You didn't ask a question, you came in making claims. I have answered plenty of people who asked that in a respectful way. But I don't have conversations with people who enter into them with their minds already made up.
Hey Brian, long time follower, first time commenter - THANK YOU. You are a great influence on me. I teach high school PE in Calgary Alberta and coach strength training as a boys club at the school for 15-18 year olds. I've shared several of your videos with them and we greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience! I've been running conjugate myself for 8 weeks so far and have had great success! Keep doing what your doing - your #1 Canadian fan!!
Its interesting to see how you set up your conjugate and to see that there are so many different ways for it to work. Once you start to understand that its a method rather than a program is when I feel like it really starts to take shape. Very informative! I may add some of these principles to mine
I've been at it for about 13 years now, literally half of my life time. So I know a little something. I only say that to give some perspective on knowing a little something. I know enough to know that your videos are honestly amazing. So so so much awesome detailed and thorough information for free. I don't follow a lot of "fitness " or "lifting" you tubers because of the bs that people can put out. It just frustrates me. You have one of the best channels on youtube when it comes to strength training. Keep it up brother it will pay off. I will 100% share your videos with people they are so top notch. Seriously, thank you for such high quality content I really respect your willingness to take the time to make these
GOLD!!!!!!!!! Three pages of notes and I feel guilty for ripping you off. I appreciate you letting me use this info for free. I began Mark Riptoe starting strength and ive been killing myself for the past 6 weeks since i hit my 1RM on the big 4. This program will save my CNS and my back. Thanks again. Love your vids and looking forward to more log cabin builds.
seriously. this is some massively (and I mean massively) informative, high-level stuff. I've had longer 200-series lectures that weren't this jammed with science. incredible resource.
I've already been doing this, basically. I kinda accidentally fell into this type of programming. However, I am obviously going way too hard on what would be my dynamic days, and I probably should get a bit more defined structure. This will help IMMENSELY! Thanks, Brian!
I was looking for how to program conjugate since I am losing my powerlifting coach and I found a T Nation forum post that mentioned Brian Alsruhe and this video. Brian is awesome and there are so many videos, awesome advice, he has a great sense of humor, and an awesome web page...I am late to the party but so grateful to have found that post. Brian is a fountain of information!
Conjugate makes innate sense to anyone with joints/tendons beat to crap from hammering the same lifts month in month out. Conjugate's made it possible for me to continue increasing lifts while dealing with tendonitis & arthritis. And the variety is fun, even (especially) when ME days make your CNS sing. Great video!
Thank you Brian. Seriously, thank you. The conjugate system / method has always been a beast to understand. Most articles and videos I have found have all been a bit vague turning it into an uphill battle just to grasp how to program this type of system. This video fixes all the complaints that I had in the past about explanations on the conjugate. Keep being awesome and I look forward to more videos you put out in the future.
It always blows my mind to see the small percentage of people that dislike videos like this. A guy sharing his exceptional knowledge and experience in a free program, the likes that normally costs u a ton. Like wtf is some people's deal? I rly don't get it... Thanks for this great video man!
probably the best and most detailed video on conjugate I've come across on the web. Im totally sold and will definitely be buying a program from you. Keep up the great work!
I am a novice lifter. Thank you old man professor Brian Alsruhe. I just realized I'm saying your last name wrong... I am in the volume phase of my lifting. Trying to break into the 400lb deadlift, 300lb squat and a 200lb bench...
This was incredible. You've honestly got some of the best informative videos on RU-vid! (the black and white snippets are funny too!) switched to giant sets 3 weeks ago because of you and they feel awesome! Thanks
I switched to your giant set format recently cause work has got me short on time, and dang theyre my favorite. Soo much work in so little time. Felt weird leaving the gym after only an hour, especially by how much I had to drop the weight. but I felt more sore than I have in awhile the next day. Definitely going to stick with them even when time opens up again.
dear Brian, i am doing your wod's since 4 weeks and i rly enjoy the variations because i am kinda sick of powerlifting and finally i understand your workouts. i have read a lot about conjugate, your style is rly unique greetings from austria, europe i am a huge fan of yours
Great breakdown on conjugate, I think the hardest part for me is after about 6 weeks Ego starts trying to turn speed days into max effort days...... bad idea. I really enjoyed you sharing your version of conjugate thanks for all the awesome videos man!!!!
Brian, I love your content man. I also appreciate your intelligence. It's hard, it seems, to find anyone out there who doesn't feel the need to drop the f-bomb every five seconds in their videos. It's great to follow someones I actually can look up to. Thanks brother!
Sooo, after those 12 weeks I should deload, test my 1RM on the main lifts and start all over again? Awesome video as always, you are amazing dude, don't ever die.
Brian, should I deload after the first 6 weeks? Just thinking after 6 weeks could get a bit beat up. Also, love the content, keep up the awesome videos!
Cool advice bro. I am about to watch this again because i gotta pay attention i watched as i did the dishes yesterday but gotta focus to get everything you talk about down. Thank's for the help nobody makes me understand better than you.
