If you are crunched on time and need a quick workout, supersets with opposing muscle groups seem to result in the optimal workout with less performance decline than compound sets with similar muscle groups. It should also be pointed out that compound sets with two similar muscle groups (incline and bench press) resulted in lower training volume. This was more likely due to the greater muscle fatigue caused by training two muscle groups with no rest between sets.
MYOREPS AND REST PAUSE SUMMARY
- Myoreps are essentially a form of rest-pause training, where you perform an initial activation set followed by several shorter sets with minimal rest in between.
- Drop-sets involve dropping the weight of each set but result in similar muscle growth as traditional exercise when the volume is similar.
- Cluster sets, rest-pause, and other studies involving shortened rest periods found that rest-pause was equally effective as traditional resistance exercise with less fatigue development.
- Pre-exhaustion training leads to decreased performance and does not lead to greater increases in muscle growth.
4/24: CLUSTER SETS ARE EFFECTIVE FOR MUSCLE GROWTH
Although many people use the terms drop-sets, cluster sets, and rest-pause synonymously, there are differences.
Drop Sets: Involves taking a set to failure, dropping the weight, performing another set to failure, etc. Going to failure is desired with drop-sets.
Myoreps: Are essentially a form of rest-pause training, where you perform an initial activation set followed by several shorter sets with minimal rest in between.
Rest-Pause: Weight is maintained while incorporating short rest periods. Most protocols will take the first set to failure. The goal is to increase volume at a given intensity.
Cluster Sets: The number of repetitions, sets, and rest periods is fixed. (SEE DIFFERENCES BELOW)
WHAT ARE CLUSTER SETS?
Cluster sets were originally designed to be used as a method to enhance strength, but several studies found it could also increase muscle growth.
Cluster sets involve high mechanical tension and increased metabolic stress (i.e., increased lactate) while increasing total volume. Muscle growth can be achieved with heavy and light weights as long as the set has reached or is close to muscular failure and the load is not dropped below 30% RM.
Heavier weight does not need to be taken to failure for muscle growth. Incorporating a Cluster Sets protocol may be the key to overcoming this issue without reaching muscular failure and significantly increasing training volume. If a cluster sets method is applied in 3-5 RM blocks, with 3-4 sets, with intraset rest periods between 20-30 seconds, resulting in high muscle tension in conjunction with a higher training volume.
CLUSTER SETS TIPS
Cluster sets have resulted in lesser velocity loss, higher force, and an increased total volume compared with traditional sets. This could be related to greater mechanical tension. The authors’ recommendations for cluster sets are:
A. The blocks should be organized between 3–5 RM.
B. Intra-set resting periods should oscillate between 10–20 s for the upper body or isolated movements and between 15–30 s for the lower body or compound movements.
C. Longer resting periods may be incorporated as a session progresses to avoid losses in either total volume or concentric phase movement velocity.
D. Using a combination of Cluster sets with Drop sets may be a potential way of taking advantage of different cellular mechanisms behind muscular hypertrophy and optimizing the training benefits.
E. The addition of creatine monohydrate seems to be a promising strategy for optimizing the benefits of cluster set protocols.(12)
MYOREPS OR REST PAUSE FOR HYPERTROPHY
When the concept of rest-pause was introduced, it made sense to build muscle based on the practical application of combining high tension and metabolic stress caused by short rest periods. Rest-pause training involves performing a set until failure, resting for 10–30 seconds, and repeating this method how many times you desire.
Myoreps is a popular form of Rest-Pause training popularized by Borge Fagerli. Fagerli invented the system to make his workout more efficient and reduce junk volume. The two are closely related, but we will refer to rest pause training for the rest of the article.
The beauty of rest-pause is that it allows lots of fatigue quickly, resulting in a greater increase in training volume. Another benefit of rest-pause is that you are not decreasing the weight like drop-sets, so tension is constant. Rest pause is similar to drop sets, but you use the same weight throughout the entire set instead of dropping the weight and taking brief rest periods between sets.
The advantage of rest-pause is that many stimulating reps are being performed in a brief period. Several studies have found that rest-pause training resulted in greater gains in lean muscle mass than traditional training.[1] Another advantage of rest-pause is that it requires less time to complete.
MYOREPS/REST PAUSE TRAINING FOR STRENGTH
For example, one study found that traditional exercise took 57 minutes to complete and 35 minutes for rest-pause training. After six weeks, strength gains were similar between groups, but the rest-pause group achieved greater muscle growth in the legs (11%) vs. traditional training (1%).[2] It should be mentioned that a major limitation of the study comparing the groups was that traditional training completed 3 sets of 6 reps with 80% of a 1-RM and were not taken to failure.
