Intro to Mechanical Drop Sets

The cornerstone of the 12-week plan is a training system called mechanical drop sets. This technique allows you to thoroughly blast your muscles into oblivion, creating enough damage to the muscle fibers forcing your body to grow or die. This is an approach that allows you to truly go to the limit of what your muscles can give you - maximum growth via maximum stimulation.

Mechanical drop sets are based on the same idea on which drop sets are built.

The goal of a drop set is to allow the trainee to continue performing an exercise even when the point of muscle failure (incapacity to complete one more lift) has been reached. To do so, when you reach failure, you reduce the weight by 25 to 50% and continue to perform reps.

This can be effective, but from experience it isn't optimal. For some reason, I have a hard time believing that performing reps with 50% of what you just lifted will have much of an effect on growth besides an increased pump. Don't get me wrong, it'll work. But I don't see it as optimal.

Mechanical drop sets are similar since you're still focusing on performing more reps once you hit failure. However, this time you don't reduce the weight. Rather, you make a small change to the execution of the movement to allow yourself to get more reps with the same weight.

The change can be a difference in grip, foot stance, angle of movement, etc. It's pretty much the same basic exercise, but with a technical variation.

The whole 12-week program will include close to 40 of such exercise complexes. But in the meantime, here's a cool arm program that'll introduce you to the fine torture that is mechanical drop setting.

Mechanical Drop Alternating Complex A

• A1. Steep-Angle Preacher Curl: 6-8 reps 10 seconds rest.
• Execution: Perform with your elbows on the steep side of the preacher bench using either dumbbells or a straight bar.
• A2. 45-Degree Preacher Curl: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 10 seconds rest.
• Execution: Perform the curl on the angled side of the preacher bench using either dumbbells or a straight bar.
• A3. Standing Barbell Curl: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 90 seconds rest before moving on to A4 through A6.
• A4. Close-Grip Bench Press: 6-8 reps 10 seconds rest.
• Execution: Perform with your thumbs together (hands roughly 8 inches apart).
• A5. Medium-Grip Bench Press: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 10 seconds rest.
• Execution: Perform with your thumbs 10 to 12 inches apart.
• A6. Standard-Grip Bench Press: Same weight for as many reps as you can.
• Execution: Perform with your hands 20 to 22 inches apart.

90 seconds rest before going back to A1 through A3. Perform this complex 4 times.

Mechanical Drop Alternating Complex B

• B1. Steep-Angle Reverse-Grip Preacher Curl: 6-8 reps 10 seconds rest.
• B2. 45-Degree Reverse-Grip Preacher Curl: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 10 seconds rest.
• B3. Standing Reverse-Grip Curl: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 90 seconds rest before moving on to B4 through B6.
• B4. Lying Bar Triceps Extension: 6-8 reps. 10 seconds rest.
• B5. Lying Bar Triceps Extension Plus Close-Grip Bench Press: Same weight for as many reps as you can. 10 seconds rest.
• Execution: Perform the eccentric portion as a typical lying triceps extension. Then bring the bar to your chest and perform the concentric portion as a close-grip bench press with your elbows tucked in.
• B6. Close-Grip Bench Press: Same weight for as many reps as you can.
• Execution: Keep your elbows tucked in for both the lowering and lifting phases.

90 seconds rest before going back to B1 through B3. Perform the complex 4 times.

Accentuated Eccentric Complex C

• C1. 2/1 Preacher Curl: 3-5 reps lowered in 6-8 seconds. 45 seconds rest.
• Execution: Lower the bar with one arm but use both arms to bring it back up.
• C2. 2/1 Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension: 3-5 reps lowered in 6-8 seconds. 60 seconds rest.
• Execution: Lower the dumbbell with one arm but use both arms to help bring it back up.

Perform the complex 3 times

This is just a taste of what's to come! But for those of you who decide to punish your arms for a few weeks, here are a few quick recommendations to make the most out of this program:

1. Use Surge® Workout Fuel. I kid you not, Surge Workout Fuel will great ly help you power through such an intense program (remember, more stimulation will lead to more growth!).
2. On this arms day, increase your caloric intake, especially in the two meals post-workout. You want to maximize the anabolic rebound to this program by ingesting about 50% more carbs and protein than usual in those two meals. Using Mag-10® should be an obvious thing to do, too.
3. This workout requires a lot of focus because you really have to go way beyond the pain threshold to reap all the benefits this program can give you. If you want to get in the zone, I recommend a good neural booster like Spike® Shooter. I'd recommend Power Drive®, but I prefer to include it in the post-workout shake to promote neural recovery.
4. Get mentally ready before going to the gym. Yes, it's only an arms workout, but the techniques used are quite excruciating. (I can only leave the leg workout up to your imagination!)

Good luck, but you'll need even more once the whole 12-week mass blast is ready.