by Danny McLarty

Us guys just love “advanced” lifting methods.

In the morning, we’re doing drop sets, and for the second part of our two-a-days, we head back to the gym for heavy negatives. Take a day off, then we’re back at it with max effort lifts.

Since working up to a 1 rep-max isn’t enough volume for us, we’re gonna finish off the session with some more drop sets.  After all, that pump from earlier in the week felt oh-so-good.

What’s wrong with us? Seriously. Why can’t guys just keep it simple in the weight room?

Don’t get me wrong, including advanced training methods in your program is a smart idea… from time to time. Unfortunately, “from time to time” just isn’t quite as fun. Of course, neither is a fried central nervous system and beat up joints.
 
Obviously, many dudes need to ease up on heavy lifting, and/or forced reps every single week.

However, when it comes to the ladies, it is time for y’all to start to incorporate some of these more advanced methods! Guess how many ladies I know who use at least one of the methods that you’re going to read about below? One, maybe two, total.  Most girls I know seem to think that 6-8 reps is “very low” rep training.

While there is nothing wrong with medium to high rep work, I want some of you ladies to start to use some of these more advanced techniques.

What Advanced Techniques?

Enough talk, time for me to get to the methods. While these methods have been around for many years, I’m pretty certain they will be new to 99% of female trainees out there. The three methods that I’m going to cover today are “Classic Clusters,” “Extended 5′s,” and “Singles above 90%.”

Cluster Training

The first two methods fall under the category of “cluster training.” I first learned about these methods from strength coach Christian Thibaudeau a number of years ago. The beauty of cluster training, is that it allows you to work at near max loads, and get in a decent amount of volume at the same time.

Classic Cluster

Cluster
 method number one is called “Classic Clusters.” In a classic cluster, you’ll perform 5 singles with 10-15 second rest between each rep. With classic clusters, you’ll pick a weight that you could get for a 2-3 rep-max. So, instead of getting a total of 2-3 reps in a set, you’ll get 5 reps in.

Again, this is the beauty of cluster training - it allows you to get a high(er) volume of training in while working at near max loads.

Classic Cluster Demonstration

Extended 5s

If you’re new to working at a weight that is near your 1 rep-max, and want to give cluster training a shot, I suggest starting with extended 5s rather than the classic cluster.  Extended 5s are not quite as close to max loads, and will provide a good break-in to the world of cluster training.

With extended 5s, you pick a weight that is about a 7 rep-max for you.  You lift the weight 5 times, rest for 10-15 seconds, perform 3 more reps, once again rest 10-15 seconds, and finally finish off the set with 2 more reps. 10 total reps instead of 7. It’s a beautiful thing.

Extended 5s Demonstration

Note

Classic clusters and extended 5s are intense methods that are not for everyone. If you are in the first year of your training career, you’ll still be able to make strength gains in the 10-12 rep range. If you are in year two of your training career, you’ll still be able to make strength gains in the 8-10 rep range (these are broad guidelines, but seem to be true with most people).

So, there is really no need to start cluster training at such an early training age. If you’ve been training consistently for over two years, you can start with extended 5s. Like I mentioned, cluster training is intense, therefore you want to use sparingly. As a general rule, the stronger you are, the less often you should use them.

An 800-pound squatter from Westside Barbell may only use cluster training 2-3 times throughout the entire year. An “intermediate” can get away with cluster training more often without over doing it.

Singles Above 90% of 1 RM

I first learned of this method from strength coach Eric Cressey. With this method, you’ll work your way up to your 1 rep-max. And any singles that you performed while working your way up to your max, count toward your goal.

Let’s say that you are deadlifting and your goal is 6 sets of 1 above 90%. Here’s how that might look:

95 X 5

115 X 3

145 X 2

160 X 1

170 X 1

175 X 1 (max for the day)

170 X 1

170 X 1

165 X 1

As you can see, 175 pounds was the max. Any lift leading up to the max that is within 90% of 175 goes toward the goal of six singles. So, 160, 170, (before hitting the max lift) 175, 170, 170, and 165 equals 6 singles above 90% of the day’s 1 RM.

Heavy Lifting

So, you’re in a fat loss phase and aren’t looking to gain strength right now. Well, a wise man once said, “What you did to build muscle, you must also do to keep it.” Just because you are looking to get lean for and sexy for your bikini, doesn’t mean that a little heavy lifting won’t help that bod.  If you haven’t already done so, give one of these methods a shot. Just be sure not to abuse them like so many meathead dudes do.

Have fun!

About Danny

Danny McLarty is a fitness coach at Flex Personal Training in Danville, California. Danny earned a place in the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 for his high school and college career.  He accomplished this while standing at a height of 5’7″.  He is also a basketball skills coach, helping players improve their ability to get open, with and without the ball.  You can read more about Danny at his website.