 Mike do you still train conjugate or have you switched it up and why? So when I first went to I guess when I first got into powerlifting on my own I found some books Programs and articles by Ed Cohn and started following some programs like that some older old-school guys and you know It's more block period eyes So there was just kind of a block of preparatory where you're almost not doing barbell stuff You're doing rows and lunges and dumbbell press and things like that And then I moved you into a kind of hypertrophy phase with squat bench dead Overhead some dumbbell work and then moving to kind of a strength phase with squat bench dead overhead Etc. And I made pretty good progress to start out with probably within the first Two or three years of training squatted around 400 Bench probably 305 or so and deadlift around 500 terrible form, but I did it From there I kind of did more and more research I ran some 531 which is kind of a similar type deal Although it's not block period eyes. It's a similar thought process And then I found in some of the Russian stuff some of the Boris Shaco stuff And I responded really really well to kind of the higher volume higher frequency training a little bit more specific with some slight variations sprinkled in Brought my squad up to around 505. I benched 335 315 and I deadlifted around 550 From there is when I joined super training gym and super training at the time was all geared powerlifting and they were led by Mark Bell obviously and Mark Bell Got kind of his real jump into powerlifting although he'd been doing a long time He was a follower of Louis Simmons and he was a west side barbell member himself so they did train west side conjugate and Went in Rome right so I didn't want to go in there Like I knew anything because in the spectrum. I still know nothing but Even though I kind of had a good feel of what works for me over here I wanted to learn more and I wanted to learn from the best. So that's why I went there and So I did train conjugate for maybe a year or two And what I found for me being the only raw lifter there is that I got a lot of posterior development Which was great my hamstrings glutes and low back got very strong My deadlift did increase quite a bit. I pulled 600 training under a conjugate method But my squatting and bench because of the Exercise or too broad of an exercise variation. They didn't progress as how I'd like so for west side conjugate for you guys that Don't know there's two upper body days a week two lower body days a week and basically what you're doing is On one upper body and one lower body day a week you're going up to a max effort single That means a grindy hard single and that's with an exercise variation bands chains different barbell different grip Often using a box in the squat Different boards different methods like that And then the other day a week is a little bit more of a dynamic day or it is a dynamic day It's a little bit more of that russian style where you're doing anywhere from eight to twelve Sets of one two or three reps in the squat bench or deadlift and you're using maybe 60 70 percent with some bands and chains And you're moving them very quickly working on your form and fitness And afterwards is when you get all of your hypertrophy work done You're doing tons and tons of accessories west side is based around Finding your weakness in the lift basing your exercise variation your main day lift off that and then also basing All of the rest of it So if you have a lot of tricep issues or lockout issues You're slamming tricep skull crushers and push downs for an hour after your main work And although I put on some good muscle and I made some Progress there it took me back once I started to get frustrated with my plateaus to a more high volume high frequency Training method more of a submaximal that I've been doing now for Maybe four years and previous to that that super training Block I started doing it super training. I started coaching people that method I worked with jeremy hamilton one-on-one. He prepped me for a meet using a similar method And so basically Majority of my training is now between 50 and 60 excuse me 50 and about 70 75 percent of my one rep max I'm doing a lot of Kind of daily undulating which means that within a week I'll train, you know, eight to 12 reps. I'll also train, you know, three to eight reps and also train one to three reps I'm training all rep ranges to maintain my fitness in all of them and also each rep range each load You put on your body will cause a different stimulus to that muscle and you'll be able to Perhaps gain more muscle that way because the muscles that fire under a 12 rep set is different than the muscles that fire under a heavy Or a light two reps set. I'm a big fan of compensatory acceleration This basically means Once your form is locked in and you're warmed up We're using that 50 to 75 percent range and we're putting everything into the bar even though I may be benching 315 for triples I'm going to push into 315 like it's 450 and I'm going to hit it as hard as I can And that's the same with the squat bench and dead after my form is locked in So once I'm warming my form locked in I'm not tugging on it or being jerky jerky like a football bench But I am putting everything I can into the bar and that Fires more muscles kind of helps the speed kind of helps explosion So that's the the majority of my training the majority of the training in kaizen That we program for you guys It is all based around submaximal more higher volume higher frequency a little bit more specific training There are variations thrown in, you know, I'll do a tempo squad or do a pause squad I'll do a block pull do a deficit pull I'll even use some bands and chains here and there but the majority of it is specific movements Done to accumulate volume over time done to get better at the lift and become faster and more explosive This isn't bad if there was a silent mic powerlifting federation, what would be involved? Monolith sleeves wraps tested non-tested I'm going to ignore the tested or non-tested. There's already kind of those branches. So Who really cares? You know where to go for each I'm a big fan of a power bar to squat and bench width And I'm a big fan to deadlift with a deadlift bar. So besides that, I don't really care I don't mind walking out my weights I like the idea of a monolith just because I like how it adjusts But obviously the kind of er racks or whatever are very easy to comp the comp racks are easy to adjust as well But I think some kind of hydraulic monolith is very cool. Moving the things in and out is really cool So let's do monolith walk out Put that in your pipe and smoke it Power bar to squat with obviously there's no big boys in my federation because those poor guys can't use that bar very well Even though Ray Williams smashes with it. So no excuse to the other big boys I like the bench. I'd say feet up you could feed up with your bench You just can't move those feet around And then I'd say a deadlift bar because those are a few of my favorite things ladies and gentlemen That's it for this one. Be further be sure to follow me silo. Michael 2k is on instagram also twitter I got a facebook all the links and below if you want my programming I appreciate you guys give this thing a thumbs up share with your friends. We're out of here until next time