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Oxford Drop Sets

My 4-week, split-body version of the Oxford method will deliver the same great muscle-boosting and fat-burning results as the full-body version in only four days a week.

Oxford Drop Sets

I recently introduced my Whole-Body Oxford Drop Sets program – an effective five-day routine for building size and strength and shedding bodyfat.

But not everyone is as into full-body training as I am, so I've also designed a split-body version of my Oxford method. It's a 4-week that will deliver comparable to the full-body version in one fewer day per week.

In my 4-week version of the Oxford Drop Set system, you'll do a 2-day split (training your entire body over the course of two days) and train a total of four days per week for four weeks. Or, you can go at your own pace and complete all 16 workouts faster or slower than 4 weeks.

You'll train chest, back, shoulders, traps, and abs in one workout (days 1 and 3 each week) and legs, calves, triceps, biceps, and forearms in the other (days 2 and 4). On days 1 and 2 each week you'll do multijoint (compound) exercises first for each muscle group, followed by single-joint (isolation) moves; then, on days 3 and 4, you'll switch the order and do isolation movements first to take advantage of the pre-exhaust technique.

Your goal is to use more weight on each set of each exercise than the previous week.

Other than the training split and how many exercises you'll do per muscle group per workout, the technique for each exercise is the same for both full-body and split-body versions. Here's an overview of the Oxford protocol for those who missed in my initial article...

Oxford at a Glance

The Oxford Method is a popular descending pyramid technique that many people use without even knowing it. It's based around 10 reps – a rep count we’ve all employed countless times in the gym. My version of the Oxford Method has the familiar set-rep scheme of 3x10, but you’ve never done it quite like this before. 

Those of you following my #TrainWithJim series on social media, as well here on JimStoppani.com, may recall the DeLorme ascending pyramid technique; it showed up on Day 7 in my Circuit Maximus program. My Oxford Drop Sets start where DeLorme left off, going in the opposite direction – starting out heavy and reducing the weight as you go.

The standard Oxford Descending Pyramid system starts Set #1 with your 10-rep max taken to failure. You then rest a few minutes and reduce the weight just enough to ensure you get another 10 reps. You rest a few more minutes and again reduce the weight just enough to allow you to squeeze out another 10 reps on that exercise. That’s

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