stealthboy
New Member
Just seeing if anyone can help me with the pros and cons of clustering vs normal reps and what effect it will have on the program Im doing at the moment.
This is what I am doing at the moment- I have been trying a strength/hypertrophy program that I think vicious posted in the 'customising' thread.
Monday-rm
Wed-cluster sets with the same weight
Fri-cluster sets with the same weight
Mon-new rm
etc.
2weeks 12s
2weeks 10s
2weeks 8s
2weeks 6
The exercises Im using;
2 set Dips
2 sets Incline Press
2 sets Barbell Row
2 Sets Upright Row
2 sets crunches
1 set leg ext
The clusters Im using are dividing the reps by 4. So for each set of 12 on monday I use four sets of three reps on the other days. My only aim at the moment is to reach the same reps as my rm at the beggining of the week.
So far the program is going better than expected. Its only three weeks into it but every week Im bumping up my rm from between 5-7.5%- Its going so well in fact that Im prolonging the 12s a little longer.
The problem Im having is that the cluster days are killing me. The days Im achieving my new rm I find way easier and the sessions are over quickly but the cluster days take almost twice as long and I feel exhausted even though its the same volume of work. So I just wanted some advice on how to manage the wed and fri sessions.
The first option is to reduce the volume but I really enjoy doing my two sets/exercise on monday. So I was thinking of keeping those two sets but reducing the volume on the cluster days-But how will doing half the volume on the other days affect my gains?-I could add in a light set after to keep the volume up. Will it be ok for strength but reduce hypertrophy?
The second option which I like the idea of for convenience was to keep the volume but reduce intensity by working out at a percentage of the achieved rm and do normal full reps. eg 70% on wed and 85% on fri. Unfortunately to avoid fatigue the weights are going to have to be a fair bit lighter on these days and Im worried this will affect the strength gains as a third of the week will be spent zig zagging. What I like about this though is the reduction in time spent training while keeping the same volume. I also like being able to rep it out instead of constantly breaking. But will this reduce my strength gains?
Any advice on the pros and cons of each option or new ideas welcome.
Thanks-Will
This is what I am doing at the moment- I have been trying a strength/hypertrophy program that I think vicious posted in the 'customising' thread.
Monday-rm
Wed-cluster sets with the same weight
Fri-cluster sets with the same weight
Mon-new rm
etc.
2weeks 12s
2weeks 10s
2weeks 8s
2weeks 6
The exercises Im using;
2 set Dips
2 sets Incline Press
2 sets Barbell Row
2 Sets Upright Row
2 sets crunches
1 set leg ext
The clusters Im using are dividing the reps by 4. So for each set of 12 on monday I use four sets of three reps on the other days. My only aim at the moment is to reach the same reps as my rm at the beggining of the week.
So far the program is going better than expected. Its only three weeks into it but every week Im bumping up my rm from between 5-7.5%- Its going so well in fact that Im prolonging the 12s a little longer.
The problem Im having is that the cluster days are killing me. The days Im achieving my new rm I find way easier and the sessions are over quickly but the cluster days take almost twice as long and I feel exhausted even though its the same volume of work. So I just wanted some advice on how to manage the wed and fri sessions.
The first option is to reduce the volume but I really enjoy doing my two sets/exercise on monday. So I was thinking of keeping those two sets but reducing the volume on the cluster days-But how will doing half the volume on the other days affect my gains?-I could add in a light set after to keep the volume up. Will it be ok for strength but reduce hypertrophy?
The second option which I like the idea of for convenience was to keep the volume but reduce intensity by working out at a percentage of the achieved rm and do normal full reps. eg 70% on wed and 85% on fri. Unfortunately to avoid fatigue the weights are going to have to be a fair bit lighter on these days and Im worried this will affect the strength gains as a third of the week will be spent zig zagging. What I like about this though is the reduction in time spent training while keeping the same volume. I also like being able to rep it out instead of constantly breaking. But will this reduce my strength gains?
Any advice on the pros and cons of each option or new ideas welcome.
Thanks-Will