Brian you are starting to make the best and most informatively videos on youtube. oh and btw I'm currently doing your free strongan program from the vid with Alan trall. And finally my stalling Overhead press is progressing! Thank you !!!!!!
5:22 Dynamic effort offer LOL that is something I'd like to see in stores hahaha. Great video as always Brian, already close to that 1, 2, 3, 4 plates milestone by following the tips and cues you give us.
Man, this was great! I like how you explained conjugate in a simplified manner, it was really easy to understand! I've read the book and it took me a few times reading it to start getting it, but this is really simple! I like it a lot, thanks for putting up such awesome content!!
Fantastic Brian. Great insight and really inspiring. I'm giving your style of linear progression a go and the giant sets are killer! I'll give this a go in march when I'm done with the linear program.
I love your videos Brian , very informative, I learn a lot from them. And apply in to my workout. A big hug from Brazil. Thank you for giving us this kind of content. keep it up.
I have wanted to do this for a long time but have never had enough info to set it up! THIS VID WAD AWESOME!! Spot on mate ur channel is awesome keep it up!!
hi Brian, thank you so much for your take on the conjugate method. I am training using a WSFSB template outside of my karate training, and your ideas fit right in. Once again, thanks so much!
I've been watching everything I could find on the conjugate method over the past week. Trying to get a good handle before I try it out. I can honestly say the way you explained it is far less confusing than the way Louie Simmons explained it.
Hey Brian. I am a new subscriber (a couple weeks) and just wanted to say how much I appreciate your channel! It is very informative and also entertaining! Keep up the great work man!
Here's some magic: I have seen people make a 12-15% gain on 5 new or not recently done compound exercises in 12 weeks. Here's how: The exercises were: box squat, wide stance squat, close stance squat, front squat, and safety bar squat. I'll refer to them as A,B,C,D, and E. A is done for a max single. B is done for a max double............E for a max set of 5. The following week the order would be B,C,D,E,A. Since E was done with some muscular fatigue from having done the sets of 1,2,3,4, you can expect to do better because you going to do it after having done fewer sets and reps. Assume that you did E @ 450x5. I use my simplified version of the Epley formula to determine what weight would need to be used for the set of 4 that would be better than the 450x5. 450 (35/34)=463. Thus, he would have to use a weight in excess of that. Since it is a new exercise and you are fresher, you certainly will do better. In determining what weight to I would consider the difficulty of the previous set of 5. Let's say he did 475x4. Next, 475 (34/33)=489. He does 495x3. 495 (33/32)=510. He does 520x2. 520 (32/30)=555. He does a 560 single. I would be following that progression on all 5 exercises simultaneously. Something that needs to be understood is that after the single, the exercise starts over at the bottom for five. Since the single was done fresh and now it will be your 5th set, the equivalent would be a gain -- maybe too much. I would figure the equivalent at 5 reps: 560 (30/35)=480. I would have him do 470 or 475, depending upon the difficulty of the single. 475 is what he did for 4 on the previous rotation. This is a strategy of doing an exercise with a degree of muscular fatigue, then incrementally decreasing the amount of fatigue under which the exercise is done to realize a gain from having done it with the greater amount of fatigue. This has worked very well for the inmates who have tried it. Yes, I thought of it in prison. There are other things that need to be known, in terms of implementation, but my texting finger is experiencing muscular fatigue. Lastly, I have another rep scheme that yields a 4.5% gain in 4 weeks. Or 2 weeks on bench because you can do it twice a week.
Thanks for the example. I'm new to this method, so I don't know much about it. The most important thing is to find out how to make it work in my own way!
Fantastic video and great knowledge. Really good application of the Conjugate method and some cool variations on the programming. Humor is on point too. You got a new follower within the first couple of minutes. Now I'm going to binge your channel. #respect
Greetings from Argentina Brian! Yes, you have a follower in Argentina believe or not. Your videos have helped me a lot in increasing my strength in the big 3. Keep up the good work, man! (And sorry for my kinda bad english, lol)
Man this is a sweet way to set up the Conjugate, Ive been running it for about 8 weeks on my channel, I'm going to try your set up on my next 12 week cycle. Thanks for sharing you knowledge
Great video! I have a question about DE days. When you move into the 6-12 week phase, you roll back to 40% of your comp lift, and keep the accommodating resistance the same?
I used to hate the idea of conjugate, but I'm seriously thinking about adding some elements from in to my programming in my off season just to see what happens, some really good stuff bro, thank you for this wealth of information
man, just reprogramming my assistance with Brian's tips has been crazy. if I do it ANY OTHER WAY for like two weeks, I start missing reps. I go back, I catch right up and hit a new PR. MADNESS, I tells ya.
