[Rich Ellis]

First day of “let’s get serious”. Weighed 295.8lbs this morning, so now….. let’s get it onnnnnnnn

[Rich Ellis]

“Thanks Rich. It’s cool to read about a slightly different approach.
Could you talk a bit about what seems like a very low volume approach even allowing for the intensity and your strength?
Also what’s the target? Are you competing?”

Maybe on first glance it looks very low volume, but if we look a little closer…
I have six sessions and will usually train five days a week, so for the sake of ease, we can say that near enough, in a week, each muscle group gets the straight sets and the cluster sets…
Straight sets. Two movements, two sets on each, totalling four sets.
Cluster sets. Two movements, “two” sets on each. I use inverted commas, because I would actually consider each portion of the cluster a set, so we now have six sets per movement, and twelve sets it total for the clusters. This is a weekly (loosely) set volume, of sixteen sets per muscle.
Some people might argue the point, but for me, as was probably clear from my earlier post, the stimulating reps are the key, and with each of the clusters delivering a high proportion of these reps per set, the distinction is warranted.

It is also worth noting that volume is a variable for progression, so there is potential to add in if every other progression tool stalls

As for competing, no mate. I had a short stint in powerlifting, but my injuries cut that short. That was certainly where my talent was.

[Rich Ellis]

Some really interesting ideas here. What’s a 10% set, if I’m not being dim?

One thing I’m interested in is some of the exercise selection for chest and shoulders in view of your injury history.

I’ll also be awaiting the template eagerly.

I’ll be sure to get it posted mate.

As for the 10% sets…. perform a set of 8, drop load by 10% and rest 60s, perform another max rep set (should be about 8 again), reduce load by a further 10% and rest another 60s for a final effort, again, aiming for positive failure around 8 reps

[Rich Ellis]

Thrilled to see you on here Rich x

I’m in good company, looking forward to some filming x

[Rich Ellis]

You were a big name in Powerlifting as a Junior, will be interesting to see how you train now.

I remember when you came down to Workout Mill for a bench comp with Josh Maley.

Very interested to hear how you train now and your aims.

That’s kind to say mate. I’m not sure I was a big name, but I certainly left with unfulfilled potential, but I had fun whilst it lasted.

[Rich Ellis]

Right, a bit about my new split. I’m writing this on my phone, so I can’t upload the template at the moment, but I’ll briefly explain it and then at some point get it put on here.

Muscles are grouped like this – Bi’s, Calves and Back – Chest, Tris and Delts – Quads, Calves and Hams.

Each grouping has two sessions in each rotation, and is split into straight sets and cluster sets. For example, today I had straight sets for Bis and Calves, then cluster sets for Back. Next time I get to this group, Back will be straight sets, Bis and Calves will be clusters.

To provide a live example of what a session looks like, todays was:

Hammer Curls 2 x 8

EZ Wall Curls 1 x 10, 1 x Repeat Set

Toe Press 1 x 10, 1 x Repeat Set

Mag Grip Pulldown 1 x 3-part 10% Set, 1 x 3-part Rest Pause Set

Stirrup Handle Low Pulley Row 1 x 3-part 10% Set, 1 x 3-part Rest Pause Set

(First fail point for all the clusters is 8 reps)

A little then about the rationale. I’ll do it backwards. Why the love for cluster sets? We all search for the “stimulating reps”, or “affective reps”. These are the reps that grind, the reps that recruit the high threshold motor units. This is the reason you won’t see me doing much over 10 reps (intentionally anyway). Even this is probably too high without being a contradiction in what I’m saying, but in order to incorporate my phasic rotations, it’s necessary – I digress. Say you do a set of 15 reps, the first 10 or so are little more than fatigue inducing to get you to a state where the high threshold motor units get recruited, so why bother? Provided you can lift with control, 4-8 reps seems to be the sweet spot. What we want is the reps that we apply maximum force to, but that have an elongated concentric phase. This is NOT the same as people TUT training and intentionally elongating the concentric portion of the rep (probably don’t bother doing that). Cluster sets then are a dream for this, they give massive “bang for their buck” when looking to achieve a high concentration of these desirable reps. (Disclaimer – I’m not claiming to be an oracle in this space, or that this is my work, it is workings that I have been exposed to and make an awful lot of sense, and tie in almost perfectly with TrainedByJP principles).

Ok, so if that’s the case, why not just do clusters for everything? Well, quite simply, I don’t think cluster sets are the optimal method for strength gain, for me, straight sets are king here, so it’s important to keep a focussed section in this space.

So there we go, a little insight into what I’m doing. There is a rep rotation in the straight set section also to be considered, but we can talk more about that when I manage to upload the template.

Any questions, fire away. I’m sure there will be plenty of supporting and conflicting opinion, so let’s talk it out.

[Rich Ellis]

Hi guys,

First of all, apologies for being so tardy getting my act together with this, I now firmly have my arse in gear and can hopefully add some areas of value/interest to the site.

A few of you may know me, most of you won’t, so a little bit about me.

I’ve known Jordan for about 10 years now, Corinne a little less.

Jord and I spent a lot of time (and we continue to) sharing ideas/methods/philosophies, so you will probably get very similar views from me that you will him.

Like Jord I started out as a rugby player, but where injury halted his progression, I simply ran out of talent, but carried on lifting weights.

After a relatively short dedicated period of strength training, I went on to lift some respectable numbers, but a total negligence of any sort of remedial or mobility work, my shoulders paid the price, and after a few surgeries, the game was over for me early on.

So this log will be different, there will be work arounds to accommodate broken bits of me, but it is essentially about finding a level of focus and making the most of what I can.

I’ve just completed a Push Pull Legs split, which has got me to a point where I’ve rediscovered the training intensity that I once prided myself on, quashed the fear of injury on Big lifts, and come to terms with the fact that I’m not as strong as I once was, but that I will make progress.

So I have now completed my first run through of a new, more focussed training system.

Typically I will always do a trial run, just to iron out any issues and make any tweaks that might need to be made.

Jord and I are pretty happy with where I’m at with it now, so we’ll see what comes of it.

Later on I have my first session proper, which I will update on here.

I’ll also talk about the template and rationale over the coming days, which will hopefully spark some interesting conversations.

For now, thank you for having me, very flattered to be part of this, and hoping to add some value to as many of you as possible.

If you’re training today, get it done guys

Rich