_tim's Log

Rushing is bad.

Deads: 255 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 3
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OHP: 95 x 10, 10, 10, 10
My lower back got insanely upset during set 5 - so I stopped. I think my core is nowhere near strong enough to handle what I am expecting of it at the moment. The last OHP set was RP'd 6-4. The super set indication isn't exactly accurate; I did one OHP set for every two Deadlift sets.

Supinated Grip Pulldown: 110 x 20, 20
The second set was RP'd 15-5.

I'm being very patient with this given my present strength and fitness levels. I'm going to pay a whole lot more attention to my core during this little experiment of mine.
 
Back is better...

Bench: 185 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
The last set was 3-breath RP'd 4-1.

Machine Hack Squat: sled + 140 x 10, 10. 10, 10
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Reverse Hypers: BW x 20, 20
The reason for the hacks was basically to rest my back a bit more - and the reason for the hypers was to get a bunch of blood back there. The second set of hypers was clustered 9-7-4.

Cable Row: 125 x 20, 20
Second set was clustered 12-4-4.

K2C: 20, 20

All in all, glad I got the work in. If you're wondering what the difference between rest-pause and clustering, at least as I practice it is this: clustering has no time specified between "clusters" but rest-pause does.
 
TangoDown said:
Really? I run with 2-3 minutes between clusters. How much time do you think you used for your clusters today?
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I would agree w/Tim's definition. Rest-pause is 'intra-set/cluster', clustering is just working towards a rep total as opposed to set-rep matrix.
 
I always thought a cluster was working toward a specific rep range goal (say 12-15 reps), using less time than a traditional set. So say I'd usually do sets of bench with 87% 1RM (about a 5RM weight) with 4-5 minute rest, but with clusters I'd shoot for 2-3 minutes between them and try to get to my rep goal in the least amount of clusters possible (say that day I got 4, 2, 2, 2).
 
TD - I don't think that you're wrong in your approach. Clustering is done to get to a rep target - period. I personally don't wait that long between clusters, but your approach is still sound. I prefer to wait until I feel ready to do another cluster, but it's never something that I timebox. That said, it's usually under a minute between clusters.
 
Hmm, under a minute? Something to think about for the future. I'm only clustering pullups and leg press atm though. I'll see if what I'm doing now works over the next couple of months.
 
Grip lunacy
Pullups/Chins (Alternated): BW x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
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Deads: 205 x 10, 10, 2
The "superset" in this case was more used toward the latter Chin sets. I figured that one or both lifts would suffer as my grip had not been tested in quite a while, and as soon as my deadlift form started to slip because my grip was, I stopped. A week off due to stupidity is enough for me. The Chin/Pullup sets were heavily RP'd; the last 5 sets were RP'd 3-1-1 with 3-6 breaths between. In addition, the last two sets were actually done with mixed grip, alternating arm positions between sets. This was by far the most volume I've done with chinning in over a year; we'll see how this goes as the weeks roll.

OHP: 85 x 20, 20
I purposely challenged myself here, and the RP'ing was pretty heavy (3-10 breaths between rep sets). The RP in set 1 was 17-3. For set 2, it was 6-3-2-3-3-3.

Straight Leg Raises: 9
Core was very taxed; I contracted everything in the deadlift sets.
 
Kinda brutal...
DB Rows: 75 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5; 90 x 10
The 75 sets were kept kinda low in weight so form was not compromised, When I felt how easy the load was through set 3, I upped the tempo to less than a minute between sets. Still, fatigue was minimal. So - I grabbed a 90 pound dumbbell and repped out to form breakdown, and that was 10 on both arms. Sooooo.... The load will be sizaly adjusted the next time I do these.

Bench: 165 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Last 2 sets were RP'd 7-3 and 6-2-2 respectively, with 5 breaths done each break. After the second set, I thought getting two more was not likely; glad I got through.

Squats: 185 x 20, 4
I had nowhere near the nutrition intake to pull this off today. I knew that these sets would be brutal, but it's been a while since I was reduced to mush in the gym.
 
20 rep squat?

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Hilarious, TD! Yes - a 20-rep squat set. This is now a thing; I will hit two 20-reps squat sets. I'm already throwing up a little thinking about 20-rep set deadlifting...
 
