The drop zone

This revamp of a classic intensity technique is just the boost you need for amazing arms.

- Mike Carlson

Marrying exercise bands with drop sets is as natural as pairing caffeine and cardio. To do this classic weight-room intensity technique, you perform an exercise to near failure or failure with one weight, then decrease (“drop”) the weight one or more times, continuing to rep it out to near failure or failure with each drop. The accommodating resistance of the bands and the increased time under tension delivers a potent dose of metabolic stress to drive muscle growth.

For best results, use bands of varying “weight” for your drop sets. But if you only have one band, you can still make it work: Begin farther away from the anchor point to create maximal tension and make it “heavier,” and as you begin to fail, step incrementally closer to the anchor point to decrease the tension and make it “lighter.”

THE WORKOUT

For each exercise, you’ll do three drop sets. Begin with your highest-tension band and shoot for eight to 12 reps. When your form begins to deteriorate, “drop” to a lighter band and continue, again using eight to 12 reps as a target. For your last set, use your lightest band and rep it out to absolute failure.