Most numerical simulations can reproduce both the macroscopic responses and the underlying failure patterns of quasi-brittle materials with reasonable accuracy. However, their ability to capture the rate at which these patterns evolve, such as the development of the Fracture Process Zone (FPZ) or shear bands, along with the macroscopic responses and the underlying failure patterns, remains questionable. Very high strain rates inside the FPZ and even extreme dynamic behaviour may occur under nominally quasi-static loading conditions due to the imbalance between the strain energy stored in the specimen and the dissipation capacity of an individual crack or shear band. Controlling the meso-scale dynamics enables obtaining reliable intrinsic properties under quasi-static conditions, and provides insights into the effect of strain rates on both strength and fracture behaviour. We present techniques for maintaining quasi-static conditions at the meso scale, allowing snap-back (reversal of both load and displacement during failure) to be captured and extreme dynamic failure to be avoided across a range of rock tests, including Brazilian and bending tests for tensile properties as well as uniaxial and triaxial compression tests. In parallel with these experiments, computational algorithms are developed to control and capture snap-back in numerical dynamic simulations, with the objective of regulating meso-scale strain rates and matching them to their experimental counterparts.