In contrast, the rest-pause group trained their first set to complete muscular failure. Another study found that rest-pause resulted in a 32.6% greater increase in volume and 26.8% greater repetitions performed than traditional training—rest-pause training results in greater muscle activation and no greater post-workout fatigue than conventional exercise.[3]
A 2021 meta-analysis of cluster sets, rest-pause, and other studies involving shortened rest periods found that rest-pause was equally effective as traditional resistance exercise, with less fatigue development.[4]
MYOREPS/REST PAUSE SETS FOR MUSCLE GROWTH
A 2019 study found that rest-pause training resulted in greater muscle growth in only the thighs than a traditional resistance exercise group.[5] This led to a flurry of training articles in the fitness magazines to Get Bigger in Less Time with Rest-Pause Training. Keep in mind that the study did a complete body workout, but only the thighs resulted in greater gains in muscle mass.
A 2021 study shook up the research community when a study titled “Rest-pause and drop-set training elicit similar strength and hypertrophy adaptations compared to traditional sets in resistance-trained males” was released. They took resistance-trained men and assigned them to a rest-pause, drop-set, or a traditional weight training group. This study only consisted of leg exercises comprised of squats, leg presses, and leg extensions. The total workout volume was similar for all the groups. At the end of the study, the rest-pause group resulted in the greatest increase in squat strength.
All the groups had similar increases in muscle mass. Another study compared pyramid sets (gradually increasing the weight of each set), drop sets, and traditional resistance exercises for twelve weeks. The training volume was similar for all the training groups. They also used fairly heavy training percentages in their first set (65–85%) and used a high exertion level. At the end of the study, all groups had similar increases in muscle growth; interestingly, the drop-sets and pyramid sets trained to muscular failure, whereas the traditional exercise did not and still had similar increases in muscle growth.[6] This study suggests that volume is the biggest driver of muscle growth, rather than any particular training principle. It may be worth experimenting with if you want to incorporate any of these techniques into your training routine, but they don’t seem superior to regular resistance exercise.
MYOREPS/REST PAUSE STUDIES
Comparing advanced training techniques with similar volumes, such as pre-exhaustion training, forced reps, supersets, and traditional resistance exercise, all result in altered metabolic stress (lactate), muscle activation, and muscle swelling. However, there are no differences in muscle growth compared to traditional resistance exercise when training volume is similar.[7]
Rest-pause may be advantageous to use during a high-volume phase. One study found that rest-pause resulted in a significantly greater number of effective reps and the total number of reps completed, indicating that total training volume was significantly greater (approximately 1.6 x greater) without decreasing acute repetition performance than traditional resistance exercise.[8]
REST-PAUSE CALF WORKOUT EXAMPLE
1.) Pick a weight to perform 10–15 reps until failure.
2.) Rest for 20 seconds.
3.) Perform another set
4.) Rest another 20 seconds.
5.) Perform another set
MYOREPS/REST PAUSE SYNOPSIS
All these intensity techniques promote better muscle pumps and increase the density of a training protocol in a short time. If you are looking for a deep dive into all the research on these training principles, I recommend the review article “No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review.” The authors concluded that advanced training techniques, such as supersets, drop sets, and rest-pause training, roughly halves training time compared to traditional training while maintaining training volume. However, these methods are probably better at inducing hypertrophy than muscular strength, and more research is needed on longitudinal training effects.[9]
You will undoubtedly get a great pump with any of these techniques. Still, these exercise principles result in similar muscle growth to traditional resistance exercise when the volume is similar. If you use these techniques, use them sporadically, as they can increase fatigue.
MYOREPS FOR FASTER WORKOUTS
These techniques help get in and out of the gym faster by increasing the workout volume, but the research does not suggest that they are superior to traditional training when the volume is similar. Another training technique to boost volume is to have a good training partner that motivates you during exercise.
In a study, researchers tested lifters on the bench press both with and without a training partner. On average, lifters performed almost 2 more reps per set and exerted themselves less when they had a spotter.[10] Now, consider the potential benefits of these results if consistently applied over an entire year of training.
These techniques will work better for smaller muscle groups, such as the calves, arms, etc. These techniques are great if you need to get in and out of the gym faster, but continued use can lead to greater training stress, excess fatigue, and longer recuperation times.
In a review titled Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods, the author made the following key points about these advanced techniques[11]:
- Athletes may consider advanced training techniques to provide an additional stimulus to break through plateaus, prevent monotony, and reduce the time of training sessions.
- To maintain high time efficiency of training, using agonist/antagonist supersets, drop sets, and cluster sets may be advantageous to the traditional approach.
KEY POINTS ON MYOREPS
- Drop-sets involve dropping the weight of each set but result in similar muscle growth as traditional exercise when the volume is similar.
- Cluster sets, rest-pause, and other studies involving shortened rest periods found that rest-pause was equally effective as traditional resistance exercise with less fatigue development.
- Pre-exhaustion training leads to decreased performance and does not lead to greater increases in muscle growth.
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
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