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exaktlywhat

ok, since everyone wants to know about heavy to light vs. light to heavy (drop sets) and everyone seems to understand the principle behind progressive intentensity training (i have been reading, can you tell?) but when anyone asks about heavy to light, or drop sets, we just kind of go...hmmm...i never tried that before. so heres a link to one of the dozens of articles, studies, and crap that i read through http://www.bodybuildingapplied.com/i....asp?newsId=16
i thought this was a good one to post as it gives not only and explanation but some ideas on how to use them. i have done drops but always after working up in weight first, then usually one or two drops. this and most other writings suggests drops being done independently, without working up in weight first. everyone else posts good information, i thought id give it a try. heres the first part of that link to give you an idea too.

"A drop set is the simple technique where you perform a set of any exercise to failure or just short of failure, then drop some weight and continue for more repetitions with the reduced poundage. According to Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, the drop set method was originally "discovered" in 1947 by Henry Atkins, editor of Body Culture magazine. Atkins called it the "multi-poundage system." Since then, this muscle blasting technique has gone by many different names including breakdowns, descending sets, triple-drops, down the rack, strip sets or the stripping technique."

"Let's suppose you're doing bicep curls with 125 pounds for a set of 8-12 reps. The 10th rep is difficult. The 11th rep is extremely hard, even with a little cheating. The 12th rep takes an all out supreme effort. Gun to the head - you still couldn't do a 13th rep. You've hit honest failure. But if you strip some weight off the bar - about fifteen to twenty percent or so, you can keep going.

Even though you may reach a point of momentary muscular failure after 8-12 reps in a conventional straight set, you haven't reached absolute failure; you've only reached failure with that poundage. You see, in a single straight set performed to failure, you don't activate every fiber in a muscle group. You only recruit the number of fibers necessary to lift a particular weight for the desired number of repetitions. By stripping off weight and continuing the set, you cumulatively recruit more and more "reserve" muscle fibers. Drop sets hit the "stubborn" muscle fibers "deep down," causing growth that normally couldn't be achieved by stopping after a single set of six to twelve."

i hate the old copy/paste method of giving info but what the hell, i did the research! hope this helps someone.