Brian Alsruhe’s conjugate program is a 16 week, 4 day per week strength program built on max effort and dynamic effort work. Max effort days work up to a 3 rep max; dynamic effort days call for 10 sets of triples at 40% to 65% of 1RM. It leans heavily on bands and chains, so plan on having access to them.
Conjugate programming rotates your max effort exercise regularly rather than grinding the same lift week after week, and pairs that heavy work with speed work at submaximal loads. Alsruhe’s version adds his own conditioning emphasis on top, which is what makes his take distinct from the more traditional templates floating around.
It’s a complex program and the videos below are the actual instructions. Watch the first one before you start. If you want conjugate-style work without the band and chain setup, you’ll have an easier time with a linear program and adding speed work yourself.
Table of Contents
Video Overview: Brian Alsruhe Conjugate Program
Brian walks through how he sets the program up. This is where the details live.
Related Video: Strength, Conditioning and Conjugate
A longer Q&A covering how he weighs strength against conditioning, and what NEVERsate means.
Spreadsheet
There isn’t one here any more. The spreadsheet was removed at Brian’s request, and it isn’t coming back. Use the videos to set the program up for yourself.
Program Overview
- Length: 16 weeks
- Frequency: 4 days per week
- Method: conjugate, alternating max effort and dynamic effort work
- Max effort: work up to a 3 rep max
- Dynamic effort: 10 sets of 3 at 40% to 65% of 1RM
- Equipment: bands and chains strongly recommended
Everything beyond that comes from the videos, and I’d rather point you at them than paraphrase a program I can’t check line by line.
Alsruhe Conjugate FAQs
Where did the spreadsheet go?
Brian asked for it to be taken down and we did. That’s the end of it. The page stays up because the videos are still the best free explanation of how he runs conjugate, and plenty of people arrive here looking for exactly that.
Can I run this without bands and chains?
The dynamic effort work is built around accommodating resistance, so you’d be running a noticeably different program without it. Straight weight at 40% to 65% for speed still has value, but the bar speed profile is the reason those percentages are what they are.
Is this a beginner program?
No. Conjugate assumes you already know which of your lifts is weak and can pick max effort variations accordingly, and it assumes you can move submaximal weight with intent. A beginner gets more from adding weight to the bar every session.
Where else can I find Brian’s work?
His YouTube channel and NEVERsate.
Updates
- Converted to the block editor, moved the two videos to the top where they belong given they’re the program’s actual instructions, and added an overview and FAQs. Both videos confirmed live. The neversate.com link was redirecting and now points at its current address. No new program specifics were added: the spreadsheet is gone at Brian’s request and the videos are the only source, so everything here was already on the page.