Hey Brian I love your channel! I just finished 12 weeks of workouts based on your linear progression video and saw great results! I was wondering if you could do a video on all kinds of explosive movements you use ? Thanks for making great videos
Awesome informational video! I was curious about conjuate but because Im a powerlifter and a beginner it didnt make sense to me but this was an awesome educational video!
really appreciate all the info and work you put out, this is becoming my one of fav channels :) and i'm seriously considering getting more into strongman training :P keep it up Broian :D
Brian, great channel. Subscribed last week, and been watching as much as my crazy work schedule allowed me to. Just a quick comment about something that keeps confusing me. In each of your programming video, you emphasize the "antagonistic muscle groups" principle, but you seem to use it only for your upper body. On lower body days you just combine the main movement with an explosive movement that uses the exact same muscle groups. I find BOTH principles useful, but I would not jam them into the same ("antagonistic muscle groups") category. In relation to this, I believe that the antagonistic movement/excercise of the DEADLIFT is (weighted) situps or leg raises.
As always a very awesome video Brian! really one of my favorite channels! - I was curious about the dynamic effert days - when switching from 3RM to 1RM at week 6-12, I assume that the percentages of DE reset at 40% again? - cheers from Denmark! a true fan!
Awesome video Brian. But I have to ask what is the exact benefit of pause deadlift? Also what are your thoughts on snatch grip deadlift? I tried it today and I personally didn't care too much for it. You should compete in a couple powerlifting meets! That's the thing about strongman vs powerlifting: a strongman can come into a powerlifting meet and really crush it but a powerlifter could really struggle or get crushed in a strongman event.
Erik Bentley strenghten lower portion i think...but there is much ways to make your upper portion harder, but not much to make lower harder...somebody need to discover some reverse pushing bands that will be lighter on the way up :D
Paused dead lifts help to strengthen the lower portion, teaches you how to stay tight throughout the lift, and also conditions you to power through sticking points.
Yea man I would like to do comps but I just don't have ANY free time right now. My training is going to crap because of it, but less trying to balance it all with meets. And everyone covered what Paused Deadlifts do.
Awesome program Brian, I'm running it myself now :) About the antagonistic muscle group to deadlifts: I think by doing planks, rollouts, etc. you're already doing the antagonistic, since the opposite of extending your body would be bending it. Perhaps to make it more explosive do medball slams (but only the onces that bounce back up, so you don't have to ''dead''lift them each time). However I can also imagine that the kb-swings work as a great primer for the actual deadlift. Thanks again, stay awesome!
As usual, great video. I used to run Westside ( at least I thought I was, lol, in my teens). I never considered applying giant sets like you have. This is brilliant. I'm stealing this (again). Anyways, this is a great overview. I've read other explanations of it, but this is well thought out & the explanation of how to program for it is top notch. I have never seen it applied to strongman, but you've given me a plethora of ideas to apply to my training. Currently, I've applied Conjugate's variety of bars to Sheiko. I know, that's a very, very odd combination. For example, Deadlifts 80% @ 5 sets of 3, then Zercher Squats with a cambered squat bar working to a heavy triple, then a rowing movement. Same with bench... pause for 80% @ 5 sets of 3, close grip swiss bar press w/ chains, work up to heavy set of 5 or 3 & then another movement like dumbbell pressing for high reps. It doesn't hurt that I have a cambered squat bar, ssb, duffalo bar, swiss bar, fat bar & a few other tricks up my sleeves, not even including bands/chains. That way, I rotate what bar I use every cycle (4/5 weeks depending on how I'm running my routine). I never fully adapt & hopefully, get stronger since I try to swap in whatever bar I become inefficient with the most. Variety is the spice of life. Now I just have to figure out how to catch up to you in terms of the numbers you're putting up!
I'm currently doing my own 5/3/1 that's working for me right now (on my 3rd four week cycle.). Seeing as I'm probably moving in the next month, I'm going to wait until I'm in my new gym before programming this up and trying it out.
I finally signed up for a RU-vid account so I can subscribe and like vids. Your vids are awesome tons of great info. Thanks keep up the great work you're a beast.
hey, i know this video is about strongman. however, before the conjugate method for lifting please make sure you know how to conjugate a verb. strength means nothing without knowledge. love you Brian
As he always says "he doesn't pay me to say this " but Iam in week 9 in his program it totally improved in my 4 major lifts , for example my back squat PR is 335 lb, following his program 8 weeks in Iam doing 315lb 3 reps now , not sure if I got better or the weights got lighter 😂, but seriously it works like magic , it does take me 1:15 to 1:30 to get everything done , but when u leave the gym , he makes sure u left everything in there , great guy , can't wait to test my PRs next month and move on to the next challenge AKA program 👍🏻🙌🏻💪🏻
Quick question: What happens to the percentages for the dynamic effort days after the first 6 weeks. Do they go back to 40 percent at week 7 or do they keep going up??
Joseph Vicors not sure if this is how Brian does it or not but I’ve run his programs in the past and usually what I’d do is at week 7 I’d add 5-10 lbs to my maxes from the previous weeks and then start back at 40%
I can't wait to do this this autumn, man, thanks a lot. One question though: How about the jumps leading up to the 3RMs or the 1RMs since those will affect the fatigue and volume? Should I just go about as if I was going for an independent 1RM and just include the warm-up sets of that main movement in the giant set?
