Cluster Training - Improve your Strength!

With the intensity that this training requires, you will reach a zone of total discomfort, but in the end you will see that it is worth it.

Cluster training is an effective tool to shock your body into new gains, as well as break up the monotony of taking a straight sets approach to your lifting. Beyond that, it’s cool, it’s different, and it’s something that will have the other members of your gym asking you, “What are you doing?”

Cluster training involves the use of short intra-series rest periods (within a serie - usually ranging from 10 to 30 seconds), and which aim to allow the athlete to lift more weight, making a greater number of repetitions.

In the traditional method of bodybuilding, the athlete does for example a series of 6 repetitions and rests 2 to 4 minutes, and then do the same again for another 2 or 3 sets.

In cluster training, what is done is to break these 6 repetitions into four mini-sets of 3 repetitions, with rest intervals between these mini-series between 10 and 30 seconds each. This allows you to do effectively 12 repetitions with the same weight you would do 6 reps. In this example, you can double the repetitions, so it's equivalent to a 100% increase in total work.

With this method not only you can increase the intensity but you can increase the volume of each series and total training. Therefore, you achieve a greater increase of strength and hypertrophy (increase of muscular mass). This is also an excellent method to break down strength stabilizations in athletes.

“Cluster training involves the use of short intra-series rest periods (within a serie - usually ranging from 10 to 30 seconds), and which aim to allow the athlete to lift more weight, making a greater number of repetitions.”

All of the benefits of cluster training arise from the ability to do more reps with a heavier weight. Whenever you’re able to keep intensity high whilst doing more reps, you’re always going to see an immediate carry over to improvements in strength and muscle gains.

The beauty of cluster training is that you can easily manipulate the sets/reps/rest scheme to make it more biased to inducing strength or hypertrophy gains, depending on what your goal is. For example, if strength is your main goal, you should aim to keep the load of the movement high (at or above 90% of your 1 maximum rep), and the reps low (mini-sets of 1-2 reps), with shorter rests (10-15s). In the case of hypertrophy, clusters allow you to take a weight that you’d normally use for building strength (i.e. a 5 maximum reps), and push the number of reps you can do with it out into the more hypertrophy-friendly reps ranges of 8-12 reps - thereby increasing the total time under tension, and placing a greater degree of mechanical stress placed upon the muscle.

Another benefit of cluster training is its ability to break through strength plateaus. Seeing as most people haven’t been exposed to cluster training methods before, it stands to reason that they will see their biggest benefit from it the first time they do it.

How to adapt this training to different goals?

The great advantage of this type of training is that you can adapt its structure so that it's more in line with the goals of strength, hypertrophy or even muscle definition.

Strength - you should maintain a high load (equal to or greater than 90% of 1 maximum rep), and low repetitions (mini-series of 1 to 2 repetitions) with short breaks (10-15s). In a simple way, choose a weight that allows you to do 3 reps in the traditional method. After the weight is set 2reps + 2reps + 2reps + 2reps (always with rest of 10 to 15 seconds between 2 reps), or choose a weight that allows you to do 2 to 3 reps and does 1rep + 1rep + 1rep + 1rep (always with rest of 10 to 15 seconds between each 2 reps).

After the first series done (set of 4 mini-series) rest 3 to 4 minutes and do it againcfor another 3 series, for a total of 4 series.

Hypertrophy - Uses a medium load (between 75 to 85% of 1 maximum rep), number of medium repetitions (mini series of 3 to 4 repetitions), with short pauses (15 to 20s). In a simple way, choose a weight that allows you to do 8 reps in the traditional method. After the weight is set 3reps + 3reps + 3reps + 3reps (always with rest of 15 to 30 seconds between 3 reps), or choose a weight that allows you to do 10 reps and does 4rep + 4rep + 4rep + 4rep (always with rest of 15 to 30 seconds between each 4 reps). The smaller the rest, the more intense it gets.

Unlike clamp training for strength, for hypertrophy you should stimulate the production of lactic acid which helps promote greater muscle gains, so you should pre-lay rests of 15 to 20 seconds between mini-series). 3

After the first series done (set of 4 mini-series) rest 1 to 2 minutes and do everything the same for another 3 series, for a total of 4 series.

Muscular Definition - Uses a low load (between 50 to 70% of 1 maximum rep), number of high repetitions (mini-series of 6 to 8 repetitions), with short pauses (10 to 20s). allows you to make 13 to 15 reps in the traditional method. After the weight is set it does 6reps + 6reps + 6reps + 6reps (always with rest of 10 to 20 seconds between each 6 reps). To make it more intense, you can have the same weight as 8rep + 8rep + 8rep + 8rep (always with rest of 10 to 20 seconds between 8 reps) and so you do a total of 32 repetitions with the same weight that you did 13 to 15reps. The smaller the rest, the greater the intensity and the better the results.

After the first series done (set of 4 mini-series), rest 30 to 60 seconds and do everything the same for another 3 series, for a total of 4 series.

Short breaks allow a greater production of lactic acid, which leads to increased production of growth hormone, which in turn will help you to burn more fat. So make sure to keep your breaks between mini-series and series as short as possible within the range I gave above.

Cluster training, if done well, turns out to be extremely intense, so I only advise you to do it in the first or first two training exercises, and these have to be polyarticular and stimulate large muscle groups such as Squat, Leg Press, DeadLift, Bench Press, Pullup, Chin Up, Lat Pull Down and Shoulder press. After doing the first or second exercise using this method, perform all other exercises in a normal way, or you can drop drop sets or compound sets to maintain the high intensity level but more than 1 to 2 cluster exercises , leads to great muscle and neurological fatigue, which can detract from your performance in the rest of the training and even in subsequent training.