Four Set Schemes For More Engaging Training (And Great Results)

Performing regular sets (eg. 4 sets of 10 reps or 3 sets of 5 reps) is likely what you know best and is a very useful way of organising your training.

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However, if this is the only set scheme you ever use, there’s the possibility that training can become a little stale over time.

There’s alternative ways to execute your sets that can help your results, time efficiency, performance, and keep things more interesting.

Here are four worth trying:

1. Cluster Sets

The Benefits:

Cluster sets are a great way to increase the intensity of your sets as you’re able to use more weight (than you usually would with a regular set) and/or you’re able to perform the exercise at a greater speed. (1)

Being able to use more weight is great for helping you get stronger and build more muscle. Being able to perform the exercise with more speed is great for your power output (important for sports, daily living, and age related decline in muscle function).

There’s also the added benefit of it feeling less fatiguing. (2)

How does it work?

You perform your usual number of reps but with a built in (intra-set) rest period. This short rest period reduces fatigue momentarily so that you can use higher loads (and perform the exercise with greater speed) than you would with a traditional set.

So, if you’re trying to get stronger and you would usually perform a set of five reps, you could instead incorporate a cluster set where you perform two reps, rest 15-20s, perform two more reps, rest 15-20s and then perform one rep to finish. You still complete your five reps, yet you can use a heavier weight and/or perform the movement with greater speed.

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This is what it would look like:

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‍‍How can you implement it?

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• Choose a compound lift

• If you want to get stronger you could use a (2,2,1) cluster set (the example I used above): 2 reps, Rest 10s-20s, 2 reps, Rest 10s-20s, 1 Rep, Rest 2-5 mins, then repeat 2 to 4 more times.

• If you want to use it to gain more muscle, you could use a (4,3,3) cluster set instead of doing a set of 10 reps: 4 reps, Rest 5s-10s, 3 reps, Rest 5s-10s, 3 reps, Rest 2-3 mins, then repeat 2 to 3 more times.

2. Pyramid Method

The Benefits:

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• Keeps you psychologically engaged (more enjoyment, variety, and challenge).

• You work through a variety of rep ranges which is beneficial for complete development of your muscles (3)

• The prior sets can help your performance on the next set.

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How does it work?

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Let’s look at one kind of pyramid method called a ‘load pyramid’ (4). Each set the load goes up and the repetitions go down.

So, the first set you could perform 10 reps at a moderate weight, rest 2-5mins. The next set, perform 8 reps with a heavier weight and rest 2-5mins afterwards. The third set, execute 6 reps at an even heavier weight and then rest 2-5mins. Finish with 4 reps with the heaviest weight you can do on your last set.

To make this even better, this is how I would implement a load pyramid for an exercise (with the goal of building some muscle):

• Perform 10 reps at a light/moderate weight (warm-up)

• Rest 1-2 minutes

• Perform 8 reps at a moderate weight (working set/more of a warm-up)

• Rest 2-5 minutes

• Perform your heaviest set of 3 to 5 reps (strength set/potentiation)

• Rest 1 minute

• Drop the weight to a moderate weight and hit as many reps as possible (hypertrophy)

• Rest 2-5 minutes

• Drop the weight to a light weight and hit as many reps as possible (hypertrophy/muscle endurance)

You work through a variety of rep ranges which is great for the development of your muscles, you get to test your strength (and aim to beat it next time), the heaviest set helps make the next set feel light (improving your performance), and the ‘as many reps as possible’ sets help place a rep benchmark for you to beat the next session!

3. Complex Sets

The benefits:

• Great for training your ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibers. As you age, these muscle fibers are the first and predominant type to degrade and lose function. By performing heavy and explosive exercises (as you do with complex sets), then it helps take care and improve these type of muscles fibers ensuring graceful ageing.

• The heavy strength movement can help your performance on the explosive plyometric movement and vice versa. (post-activation potentiation)

• The plyometric movements may help with getting stronger (5) and they’re also beneficial for your general joint health.

• Time efficient: You're working on two qualities (strength and explosive power) at once.

How does it work?

Complex sets involve completing an exercise with a heavy weight (eg. A heavy box squat for 3 reps) and following that with a plyometric exercise of a similar movement pattern (eg. Jumping for max height off the box for 3 reps).

The heavy strength movement helps your performance on the jump (known as ‘Post-activation potentiation).

How to implement:

Lower body example: Perform a heavy box squat (1-5reps) followed by a few jumps for maximum height from the box.

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Upper body example: Perform a heavy bench press (1-5reps) and pair it with a few wall ball throws (or the other variations showed)

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Don’t want to do plyometrics? Here’s an alternative. You can use a type of ‘contrast training’ called ‘heavy/light contrast’. This is similar/has the same benefits as complex sets but it goes like this:

• Low rep heavy (eg. 1-3 reps) set of a compound lift (eg. Squat, Bench press etc.)

• Decrease load by about 20%

• Rest 10-20 seconds

• Perform lighter load for 3-5 reps powerfully and rapidly

4. MyoReps

The benefits:

• A great way of accumulating lots of work in a very short period of time (time efficient).

• Recruits a large amount of your muscle fibers and brings in lots of blood and other beneficial compounds that assist with muscle growth.

How does it work?

You choose an isolation exercise (an exercise that targets a specific muscle group – a single-joint exercise) and you perform 10-20 reps, stopping when you feel like you could only perform 1 or 2 more reps (or none). Once stopped, take a few breaths and perform 5-10 more reps (again stopping once you only have a rep or two left in the tank). You continue this until you get through all of the sets you had planned. (6)

How to implement?

At the end of your session, select an isolation exercise (eg.bicep curls, calf raises, lateral raises, tricep extensions etc.) and perform ‘MyoReps’ (explained above) for your desired number of sets. Enjoy!

This is what it looks like:

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The Takeaway

If your training is starting to feel stale or you need a way to get more out of your exercises and break through some plateaus, incorporating some of these set schemes is a great way to enhance your training and gain more results!

References

1) Oliver, J.M., Kreutzer, A., Jenke, S. et al. Acute response to cluster sets in trained and untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 2383–2393 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3216-7

2) Hardee, Justin P et al. “Effect of inter-repetition rest on ratings of perceived exertion during multiple sets of the power clean.” European journal of applied physiology vol. 112,8 (2012): 3141-7. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2300-x

3) Schoenfeld, Brad J et al. “Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum.” Sports (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 9,2 32. 22 Feb. 2021, doi:10.3390/sports9020032

4) Verkhoshansky, Yuri, and Mel Cunningham Siff. Supertraining. Verkhoshansky SSTM, 2009.

5) Whitehead, Malcolm T et al. “A Comparison of the Effects of Short-Term Plyometric and Resistance Training on Lower-Body Muscular Performance.” Journal of strength and conditioning research vol. 32,10 (2018): 2743-2749. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002083

6)Israetel, Mike, et al. Scientific Principles of Hypertrophy Training. 2021.

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