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I’ve been working with athletes for a long time now, and I’m always amazed how poorly understood cluster training is. I just can’t believe that this super-simple method for training speed and strength isn’t more commonplace amongst sports players.

Regardless of what sport you play, it’s a certainty that you need to produce force to move and perform. In the majority of cases, it will be beneficial for you to produce this force as quickly as possible. There are plenty of exercises you can do to train speed and power, and I’ll write more on them soon. In the meantime, cluster set training will keep you fresher, and improve the force and speed of your resistance training. The best part is you don’t need any special equipment or skills to perform this style of training.

The main aspect of cluster training is the use of additional rest periods between a reps in the same set. For example, in a traditional strength training set you may perform 6 reps of an exercise in one sequence. In cluster set training, you might take a 20-second break after every 2 reps.

These inter-repetition rest periods should help you keep fatigue at bay. This reduced fatigue should increase the speed with which you can produce force, and leave you feeling fresher after.

It really is as simple as it sounds. However, there are a few more details that you should know before trying this training method.

How Do I Perform Cluster Set Training?

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If you’re an athlete who competes in a weight-group, you probably want to gain strength and power without gaining weight. I recently wrote this guide on the subject.

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