Effects of Drop Sets on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Sports Medicine - Open

Systematic Review

Stian Larsen¹  Lena Kristiansen Sødal¹  Eirik Kristiansen¹  Roland van den Tillaar¹ 

[1] Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Nord University, Levanger, Norway;

关键词: Strength training;    Resistance;    Descending sets;    Breakdown sets;    Training volume;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40798-023-00620-5

 received in 2022-09-15, accepted in 2023-07-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOne of the most popular time-efficient training methods when training for muscle hypertrophy is drop sets, which is performed by taking sets to concentric muscle failure at a given load, then making a drop by reducing the load and immediately taking the next set to concentric or voluntary muscle failure. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the effects of drop sets over traditional sets on skeletal muscle hypertrophy.MethodsThis systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The SPORTDiscus and MEDLINE/PubMed databases were searched on April 9, 2022, for all studies investigating the effects of the drop set training method on muscle hypertrophy that meets the predefined inclusion criteria. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 3 (Biostat Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA) was used to run the statistical analysis. Publication bias was assessed through visual inspection of the funnel plots for asymmetry and statistically by Egger’s regression test with an alpha level of 0.10.ResultsSix studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. The number of participants in the studies was 142 (28 women and 114 men) with an age range of 19.2–27 years. The average sample size was 23.6 ± 10.9 (range 9–41). Five studies were included in the quantitative synthesis. Meta-analysis showed that both the drop set and traditional training groups increased significantly from pre- to post-test regarding muscle hypertrophy (drop set standardized mean difference: 0.555, 95% CI 0.357–0.921, p < 0.0001; traditional set standardized mean difference: 0.437, 95% CI 0.266–0.608, p < 0.0001). No significant between-group difference was found (standardized mean difference: 0.155, 95% CI − 0.199 to − 0.509, p = 0.392).ConclusionsThe results of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that drop sets present an efficient strategy for maximizing hypertrophy in those with limited time for training. There was no significant difference in hypertrophy measurements between the drop set and traditional training groups, but some of the drop set modalities took half to one-third of the time compared with traditional training.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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