TangoDown's HST Cluster Log

TangoDown

Member
Program, courtesy of our very own AlexAustralia:

Get 12 reps come hell or high water. 2-3 minutes between clustered sets.
___________________

A/B

Squat/Deadlift

BB Bench/DB Incline Bench

Bent-Over DB Row/Weighted Pullups

DB Curl/DB Curl/E-Z Bar Curl (only have access to E-Z Bar once a week)

____________________

First session on Sunday. :cool:
 
Last edited:
What's your load progression look like, Mr T?

5lb per session per bench/incline/row/pullups. Example: BB Bench 165lb Mon, 170lb Fri, 175lb Tues, 180lb Sat

10lb per session per lift for deadlift and squat. Starting 2 notches below 5 rep max.

I'm a little tentative about pushing past 5 rep max so quickly but according to Alex it's the way to go. I believe that once I hit a weight where I'm clustering with 3 reps, I stick with it until I'm hitting 4 reps on the first set and so on and so forth. If my clusters start looking like 3, 2, 1, 1, then I knock down the weight an increment or two, and if that doesn't work, I SD.

15RM-20RM set after obtaining the 12 reps.
 
Don't forget to eat.

Just progress when your reps come easy (easier). Once you are past your legit 5RM, I'm guessing it's probably 3 or so workouts in between increments, obviously more workouts between them the heavier you go.

Also, note down your 5RMs on here somewhere so we can track progression from both starting point (a few increments below 5RM) and previous strength PRs (5RM, 3RM etc).
 
Looks like a nice, simple routine. If you eat a lot, that should pack some mass on you and get you stronger, fast.
 
Don't forget to eat.

Just progress when your reps come easy (easier). Once you are past your legit 5RM, I'm guessing it's probably 3 or so workouts in between increments, obviously more workouts between them the heavier you go.

Also, note down your 5RMs on here somewhere so we can track progression from both starting point (a few increments below 5RM) and previous strength PRs (5RM, 3RM etc).

Do you mean like, once I pass my 5 rep max on say, bench (170lb), and say I'm at 180lb and I'm at 3 reps, I should keep at that weight until I'm at around 5 reps by the first cluster (i.e. the weight is easier to move).

Makes sense. Keep pushing until the numbers start dropping and it's time for SD.

As for incline bench, since I'm using DBs, the weight is going up 10lb total. Too much?
 
Dude, you'll know when you've progressed. Don't over-think it or one will inevitably fcuk it up.
 
Stats: 5'8", 160-165lb (didn't get to weigh myself today)

Clusters done 2.5 minutes apart. Curls are not clustered

Pullups: Belt + 10lb x 8, x 4

Squat: 155lb x 5 [warm up], 200lb x 8, x 4

Incline DB Bench: 40lb DBs x 10, 55lb DBs x 12, 45lb DBs x 15

E-Z Bar Curl: Bar + 55lb x 10, Bar + 55lb x 8

__________________________________________

Despite not obtaining the most hours of sleep last night, workout went alright. As expected, everything felt harder than it should, which means deconditioning was successful.

I did pullups at home as I don't like the bar at my gym. Since my adjustable DB is also at home, I figure I'll be doing my pulling movement at home most of the time. I obviously can't do a high rep set for pullups as I'm not at 15 BW (yet), though I expect to be there in a couple weeks as I hit 13 a month ago and besides that day, I haven't done pullups in over a year (my best was 18 deadhang overhand, and I was 25lb lighter back then).

155lb squat felt a lot harder than normal, which means the deconditioning of my lower body was successful. After that set though, as I was getting under the bar for 200lb, I felt some pain at the point between my hamstring and adductor. The pain still exists. It's not horrible but I'm going to stretch and do some myofascial release. I definitely don't want to get injured the first week of my cycle lol.

Incline bench, I had to play around to find the best angle of the bench. Got all 12 reps with 55lb DBs, and then did a high rep set with 45lbs. At 15 reps, I felt my triceps were going to give out soon so I stopped there. Probably due to deconditioning as well as general lack of experience with DBs (haven't used them in forever).

E-Z bar curls also felt hard. Last set, I was at the verge of failure at 8 reps. My 10 rep max is 10lb heavier so I also believe it's the deconditioning that made that more challenging than I would have liked.

Overall, I think I could have pushed myself a bit harder this workout, but it's only the first day of the cycle so I'm not fretting.
 
Last edited:
Clustered worksets done 2.5 minutes apart. Curls are not clustered

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 160lb x 8, x 4, 125lb x 15

Deadlift: 225lb x 3, 255lb x 10, x 2

DB Curl: 30lb x 10, 30lb x 8

DB Row (at home hours later): 100lb x 8, x 4, 85lb x 15

___________________________________

This is a lot more work than I'm used to doing but hopefully it pays off.

Bench was good to go. Might have been able to push out 9 or 10 but didn't want to risk failure. Forgot the high rep set so I did it after my deadlifts. Hopefully I won't forget again.

Deadlift...high reps are vomit-inducing...but got 10 reps. Might have been able to do 12 but that was hard.

Curls were easy, but to be expected with that weight.

