How often do you change cluster?

[jzt]

I know that in the book, it says that the author prefers to keep the same cluster for at least the whole year, and dabble with the other exercises as assistance.

Right now I've finished my first 6 weeks Block, retested my 1RMs (made some nice gains) and for my second Block I'll be doing 12 weeks, then retesting my new 1RMs. Past that point, would it be beneficial to switch cluster, or not?

I'm currently doing the following with 1RMs:

W Chin Ups: 333lbs (BW+111)
Press: 193lbs
Trap DL: 510lbs

I definitely still have room to improve on those imo, but I would like to hit 315 on the bench one day and I feel squats are very beneficial, despite being a bit of a ''flare up'' for nagging injuries in my case.

Every time I swapped OHP and Trap DL in previous programs for Conv DL, Squats and Bench, I always regretted it. Perhaps I could incorporate light work on the Squats/Bench as assistance (nothing that would hinder my main exercises)?

Here's a video of my latest lifts, if anyone has tips on why my knees cave in during the TBDL and how to fix it, it would be appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F78qd6x8PP4

[VenomousCoffee]

On the DL form, it might be a result of body proportions/angles. I noticed when you were OHP'ing that it looked like your lower legs angle out a little bit naturally? Maybe that's causing it?

But, my two cents, when I DL my absolute rule is that I don't 'reset' between reps. I pause at the bottom and I do reset my grip a tiny bit, but no movement of torso or legs. I'm a big believer of rooting yourself to the ground before you start the set and you don't move again until you're done. Again, my two cents.

[Barkadion]

On the DL form, it might be a result of body proportions/angles. I noticed when you were OHP'ing that it looked like your lower legs angle out a little bit naturally? Maybe that's causing it?

But, my two cents, when I DL my absolute rule is that I don't 'reset' between reps. I pause at the bottom and I do reset my grip a tiny bit, but no movement of torso or legs. I'm a big believer of rooting yourself to the ground before you start the set and you don't move again until you're done. Again, my two cents.

My guess was possible lack of "spreading the floor" thing.. The key for the trap bar DL (IMHO) is "to stand up by driving your feet into the ground, straightening your legs, and thrusting your hips forward. As you approach the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes together and brace your abdominals to finish the movement."

I had the same issue but it got resolved once I started to pay attention to my feet and to grounding it into the ground.. I do need to "feel" feet before I start..

[VenomousCoffee]

I definitely spend several seconds before every set of DL just setting my feet just right. That's really more about getting set/focused/rigid with my stance than the actual foot positioning. I really feel like it helps me stay tight and avoid the kind of issues he's having.

I meant to put in my first post that I use sumo, not trap bar. So take all this for what it's worth...

[jzt]

On the DL form, it might be a result of body proportions/angles. I noticed when you were OHP'ing that it looked like your lower legs angle out a little bit naturally? Maybe that's causing it?

But, my two cents, when I DL my absolute rule is that I don't 'reset' between reps. I pause at the bottom and I do reset my grip a tiny bit, but no movement of torso or legs. I'm a big believer of rooting yourself to the ground before you start the set and you don't move again until you're done. Again, my two cents.

Yeah my feet were off during the OHP, I noticed it after. I guess it's a good thing to film yourself otherwise it's stuff you might not catch. I'll definitely be more mindful of keeping a narrow/parallel feet stance on the OHP next time.

For the knees on the DL, I saw some videos about split squats with bands pulling your knee in, forcing you to keep it straight, not sure about that.

[CD51]

Wider stance and point your toes out. It’s hard to say from just a front view but I would guess your loading your big toes too much.
I would do some wide stance low bar squats, maybe box squats, to strengthen the hip abductors. Maybe that’s an answer to your question about switching your cluster.

D