Muscle for Life

Building muscle when you’re new to weightlifting is mostly a game of patience and persistence. As long as you show up, finish your workouts, and follow a sensible diet plan, you’ll gain muscle and strength like clockwork. After your “newbie gains” dry up, though, progress comes in fits and starts. And it’s at this stage that many people cast their gaze about for more “advanced” training techniques, hacks, and shortcuts. Things like supersets, rest-pause sets, German Volume Training, and so forth. Another technique you may have heard of is known as doing cluster sets, which boils down to taking short breaks during your sets, but resting less between each set. Some people say this method triggers muscle growth above and beyond what you could achieve with traditional weightlifting, while others say it’s a pointless gimmick. Who’s right? Can cluster sets help you gain muscle and strength? And if so, are they better than more traditional training styles? You’re going to learn the answers to these questions and mor