Beyond Failure: 3 “Intensity Extenders” Pro Bodybuilders Use to Spark New Muscle Growth

As a lifelong exerciser and veteran personal trainer, I know first-hand that most progress in the gym comes from consistency, sensible programming, and sustained effort. You just have to keep turning up, doing the work, and paying attention to rest, recovery, and nutrition. 

But sometimes, even the most dedicated exercisers hit a wall, and progress grinds to a halt. Weights stop increasing, muscles stop growing, and motivation starts to slip.

Talk about frustrating!

When this happens, the last thing you need is more of the same. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

So, when I or my clients experience a progress plateau, I often break out the big guns and use what I think of as “sledgehammer techniques,” designed to smash through whatever obstacles are holding you back.

These techniques aren’t for beginners and are not suitable for long-term use. But when programmed correctly, they can reignite progress and wake up muscles that have stopped responding.

In this article, I share my three favorite workout intensifiers that pro bodybuilder use to overcome training ruts and build their incredible physiques.

Muscle Growth 101

Before I reveal my three favorite workout intensity extenders, I want to first discuss how muscles grow and adapt to your workouts. That way, you’ll have a greater appreciation for how and why these methods work, and why some intensifying methods are better than others.

There are several factors that drive muscle growth—more properly called hypertrophy (1).

1. Mechanical Tension

This refers to the force on muscles when you lift weights. The heavier the load and the longer the muscles stay under tension—especially during the eccentric/lowering phase—the greater the growth stimulus. Mechanical tension creates tiny microtears in muscle fibers, which, with adequate rest and proper nutrition, grow back bigger and stronger.

2. Motor Unit Recruitment

Muscles are made up of motor units—groups of muscle fibers innervated or controlled by an individual nerve. Lifting heavier weights or pushing closer to failure recruits more motor units, especially the larger, high-threshold type II fibers that have the greatest growth potential. The harder you push, the more muscle fibers you recruit.

3. Metabolic Stress

This is the “burn” you feel during high-rep sets or extended time under tension. It’s caused by the buildup of lactate, hydrogen ions, and other metabolites. This stress triggers hypertrophy through hormonal and cellular changes, and it also causes the muscle “pump” that bodybuilders value so highly.

4. Hormonal Response

Intense training boosts levels of anabolic (muscle-building) hormones like testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1. These hormones aid muscle repair and growth. While the acute hormonal spike after training may not drive hypertrophy on its own, it helps set the stage for muscle recovery and adaptation.

The three training intensifiers described below affect one or more of these mechanisms, which is what makes them so effective for smashing through your progress plateaus.

Extend Time Under Tension with Drop Sets

Faced with having to choose one intensifying method for all my future workouts, I’d probably pick drop sets. Also known as strip sets, this technique maximizes muscle tension, extends time under tension, and increases metabolic stress—all proven triggers of muscle growth.

In addition, drop sets can be used with many exercises and most training equipment, and they’re ideal for solo lifters—no partner required. There is even a drop-set variation you can use with some bodyweight exercises.

Drop-Set Basics

As the name suggests, drop sets involve taking your initial set to failure, reducing (or dropping) the weight, and then doing a few more reps. This “drop” process can then be repeated several times. Reducing the weight in this fashion allows you to extend your set beyond the point at which it would normally have ended.

Here’s a drop set example using cable biceps curls:

• 12 reps @ 100 pounds
• Reduce weight by 10-15% (1^st drop)
• 9 reps @ 85 pounds
• Reduce weight by 10-15% (2^nd drop)
• 7 reps @ 70 pounds
• Reduce weight by 10-15% (3^rd drop)
• 5 reps @ 60 pounds

In theory, you can do as few or as many drops as you wish. However, the sweet spot for effectiveness and time efficiency is, in my experience, two to three weight reductions.

Also, no prolonged rests between drops. If you take more than a few seconds to lower the weight and resume your reps, your muscles will start to recover, negating the purpose and effect of drop sets. Take no more than 5-10 seconds to reduce the load and recommence your set.

Mechanical Advantage Drop Sets

You can also use drop sets with some bodyweight exercises. These are called mechanical drop sets. Instead of magically shedding a percentage of your body weight, you simply move from a weak position to a stronger one as you get tired. 

For example:

• Feet-elevated push-ups to failure
• Feet on the floor push-ups to failure
• Hands-elevated push-ups to failure

Of course, there are some exercises, both conventional and bodyweight, that are not suitable for drop sets. However, whatever muscle group you want to hammer into submission, you should be able to find at least a few drop set-compatible exercises, even if they aren’t your normal choice.  

Read more about drop sets in this in-depth guide.

Partial Reps for the Ultimate Pump and Burn

It’s generally best to perform the exercises in your workouts using a full range of motion. In other words, you flex and extend your muscles and joints as far as is safe and comfortable. The further the load has to travel, the harder your chosen exercise will be, and the better your results.

However, as your set progresses and your muscles start to fatigue, you will eventually reach the point where you can’t do any more full reps. But, contrary to what you might think, your muscles are not yet fully exhausted and there is still “gas in the tank.”

