DYNAMIC EFFORT TRAINING FOR STRENGTH AND POWER

                      Set/Rep Variations for Strength and Power

Part Two

The DYNAMIC EFFORT Method

The great Jim Williams bench pressing in his heyday.

     A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an essay on some of the set/rep variations that are the best if your goals are strength and power, as opposed to just gaining muscle mass.  I wrote about 5x5 training, ramp training, and variations that use multiple sets of low reps.  Here I would like to explore some SPEED work set/rep combos that are ideal for the powerlifter or anyone that wants to boost their squat, bench press, or deadlift.

Multiple Sets/Low Reps for Speed

     This form of training is often referred to as “dynamic effort” training.  It became popular as a mode of training within Westside Barbell.  For Westside, this form of training was of utmost importance due to the fact that the Westside lifter also trained with a “max effort” session each week where you maxed out on a triple, double, or single (typically a single) for an all-out effort.  Westside reasoned that although heavy triples, doubles, or singles made you incredibly strong, they can also make you slow.  You needed a method to counteract this.  Enter the dynamic effort method, where you perform 10 sets of 3 reps (on the bench press) or 10-12 sets of 2 reps (on the squat and occasionally the deadlift) using only 50-70% of your one-rep max for speed.

     By the late ‘90s to early ‘00s, the dynamic effort method of training had moved from being something strictly used by Westside to a mode of training used by other powerlifters, either as an occasional “stand-alone” method of training, or as a method that was used in conjunction with other methods.  You began to see “hybrid” methods of training, for instance, that utilized one day-per-week of “typical” strength and power methods—such as 5x5 or ramps as mentioned in the last segment of this series—and another day of dynamic effort training.  (My “Power Volume Training” is an example of one of these hybrid methods, as it employs heavy-light-medium training along with speed work.)

     If you have never attempted this form of training before, it may do you good to spend three to four weeks just focusing on speed work.  Here is an example of a program that you can use that does just this:

Day One:

Squats: 12 sets of 2 reps (use approximately 70% of your one-rep maximum)

Bench Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps (70% of max)

Day Two: Off

Day Three:

Deadlifts off a Box (Deficit Deadlifts): 10 sets of 2 reps (70%)

Day Four: Off

Day Five:

High-Bar Olympic-Style Pause Squats: 12 sets of 2 reps.  Once again, use approximately 70% of your one-rep maximum.  Pause at the bottom of each repetition for two to three seconds, then explode out of the hole as fast as possible.

Bottom-Position Bench Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps (70% of max).  For these, set the pins in the power rack so that you are starting the lift from your chest.  Explode as fast as possible, then lower back down to the pin slowly.  When you touch the pins again, relax your muscles slightly, then explode once more.

Day Six:

Sumo Deadlifts: 8 to 10 sets of 2 reps (55-60% of max).  For your last session of the week, go a little lighter than you did for the rest of the week.  This will allow you to recover when you start the week over again.  Also, the deadlift, unlike the bench press or the squat, seems to be a lift where not only can you “get by” with going lighter, some lifters actually thrive on it.  In fact, it’s not uncommon to find deadlift specialists getting good results with multiple sets of low reps using as low as 40% of their max!

Day Seven: Off

     You will notice that there are no assistance exercises recommended here.  You can certainly add some if you wish, but don’t go overboard.  If you want—or need, in some cases—to add assistance movements, pick only one exercise to help each lift.  If your triceps are holding back your bench press, for instance, then do a set of either skull-crushers, J.M. presses, or California presses, but nothing else.  Be careful about adding assistance work to either the squat or the deadlift, since, in many ways, the squat is an assistance exercise for the deadlift and vice-versa.

     If you wish to combine a “traditional” powerlifting approach with the dynamic effort method, then here is an example of an ideal program.  The template for this split mirrors what is used by Westside.

Day One: Speed Bench/Assistance Work

• Bench Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps (70%)

• Dips: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps

• One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps

Day Two: Traditional Squat and Deadlift

• Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.  Depending on your level of strength, do these for either progressively heavier sets or “straight” sets.  Read my previous “Set/Rep Variations for Strength and Power” for details.

• Deadlifts or Sumo Deadlifts: Ramps of 3 reps.  For these, rotate between conventional deadlifts and sumo deadlifts after every two to three weeks for the sake of working on your weaker lift.  Making each lift stronger boosts the other one.

Day Three: Off

Day Four: Traditional Bench Press

• Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps.  (Same advice as the squats from Day Two.)

• Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Day Five: Off

Day Six: Speed Squats and Deadlifts

• Squats, Pause Squats, or Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps (70%).  You can stick with the same movement at each workout, or rotate between one or two others.

• Deficit Deadlifts: 10 sets of 2 reps (50-60%).  This movement will really help you to explode from the bottom of a conventional deadlift.  

Day Seven: Off

     Keep in mind that the above workout is just an example.  You may need more, or different, assistance lifts than what I recommend on the speed bench press day.  Conversely, you can also add an assistance movement to the end of your speed squat and deadlift, but you don’t have to.  Add abdominal work as you see fit.

     When using speed work, keep in mind that it takes a toll on your central nervous system, more so than most other methods of training.  This means that you shouldn’t overdo “extra” workouts, or do much high-frequency training with it.  What we might call “grease-the-groove” training, for instance, should not be done with speed work.  I’ll discuss this more in a future post.

     If there are any set/rep combos for strength and power that you would like to see discussed, then please leave your suggestions in the “comments” section below or shoot me an email.  Until then, good luck and good training.