Rows, I didn't want to push. Might have been able to get all 12 reps. I'm thinking about just doing pullups 3 times a week to save my lower back. I like pullups better anyway. Then did a 15 rep set...again, not AT max but it was tiring lol.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't do high-reps for deads. Puking on the gym floor is probably going to get your membership revoked.

Pullups instead of rows is fine.
 
I wouldn't do high-reps for deads. Puking on the gym floor is probably going to get your membership revoked.

Pullups instead of rows is fine.

It's my college's gym so I'm sure the coach would rather see me puke while deadlifting max than do all the sissy bs most of the class is doing every single session.

My lower back feels trashed. I think I should be able to hit 10 reps again on Saturday with 265lb. Should I cluster that even though I won't be near failure?
 
Shouldn't you be approaching 5RM shortly?

I would cluster in a manner that minimises CNS fatigue.
 
Ofc it didn't. Fatigue doesn't linger for more than a few days, at most. Think about what fatigue literally is; depleted neurons (Na+/K+ balance out of whack, Ca 2+ a factor as well). It doesn't take long to correct that.
 
Ofc it didn't. Fatigue doesn't linger for more than a few days, at most. Think about what fatigue literally is; depleted neurons (Na+/K+ balance out of whack, Ca 2+ a factor as well). It doesn't take long to correct that.

(*Not that he overtaxed his CNS too much,)
but from what I know severe CNS burnout from extreme lifting to failure can take up to a week. The Nervous system takes way longer to recover than the muscles do, which is why we avoid failure type training generally in HST. I don't know all the science behind it, but this is what I have read over the years.

(sorry to take this log on a tangent...)
 
For sure, it's possible to absolutely wreck yourself. I've done that myself. But the fatigue from the workout done above isn't going to do that.
 
Get 12 reps. Work sets clustered save for bicep curls.

Squat: 155lb x 5, 210lb x 7, x 5

Incline DB Bench: 40lb DBs x 5, 60lb DBs x 9, x 3, 45lb DBs x 15

Bicep Curl: 30lb x 10, 30lb x 8

Weighted Pullups (Done at home): Belt + 20lb x 6, x 5, x 1
____________________________________________

Squat was fine - might have been able to eek out another rep or two on the first cluster.

Incline Bench, for the set of 9 my ass wasn't completely against the back of the bench...should have scooted more back. Still, wasn't very challenging - could have been a rep shy of 12 in that first cluster if I really pushed.

Curls were self-explanatory.

Pullups were done hours afterwards at home since the pullup bar in my school gym is ungodly high and I'm not jumping for that with plates swinging between my legs...I should do them in the morning before I head to the gym when my biceps/rest of body was fresh. The cluster of 5 was at the cusp of failure...a tiny bit of kipping to get over the bar. I went up by 10lb instead of 5lb because I didn't think I'd be reaching my 5 rep max by 3 sessions in. Since I'm dropping rows due to trying to avoid lower back fatigue, I'm gonna be doing pullups again Saturday so I'll push to belt + 25lb and then probably cluster with that weight for a few sessions.
 
Get 12 reps. Work sets clustered save for bicep curls.

Stats: 5'8", 167lb

Deadlift: 225lb x 3, 275lb x 5, x 1 lolwut.gif

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 165lb x 6, x 4, x 2, 125lb x 15

E-Z Bar Curl: Bar + 60lb x 10, Bar + 60lb x 8

Weighted Pullups (Done at Home) Belt + 25lb x 5, x 3, x 2, x 2
_________________________________________________________

Deadlift, because I hit 255lb x 10 last time I dl'd, maybe with reps to spare, I decided to push to 275lb. This is my 5 rep max...maybe 6 rep max. 3 minutes later, an insanely hard 1 rep...I guess I chock it up to not being used to this weight as I've only utilized it once . Didn't want to do singles to 12 so I stopped. I shouldn't have been so cocky and stepped up to 265lb before I did 275lb. Whatever, I'll just stick it out with 275lb and see what I can do with it on Thursday. I'm not really built to be a deadlifting champ as my torso is long and my legs are kinda short and yet I'm only average height. I set up with the bar over my midfoot and my torso is essentially horizontal to the floor which adds a lot more ROM for me. It's almost at the same angle when I do sumo deadlifts. But my lower back isn't rounding so I think my form is spot on lol.

Note that I'm not resetting between reps anymore. The bar comes down to a dead stop, weight a few seconds to regain my breath, and then the bar comes off the ground again.

Bench went fine. Expected 6-7 reps with this weight. I'll progress to 170lb on Thursday. Do you guys have any tips on keeping the arch when benching? I have a hard time doing so (at least it feels like I do). I don't know how the **** some of those power lifters get their chest that high off the bench.

Curls went fine.

Pullups, I'll stick with this weight for a few sessions and see where I get.
 
Last edited:
Re: bench form - personally, I just lift. I don't overthink or analyse my arch, feet etc. Not to say I don't arch or push thru the torso into hips, grounding on the floor etc. But I go ahead and just do what works.

Are you gaining weight? I definitely recommend weighing yourself and posting it here every time you log. If the scale isn't increasing, then your diet doesn't have enough calories.
 
Back
Top