Save time as you build muscle with this Arnold Schwarzenegger-approved strength training technique

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August 28, 2025

On August 28, 2025

Bodybuilders are renowned for using hours-long gym workouts to sculpt their physiques, yet Arnold Schwarzenegger knows the value of a short, sharp session.

When time and equipment were scarce, the Austrian Oak would turn to a muscle-building technique called mechanical drop sets to build strength with maximum efficiency—and he’s just released a workout drawing on this principle.

“Mechanical drop sets allow you to hit failure without changing weights—just by tweaking the movement,” writes Arnie’s team in the latest edition of Arnold’s Pump Club—a daily newsletter from the 78-year-old former Mr Olympia.

With a classic drop set, you typically need lots of equipment close to hand.

For example, you might do a set of biceps curls with a moderately heavy pair of dumbbells. Once you hit failure, you’d immediately swap in a lighter pair of weights for a second set of reps to failure, then drop the weight once more.

As a result you would have kept the muscles under sustained tension for longer than if you had one pair of dumbbells, which should help your biceps grow bigger and stronger.

With a mechanical drop set, instead of changing the load, you regress the exercise selection, performing sets of easier variations, so you can keep working when you hit failure.

“This keeps intensity high and prioritizes efficiency so you can work hard, feel accomplished, and get on with your day,” writes Arnie’s team, while providing a mechanical drop-set workout you can get your teeth stuck into today.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mechanical drop-set workout

Arnold’s mechanical drop-set workout is made up of three blocks, starting with the lower-body, then upper, then back to lower.

Each block involves three back-to-back variations of an exercise targeting a specific movement pattern, moving from hardest to easiest.

“Rest as little as possible (or not at all) between exercises in a set,” notes Arnie’s team.

Rest two to three minutes after each drop set, repeating it once or twice more before moving onto the next block. Don’t skimp on the rest. To perform to your full potential, you’ll need it.

Because the workout is quite push-heavy, I’ve added an optional upper-body pulling-focused block to round off the session and keep your body evenly balanced.

Hopefully, Arnie would approve.

Drop set 1: Lower body (2-3 rounds)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Drop set 2: Upper-body push (2-3 rounds)

A woman in a sports bra and leggings performs a knee push-up on a yoga mat in a living room. Her hands and knees are on the floor and her torso and upper-legs form a straight line. Her arms are straight as she holds herself in place. Behind her we see a sofa, rug and potted plant.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If decline push-ups are too advanced—as they are for most people—instead pick three variations of push-ups, or modified push-ups, that you can perform with good form. For example, you could start with eccentric push-ups, then move on to push-ups on knees, then finish with incline push-ups.

Drop set 3: Glutes and core (2-3 rounds)

Woman performing hip thrust using a couch in her living room. Her back is on the sofa seat, her feet are flat on the floor and she holds her hips in the air. She is wearing red leggings and a grey cropped top. She has black hair.

(Image credit: shih-wei / Getty Images)

Rest 2-3 minutes after each drop set, repeating it once or twice more, then rest 60-90 seconds before moving onto the next block.

Drop set 4: Upper-body pull (2-3 rounds)

A woman performs a renegade row with light dumbbells on a yoga mat in a living room. She is in a push-up position, with one dumbbell on the mat and the other bent at the elbow holding the dumbbell near her hip. Behind her we see a couch, alarm clock and plant.