This is one of the best and most popular articles to ever be posted on the site. After you read this you will understand what it means to Live, Learn, and Pass On.
Try backing off if you aren’t improving and feel like you’re pushing as hard as possible. You may be surprised by the outcome.
Every piece of the puzzle in conjugate periodization is essential. Build from the bottom up.
Coaches, use Prilepin’s Chart to gain a new perspective while training your beginning athletes. Here’s how I’ve found the chart to be useful.
Get stronger, bigger, and quicker following this 12-week conjugate program for raw powerlifters.
Dave Tate and Sam Brown talk about how Dave enters the void, their thoughts on max effort training, and trying geared lifting.
How many sets and reps do you do with max effort work and accessories? Here’s what I prescribe for my conjuphasic clients. You’ll notice I love coming up with ways to self-regulate my athletes and clients through exercise prescription and programming.
Assuming you have the basics like a straight bar, rack, bench, box, boards, bands, and chains—you have plenty to rub out a successful and safe max effort session. Go team solo!
Speed is king, right? Then you’d better train it. I have some medicine ball throws to get your athletes up to speed. Make sure those movements are crisp and fast! Go, go, go!
Many lifters with anxiety and/or depression find that during or following max effort, their mental health symptoms worsen, and/or their sleep quality and recovery suffer dramatically. These three modifications to max effort work may prevent or lessen some of these issues.
There are a ton of questions on how to work up to a 1RM on max effort day. While many lifters don’t use percentages, it certainly makes it easier on coaches and novices on how to pick attempts. Since many people who are new to doing these movements are not familiar with their maxes, use the following to help guide you.
I’ve seen a lot of articles about the max effort method on here lately, but I haven’t seen many address the fact that there are two types of max effort methods! One method might work better than the other for you, so before you give up on conjugate, give this a read.
When I refer back to what worked best for me in college, I always seem to glean some “new” information by reviewing old material. This time around, I decided to use less variance in my programming by repeating the same special exercises 3 weeks at a time.
The goal with this series is to get to you to think about how you can manipulate the max effort, dynamic effort, and repeated efforts to fir your needs and to understand that conjugate is a fluid system that requires experimenting.
In my opinion, conjugate is one of, if not, the best training systems — when employed properly. If it isn’t working, don’t disregard the system; instead, check your application.
As with anything in training, the answer always is “it depends.” With the max effort method, I can do one of these things for two hours just on advanced principles that deal with the max effort method, or I can do one very that’s simple. I choose simple.
Here’s a red pill for you to swallow: The conjugate system is like an XL shirt that fits differently on different people. With a few modifications, that shirt can be made to fit just about anyone. Same goes for the program in this article.
“How do you get better at lifting heavier weights? Well, you do it by lifting heavier fucking weights!” In this video from Learn to Train X, Dave focuses on instructing the max effort method, which is working up to a “heavy fucking weight that’s generally going to be 90 percent or above,” including technical breakdown.
You’re not a competitive powerlifter or bodybuilder. You want to move big weights in the gym, look good naked, and still have fun training and eating. You need the maximal effort method.
Higher rep work can be beneficial, but it needs to be properly managed. We are still going to use 1-rep maxes for our primary means of developing intra/intermuscular coordination, but there are a few strategies we can use to ensure we incur extra volume when needed.
You may have several points in your life where you’ll see the contrast of differing lifestyles on training and programming. While the principles of your training philosophy may remain the same no matter what job you have, how those principles are applied differs based on the situation.
Acceleration is one of the most important components for building maximum strength. However, you should not confuse acceleration with explosiveness.
It seems that everyone wants to start racing a Ferrari before they learn how to put the key in the ignition.
In this presentation, Harvey goes back to the often-neglected and rarely taught basics. His first “simple technique”, is a detailed breakdown of how to box squat correctly.
Focusing on this concept of carry-over helps powerlifters train in a more intentional and strategic way, ultimately bolstering overall performance come meet day.
After reading Conjugate U, I moved forward with implementing the Conjugate Method with my women’s tennis team. Here’s what we accomplished this past season.
In this instructional video, Dave discusses the benefits of dynamic effort and max effort training and breaks down the specifics of his programming during his work with Dr. Rusin.
Sixteen questions covering the basics (and often neglected) beginning with bench press templates to dimel deadlifts.
Inspired by Joe Kenn, this is how Pace programs the conjugate method (the use of variations) over an eight-week off-season for our athletes.
The SS Yoke Bar is the only bar that Dave can use week after week and be able to continue squatting. Here’s why.
Is there any value left to this method or has the lifting world moved on?
Whether it be to feel better, move more weight, or run a marathon, this system has something for everyone. It is the no-brainer preferred choice for group programming.
You can make this system as complicated as you want it to be, but you can also make it a simple as you want it to be. Understand the basics first.
Can you alternate specialty bars for different dynamic effort waves? What about for different weeks within the same wave?
I thought about just putting my workout off until tomorrow. That would have been the smart thing to do.
After you’ve reached the heaviest set of the day, is there a reason to reduce the weight and do more reps?
Trying to build superior performance without diversity in your training is like trying to build a house with nothing but a hammer and a box of nails: the final product isn’t going to impress anyone.
The appeal of conjugate is the ability to build multiple performance traits at once, but this confuses a lot of lifters as they get closer to a meet. It doesn’t have to be so complicated.
Every lifter falls somewhere on this continuum. It will determine how your max attempts look and how you should train to increase them.
A lot of lifters think you have to train over 90% week after week to get stronger. Adjusting to a program like 5thSet may challenge you mentally to trust the process, but it won’t be long before you experience the benefits.
When you say “culture”, are you sure you know what you’re referring to? Here’s what this word means to our program.
When thinking about conjugate training, we often look at all the specialty bars, bands, chains and other goodies that we use in training. But when you boil it down, conjugate training doesn’t need those things.
If you feel you need more work on the competition movements, can you use them as max effort work instead of doing specialty exercises?
Early in your powerlifting journey, this is the only weak point you need to concern yourself with.
How do we glean all the benefits of cardio without compromising our strength and size? It really comes down to two things.
There are many ways lifters go about picking their openers. I admit, my way might not be for you. But if it isn’t, you can still learn something from it.
As simple and extremely important as this principle is, I continue to see so many lifters overlook or misunderstand it year after year.
When the tall, piper-cleaner thin baseball player showed up, I didn’t think he’d last long. I was wrong.
There are a lot of coaches to choose from and they all think they’re the best. What criteria should you use to judge them?
Every relationship has its highs and lows. You can’t stay on the honeymoon forever.
Things are getting hot between Dave and JL. What’s behind this growing bond?
You’ve put 8-16 weeks of hard work into your meet prep. Why ruin it 24 hours before the competition?
Please don’t believe the clichés that age is only a number or you’re only as old as you feel. If it were only a state of mind, we all could stay 21 forever.
There will be times that your personal life overwhelms you. Getting through these rocky times will never be easy, but there are ways to ensure you make it out alive.
Out of 16 years at Westside, this is the program I used for my PR 1160 squat and 2673 total.
The two most important things when working with kids: keep them interested and show them how far they can go with proper training protocols.