A word on my current weight training schedule I thought I might share with you:-

I've always been a fan of 'Pyramid sets' for building strength and power e.g. for a bench press start with 20kg dumbbells for 12 reps, then increase to 22kg but decrease reps to 10, then carry on increasing weight and decreasing reps to about 90% of your max lift at 4 reps - total of 5 sets. To make gains you just increase your start weight every week or so, which in turn pushes up your 90% max. lift at 4 reps.

However, I thought I'd revisit a variation on this system to see if i could get a better result. First thing is to time your rest periods to a minimum of one minute between sets, then instead of going right down to 4, you do two drop sets of 12 reps instead e.g. 6 reps at 26kg then 12 reps at 24kg then another 12 reps at 22kg.

I have tried this for two sessions to date and have made the following observations:-

The workout is much more efficient and is over quicker.
The short rest periods feel halfway between weight training and circuit training, so you get a slight cardio effect (elevated heart rate and sweating)
The first drop set is quite hard and gives you a slight burn
The second drop set is very hard and you have to draw upon mental strength to complete the set, ideal for martial arts!
The pump lasts for longer after the workout.
The gains a more noticeable straight away.

I will let you know how it goes in future posts, if you want to comment or ask any questions, please feel free!