For over a month now I have been back to conjugate training. My max effort and assistance work have been all fleshed out. The only thing that hasn't been in sync is the dynamic effort movements. I have been trying to work within the traditional percentages and it just hasn't felt right.

Information on dynamic effort can always be a little sketchy considering a lot of what has been written was intended for equipped powerlifting. There are however some basic numbers that can be applied. The numbers are more or less as follows. Then bench press runs from 55-65% for 9 sets of 3. The squat, 65-75% for 12 sets of 2. The deadlift is 70-80% for 10 sets of 1.

What can make it even more confusing is how to add in accommodating resistance. Is that included in the percentages, or on top of them? Who knows. Probably only Louie Simmons and the almighty know that for sure.

What I do know is my personal experience with dynamic effort. Back when I was trying to bench 600 raw, I had been stuck at 585 lbs and could not push past it. That's when I started training conjugate.

When it was time to implement dynamic work for my bench, I tried to start with 50% which was around 290. Now, even though I was benching 585, I was not moving 290 fast at all. I remember backing the weight down until it felt fast. That was all the way down to 185 which is well shy of the recommended percentage.

Each week I tried to push the weight up, but it had to be fast. I started waving the work into 3 sets of 3. I would try to add a little weight on sets 4-6 and then a little more on 7-9. Long story short, by the end of the 16-week training cycle, my dynamic bench was up to 365 lbs with multiple bands. Then guess what happened? I hit my first 600 raw bench in competition.

Long story short, don't let percentages dictate your dynamic work. Rather, focus on bar speed. This self-reflection has caused me to lower my weights and do the same thing that provided me with so much success.

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