Issue 083

December 2011

If your strength gains are slowing down, cluster training will help you bomb your way to bigger and stronger

Paul McVeigh

Pro fighter & sports scientist

TUF 14 cast member Paul McVeigh is a sports scientist and a pro fighter, ranked as the number-one bantamweight in Europe

In past articles I have mentioned how the newbie weightlifter can progress with practically any program. Everyone’s favorite ancient Greek wrestler Milo got great results by simply carrying around a growing bull calf. The story illustrates the power of progressive overload: lift something a little bit heavier each time and you’ll get stronger.

Unfortunately, as you get stronger it becomes harder to progress, and that’s what we’re going to address here. If it was simply a case of adding five kilos to a lift per week we would all have three-times body weight squats and the ability to deadlift houses. If you’re an athlete progressing into the intermediate and advanced levels of strength training you’ll know you have to fight for every incremental improvement.

If you have yet to clean and jerk your bodyweight, do a pull-up or squat to a respectable depth for this program because chances are you probably do not qualify as an intermediate lifter. And that’s cool, enjoy making rapid progress and add weight to the bar whenever possible. An intermediate lifter is someone who has several years of dedicated strength training under their belt. They make progress over the course of several weeks as opposed to the beginner who can see progress on a day-to-day basis.  

If you are an intermediate lifter, progression is a grinding battle and it’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeve. Cluster training is one such tool you can use to bust through plateaus and drive your athleticism to new levels.

WHAT IS CLUSTER TRAINING?

Cluster training is a loading protocol that programs in mini rest periods of 7–12 seconds between the reps in a set. By resting the muscles during the set, the body is able to replenish itself and eliminate metabolic waste that can bring about muscle failure. These periods within the set allow the athlete to move a greater percentage of their rep maximum for significantly more reps in a similar amount of time, when compared to traditional lifting protocols. All this adds up to faster progress.

When you think about it, this is kind of what Olympic lifters do all the time. ‘Pick up large piece of metal, throw overhead, drop it to the floor, take a couple of seconds to reset the bar, do another rep.’ Those guys all tend to have the sort of scary strength we would punch our moms for, so stealing some of their training methods might be a good call.

HOW TO USE IT

There are many different ways to implement cluster training in your workouts. The most basic is the single-reps method. In this protocol we pick a load based on the athlete’s repetition maximum for a certain movement. 

For example, let’s say a three-rep max load for the deadlift. The athlete performs a single rep at this weight and takes 7–12 seconds rest, then they perform rep number two followed by 7–12 seconds rest and so on for a total of 5–6 reps. Then after a couple of minutes rest the process is repeated for 3–5 sets. By the end of each set the athlete will have performed 5–6 reps per set with a 3RM (three-rep maximum) load. More work done in less time has got to be a good thing.

Another way to implement clusters is to add some to the end of a normal set. Take a 5RM load for a lift. Perform 4–5 reps of the movement, rack the bar for 7–12 seconds, then perform 4–5 additional cluster reps with 7–12 seconds rest between each one. These extended sets really bump up the ‘time under tension’ and as a result are great for those looking to get bigger.

CLUSTER TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS

So now you know how to implement clusters you are probably keen to get out there and utilize this protocol as much as possible. Unfortunately that is a sure-fire way to end up with your body feeling like it’s been in a fight with a pack of chimps. 

Cluster training is an advanced form of training and can really take it out of you and leave your nervous system in tatters. For this reason I recommend only using clusters with one movement per training session, ideally your main lift for that day. The idea of you doing bicep curl clusters is upsetting for me and I think better of you all. 

To ensure you retain the ability to walk I’d also recommend only using clusters for 3–4 weeks at a time. Then switch back to more traditional protocols and then back to clusters for another 3–4 weeks.