15 reps of both, especially DL, felt like hell when i did em, and i wasnt even near a true max. Dat lactic acid buildup was enough to slay a rhino
 
Grip death/cardio via barbell...
OHP: 8 x 5 @ 115
This was interesting to me; I never thought I'd get through all sets at 115 given my ineptitude with OHP. No clustering - and got all 8 sets in. Also - going back to my old notation: [total sets] x [reps per set] @ load.

Pulldown: 4 x 10 @ 145
I alternated between pronated and supinated grip by set. There was RP'ing, largely due to grip fatigue: set 3 was RP'd 5-3-2 (pronated) and set 4 was RP'd 7-3 (supinated). Odd that my pronated set was harder - dunno.

drumroll.........
Deadlift: 2 x 20 @ 205
Lungs: dead. Grip: done. RP? Yes - all because of grip failures; hence the use of mixed grip was in play when a new RP set began (otherwise, both sets began with DOH grip). The RP's: 17-3 and 12-3-3-2. My grip on the second set was so cooked that I almost dropped the bar twice.

This is fun.
 
Re 20-rep squats: I recall one time, a few years ago, thinking it would be fun to do 100 reps with 135. Not very heavy, I thought. I broke it down into 4 x 25. Took a few minutes rest between sets (while training partner did his 25). Suffice to say that by the final set I was moving up and down but I almost had no idea how it was happening. It almost felt like my legs weren't being controlled by me. I really couldn't feel very much. It was great for a total leg pump but probably not much else. Annoying DOMS for a couple of days afterwards. Anyway, I decided not to do that again. I definitely prefer heavy singles, doubles and triples.

A near-max 20-rep set, OTOH, is a whole different kettle of fish. Doing it twice... ! You are mental, Tim. ;)
 
Lol said:
Re 20-rep squats: I recall one time, a few years ago, thinking it would be fun to do 100 reps with 135. Not very heavy, I thought. I broke it down into 4 x 25. Took a few minutes rest between sets (while training partner did his 25). Suffice to say that by the final set I was moving up and down but I almost had no idea how it was happening. It almost felt like my legs weren't being controlled by me. I really couldn't feel very much. It was great for a total leg pump but probably not much else. Annoying DOMS for a couple of days afterwards. Anyway, I decided not to do that again. I definitely prefer heavy singles, doubles and triples.

A near-max 20-rep set, OTOH, is a whole different kettle of fish. Doing it twice... ! You are mental, Tim. ;)
Click to expand...
Totally agree with the last sentence, I find it bad enough doing 15 reps let alone 20 reps twice
 
You are both very kind - thank you! I needed this to be challenging, and it is.

Squats: 8 x 5 @ 245
A good friend watched my form, and based on the vid he took I may do some experimenting in the 10's. I do predominantly low bar squats and as I fatigue, I tend to lean forward out of the hole. I may try high bar with a slightly wider stance to attempt to true-up my center of gravity and relieve my low back a bit. I don't feel anything in my back after these sets, but my legs are doing the "what the hell did you do" shake at the moment. I kept rest time to around 90 seconds between sets.

DB Rows: 4 x 10 @ 80
The last set with my left arm was RP'd 8-2 with 2 breaths between.

SA DB Bench: 55 x 20
I was out of time - so I racked the 80, grabbed the 55 and repped. The fatigue at the end sufficed for the fact that I only did half of the volume for that lift.

This was a good week. Very happy with my progress thus far.
 
Especially with low bar you REALLY have to sit back, consciously breaking with the hips, into the hole to avoid coming onto your toes and/or good-morning the weight up. Also make sure bar placement is correct. A lot of people do low bar with the bar way too low down onto their rear delts. Bar should be right at the top of your rear delts/at the bottom of your traps. Stance width can also be a factor. Low bar tends to require a slight wider stance than high bar to keep relatively upright, though I personally squat real narrow either way so YMMV.
 
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Very well said, TD. I agree 100%

Deadlift: 8 x 5 @ 255
I rested a bunch when I needed it and stretched constantly. The main issue I faced was grip; the 6th and 7th sets were done with MG but set 8 went back to DOH grip. I got 3 reps there, and 2 reps MG. Happy I got through the sets - no back pain.

OHP: 105 x 10

Pulldown: 125 x 20
I was very low on time, so I did 1 set per "other" lift. The PD set was clustered 18-2 on account of grip. The last 2 reps were done with supinated grip - the previous 18 were done with pronated grip.
 
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