Partial reps allow you to extend your set beyond the normal point of failure by shortening the range of motion, making the exercise somewhat easier.

For example, after doing as many full-range pull-ups as possible, end your set by doing a similar number of half reps to fully exhaust your muscles. Partial reps extend the time under tension, potentially enhancing hypertrophy.

In addition, partial reps reduce blood flow into your muscles while preventing waste products from escaping. This increases metabolic stress, which is another important hypertrophy driver. In addition, some studies suggest partial reps, especially when done with your muscles in a lengthened position, are very hypertrophic (2).

Finally, when you end your set, blood floods back into your muscles—which is called reperfusion­—producing a skin-splitting pump. This influx of blood and nutrients is believed by many bodybuilders to be another precursor of muscle growth.

Related: Long-Length Partial Reps for More Muscle Mass

Bully Your Muscles into Growing with Forced Reps

So, you’ve done ten reps of heavy bench presses—good work! However, despite reaching failure, your muscles are not yet exhausted. You just don’t quite have the strength to lift the weight currently on the bar.

With forced reps, you get a little help to keep the weight moving, usually from a training partner or spotter. This means that, instead of ending your set at ten reps, you should be able to push out more.

How many additional reps depends on how much of the load your training partner is willing to lift, but an additional 3-5 reps is usually enough for most people.

Forced reps are ideal for situations where drop sets or partials are not possible, such as many barbell exercises. However, you will need a competent partner for this method. The trick is for them to provide just enough help for you to keep pumping out the reps. They should not be doing all the work!

It’s important to note that, during forced reps, your partner should only help you lift the weight—you should lower it yourself, making sure you control the load all the way down. This emphasizes the eccentric or lengthening part of the muscle contraction, which studies suggest, is the part of an exercise responsible for most muscle growth (3).

No training partner or trustworthy spotter? No problem! You can apply forced reps to some exercises yourself. For example, you can do single-leg extensions and use your other leg for assistance. Single-arm dumbbell curls also work well.

Learn More: Maximize Your Gains with Forced Reps: A Comprehensive Guide

How to Use These Methods in Your Workouts

Intensity-extending techniques like drop sets, partial reps, and forced reps are powerful tools. However, they need to be used with care. Overusing them can lead to overtraining, burnout, and even injury—not more muscle.

So, follow these rules to get the most from these intensity extenders.

Rule #1: Don’t Use All Three at Once

Pick one method that fits your goals, equipment, and training style, and focus on it for a few weeks. For example, you might add drop sets to the last exercise of your push workouts or finish leg day with some partial reps on leg extensions or calf raises. Stick with it long enough to feel the impact, but not so long that your body starts to break down.

Rule #2: Use Them Sparingly

Don’t fall into the trap of using these methods too often. That’s overkill. Instead, they should only be applied to 1–2 exercises per workout and usually just on your final set. Think of them as a finisher—a way to wring the last bit of effort from a target muscle, not something to build your entire program around.

Rule #3: Pay Extra Attention to Recovery

These techniques are incredibly intense and stressful, and that’s why they work. However, because they take so much out of your body, you must also pay attention to recovery and nutrition. This will ensure your body has the time, energy, and resources it needs to repair the damage they cause.

So, make sure that the rest of your program supports recovery—good sleep, a healthy diet, and periodic deloads are essential.

Follow these guidelines and these techniques can help you break through training plateaus and reignite your gains. But, use them recklessly, and they’ll probably do more harm than good.

Closing Thoughts

Train for long enough and you’re bound to hit a wall—probably more than once. Progress plateaus aren’t just common; they’re inevitable, especially for experienced lifters. The longer you’ve been lifting, the harder it becomes to keep making progress. That’s the reality of bodybuilding and strength training.

But hitting a plateau doesn’t mean you’re done growing. Rather, it means it’s time to change tactics.

Drop sets, partial reps, and forced reps are the same intensity-extending tools used by the pros to push through sticking points and reignite growth. They’re not everyday methods, and they’re not for beginners. But, when used correctly, they work.

So, are you ready to break through your next plateau? Pick one of these techniques, apply it to your workouts, and get your progress back on track.

References:

1 – Schoenfeld BJ. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Oct;24(10):2857-72. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3. PMID: 20847704.

2 – Kassiano W, Costa B, Kunevaliki G, Soares D, Zacarias G, Manske I, Takaki Y, Ruggiero MF, Stavinski N, Francsuel J, Tricoli I, Carneiro MAS, Cyrino ES. Greater Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy After Partial Range of Motion Training Performed at Long Muscle Lengths. J Strength Cond Res. 2023 Sep 1;37(9):1746-1753. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004460. Epub 2023 Apr 3. PMID: 37015016.

3 – Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn DI, Vigotsky AD, Franchi MV, Krieger JW. Hypertrophic Effects of Concentric vs. Eccentric Muscle Actions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Sep;31(9):2599-2608. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001983. PMID: 28486337.

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