“Drop set” is the gym exercise of lifting dumbbells until full muscle exhaustion, such that lighter and lighter dumbbells are used until muscles fail to lift the smallest. This method allows for muscle growth as well as endurance training with the same exercise and achieves results in less time and with less repetition than conventional training. Drop sets have been used by professional athletes for a long time.
I have applied and extended the idea to training for all muscle groups (not just biceps and triceps) by creating a gladiator type multifunctional fitness device that gradually decreases the weight/resistance at a user selected step/rate. The decrease is automatic so you don’t have to change dumbbells or reduce weight plates yourself. The effect is achieved by draining a water tank used for weight. This is what the prototype looks like:
We have seen better results with this training than conventional training and research shows strength and endurance improve much faster.
The prototype is implemented with a water tank that drains gradually then gets refilled by a water pump. Ideally this will be implemented with electrical resistance.
For more information see the patent proposal document see Markov’s Drop Set Machine.
You can see video of the prototype in operation here.