“There are thousands of single muscle fibers in each muscle arranged in functional units (motor units – a nerve cell and all the fibers innervated by it). This varies from 5-10 fibers/unit in the eye muscles to up to 2000 per unit in large leg muscles. The motor unit functions as a whole either in complete contraction or relaxation. Thus the greater number of units active and the greater frequency of action of individual units, the greater the degree of contraction of the whole muscle and thus the degree of tension generated.” – The Body Movable by David Gorman

My definition of sports performance is to help the athlete achieve high levels of relative strength! If you want to get stronger without getting significantly larger, which is often the key to improving athletic performance, you have to teach the body how to recruit more motor units. One of the best ways to do this is by using a method called Cluster Training, developed by Carl Miller. Use 80% to 95% of your maximum weight for one repetition (1RM) for 3 – 5 reps with a brief “rest pause” of 10 to 15 seconds between each rep, for 5 or 6 sets. Make sure you take adequate rest between sets – at least 4 minutes.

What cluster training does is hypertrophy fast twitch fibers and improve explosiveness, speed, and strength – key attributes for many athletes. This method of training is also excellent or if you want to break through a lifting plateau. When doing clusters it is best to cluster every muscle group. Note that if you are training at the proper intensity you may have trouble sleeping at night due to the over stimulation of the nervous system. Only use cluster training once every three months to prevent overtraining.

What I find nowadays is a lot of strength coaches don’t take the time to get their athletes strong! Find out how strong each athlete should be for their given sport, and then get them to that point as fast as possible with a well-planned training regime. When my athletes go through a cluster training phase they immediate feel the difference in their given sport. They feel more explosive, faster, and stronger. The athlete who has greater relative strength, who can recruit more motor units when called upon, has an edge in their given sport, regardless of what it is!

Here is an example program:

A1. Bench Press – 5x (1,1,1,1,1), 4010 tempo, 120 seconds rest
A2. Wide Grip Pull-Ups – 5x (1,1,1,1,1), 4010, 120s
B1. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press – 5x (1,1,1,1,1), 4010, 120s
B2. Bent Over Row – 5x (1,1,1,1,1,) , 3011, 120s