Thread: Cluster set to save time in the gym?

https://youtu.be/bFaVi_PU3us

No one likes being waited on or losing their seat when they go get water. This method sound believable. Thoughts?



Cliffs:
Do a set as close to failure as you normally would.
Rack the weight.
Take 12 breaths while standing or shaking it out, and guarding your seat of course.
Then do some more reps, again close to failure. Hopefully you do half as many that time.
Rest another 12, repeat, counting each as a set.



The idea that the last 5 reps of a set matter the most for muscle building. So staying close to failure will maybe be as good as resting up and doing full sets.




My take on this:

This proposal makes me question what really stimulates muscle growth and what really tears muscle fibers.

This technique looks like a more extreme version of taking short breaks between sets, which has been found to reduce growth, not increase it. I suspect that the first several reps do matter, but they matter more if you actually get close to failure.

I was told that tension till failure, not tears, is what causes growth, and that tears slow and limit recovery.

This kind of set is going past failure, but what does it really mean to go past failure? How does that cause more tears, and how do cluster sets fit in?

I'm starting to think that 6 second max effort reps are what cause tears, maybe.





As for seemjngly conflicting information out there:


I read web pages claim that numerius studies found that time under tension per set is what matters, with 30-70 seconds per set. I've also read sites that quote several studies finding that time under tension does not matter, only going to near failure does, and stating time under tension is a myth and that slowing down reps reduces strength gains and can reduce size gains if cut off at 45 or 60 seconds instead of near failure.


Some studies found that 2 half sets grew less muscle than 1 full set, although I've been told here that other studies contradict that.


I wonder if the first several reps are really that important. I enjoy doing the first several reps, but I don't like the long wait between sets.

I wonder if the total number of reps still counts, but that short rests are ok as long as the total reps stay the same.

This sounds more psychologically tiring but could save time in the gym.