OH, I forgot about the weight gain.

Yeah a little bit of that too :D but they are really cool and fun to experiment with and we ALL do that.

20 lbs, Eric. Although, I think I am damn close to 200 right now. Not sure and I am too scared to weigh myself right now. I will do the weighing after next week.

haha....good stuff :D

your looking bigger. Keep it up.

Good job Anuj. I'm glad Max Strength worked so well. I'm interested in what kind of results you'll be getting now compared to max strength.

I love cluster sets for pullups. They're great for building pullup numbers.

Yeah, they are.

How do you do a cluster?

just do lots of little mini sets throughout the workout. like before you even start, do like...3 or 4 sets of 2-3....then after one exercise do that again...etc.

or superset them with something.

No not exactly. Cluster sets are essentially a sort of "rest-pause" method. That is not to say that some of these guys may not be talking about what you just said, though, Pity.

The basic concept of a cluster is simply a group of singles with short rest periods in between.

So think of it something like this: If you take a load that you can do 5 or 6 reps with, say around 80%, for a cluster you may be able to increase it to 85%, but between each of those 5 or 6 reps you rest for 15 up to 30 seconds (although personally I believe 30 seconds is a bit much). So you basically get the same volume at higher intensity due to the partial recovery between reps.

Those are the clusters I was referring to.

In 3 months I got my housemate to go from being able to do a single pullup, to being able to do 6 reps straight for 3 sets. Other factors contribute of course, but he used clusters for his pullups.

I can do quite a few bodyweight pullups, but I use clusters for when I do a heavier set. Works like a charm. Just my 2 cents :D

You know, the think is, you can also just throw in a cluster at the end of sets in order to get more work at a given intensity. And that can make a big difference. With pullups you can't change you bodyweight very quickly but you can change how much work you can get at that body weight. Here's the thing, and I know Kane agrees, lifting a given heavy wieght MORE times is the simplest way to get stronger.

The thing about adding reps to pullups, though, is that it is a time when failure is useful. When it comes to increasing reps failure works very well for that versus increasing absolute strength and power. In a way..cluster training is "working beyond" that failure point. Especially when you tack on a cluster for extra work at the end. You just have to be willing to dial back other things when needed or if needed.

If you think of something you can normally do for a certain number of reps using straight sets, but you do twice that much, no matter how fast, etc...that's good. But it's a tool like anything and can be overused.