Log the whole thing. Reps and weight for every drop, chunk and paired exercise. A drop set logged as “one set” makes your volume look lower than it was and your progress look flatter than it is.

IronBuddy logs all eight techniques, each with its own numbers. Open a day with its Log button, tap the exercise, and under a set tap + add technique.

• Drop set: a drop row appears under the set with its own reps and weight; add another for a second drop.
• Rest-pause: each pause chunk gets its reps at the set's weight.
• Superset: the pairing is kept on the set, so the day reads the way you trained it.
• Till failure: a switch on any set that notes you took it to failure, without changing the numbers.
• It all counts: every drop, chunk and mini-set adds to the session volume, the sets per muscle in Muscle Balance, and the volume charts.
• Plan it: with “Also update my plan” on, a technique you add is planned for the same day in later weeks.

The set techniques feature page has screenshots of each step; how to log your workouts covers the rest of the log.