29/05/2026
FINISHER SETS — EMPTY THE TANK WITH PURPOSE 🔥💪🏽
Following on from my last couple of posts about pre-exhaust training and drop sets, here’s another simple but powerful method you can use to get more out of your sessions:
Finisher sets.
Now, when I say “finisher”, I don’t just mean throwing in a random exercise at the end because you’ve got five minutes spare.
A proper finisher has a purpose.
It’s that final exercise, set, or sequence at the end of a workout designed to completely finish off the target muscle and leave no doubt that you’ve trained it properly.
For example, on a back day…
You might have already done your heavy rows, pulldowns, deadlifts or machine work.
Your main strength work is done.
You’ve moved some decent weight.
You’ve ticked off the big exercises.
But then you finish with something like:
A straight-arm pulldown.
A high-rep seated row.
A cable pullover.
A controlled lat-focused pulldown.
Or even a brutal machine row drop set.
That final movement isn’t necessarily about lifting the heaviest weight in the gym.
It’s about squeezing, controlling, feeling the muscle work, and forcing every last bit of effort out of the area you’re training.
That’s the finisher.
The “empty the tank” moment.
The point where you say:
Right, I’ve trained this muscle properly today.
A good finisher can help with:
✅ Creating a huge pump
✅ Improving mind-muscle connection
✅ Adding extra volume without needing loads more time
✅ Bringing up weaker areas
✅ Making the end of your session feel purposeful
✅ Teaching you to push through discomfort safely
✅ Finishing the workout with intent instead of just drifting out of the gym
And the best thing?
Finishers can be used for almost any body part.
Chest day?
Finish with cable flyes, press-ups, or a machine press burnout.
Back day?
Finish with straight-arm pulldowns, rows, or pullover variations.
Leg day?
Finish with walking lunges, leg extensions, hamstring curls, sled pushes, or wall sits if you’re feeling nasty 😂
Shoulders?
Lateral raise burnouts are absolute murder.
Arms?
Cable curls or rope pushdowns until your arms feel like they’re going to explode.
But here’s the important bit…
A finisher should not ruin the whole session.
It should complete the session.
There’s a difference.
If you go too hard too early, your form falls apart, your recovery suffers, and you end up just chasing pain for the sake of it.
That’s not smart training.
A proper finisher is planned.
It comes after the main work.
It matches the goal of the session.
And it gives you that final bit of focused intensity without turning the whole workout into chaos.
Because training hard is good.
But training hard with structure is better.
At JoshFit, I want my clients to understand these little methods — not just copy workouts from Instagram and hope for the best.
When to use a finisher.
What exercise to choose.
How many reps to do.
When to push close to failure.
When to hold back.
How to make the workout effective without just destroying yourself every session.
That’s where coaching makes a massive difference.
A good PT doesn’t just stand there shouting “one more rep”.
A good PT helps you understand how to train properly, how to get more from your sessions, and how to use methods like pre-exhaust, drop sets and finishers in a way that actually makes sense.
So if you’re training hard but still feel like your workouts are a bit random…
Or you leave the gym thinking, “I did stuff, but I’m not sure if it was the right stuff”…
That’s exactly where I can help.
At JoshFit, I’ll help you train with structure, intensity and purpose.
No guessing.
No random workouts.
Just smart training that pushes you in the right direction.
JoshFit 💜💛
Train smart. Move better. Get stronger.