The Conjugate Method is a strength and conditioning operating system capable of solving any strength and conditioning-related problem. Whether an athlete needs to get bigger, stronger, faster, or improve their physical conditioning, the Conjugate Method can be applied successfully. As we often say at Westside, the only limitation to the Conjugate Method is the coach or athlete wielding the methods.
There is no doubt the Conjugate Method can be a bit confusing to the uninitiated. Our methods are rooted in Soviet and Bulgarian training methodologies, which require study and application to develop a full understanding. While many talk about Conjugate online, few truly understand the depth and breadth of the methods and foundational science behind them.
The Basic Conjugate Training Advice article series is intended to help expedite your understanding of our approach to training and ensure you have enough knowledge to apply the methods properly.
Here are a few pieces of advice that will help improve your training outcomes.
Build the Biceps
In the sport of powerlifting, the biceps are often ignored when it comes to bench press training. I remember years ago many powerlifters shared a belief that the biceps are for “show” while the triceps are for “go”. Meaning, the biceps will help you look like you lift, but they won’t necessarily help you execute your max effort bench press attempt.
This is incorrect. The biceps play a rather significant role in the powerlifting bench press.
During the eccentric phase of the bench press, the biceps contract and work to decelerate the barbell. This ensures that athletes do not drop the bar to the chest at a velocity that negatively affects positioning and technique. Without strong biceps, a lifter will lack the ability to decelerate the barbell in the most advantageous manner possible.
The biceps also help to stabilize the shoulders. Once the barbell is paused on the chest, the short head of the biceps, which is attached to the scapula, helps to support the shoulder joint. This stabilizes the shoulder joint, allowing the pecs and triceps to most optimally execute their role in the bench press.
As the concentric portion of the press begins, the biceps engage along with the triceps, known as antagonist co-activation. This prevents the elbow joint from hyperextending and helps keep the elbows in optimal position throughout the press. If the biceps are weak, optimal elbow positioning will be lost, and the triceps won’t be able to generate optimal force due to the instability.
At Westside, we train the biceps weekly during maximal and dynamic upper body work. We like to use exercises such as the hammer curl, dumbbell biceps curl, and different variations of supinated pulldowns and rows. These movements are typically executed for 3-4 sets of 10-12 or 12-15 reps.
Learn to Assess Weaknesses Properly
One of the biggest mistakes those new to our training approach make is becoming obsessed with weak point training. Unfortunately, it seems many in the world of strength and conditioning believe our exercise programming is totally dictated by current weaknesses, when this is absolutely not the case.
Do we address identified weaknesses? Absolutely. Do we base our entire training strategy on current identified weaknesses? Absolutely not.
First, we need to talk about how to diagnose a weak muscle or muscle group properly. Many believe that if they have an issue with locking out a max effort bench press, then the issue must be the triceps. What they fail to realize is that this could be a singular instance due to mismanaged technique, an issue with energy leading into the training session, or just a bad day.
To ensure you are making the correct programming decisions, you must collect enough data to validate the shift in programming. This means you notice a similar issue with a particular muscle, muscle group, or aspect of the lift over time. Typically, I wait at least a month before I begin adjusting exercise selection to address an identified weakness.
If the adjustment is made prematurely, it can potentially cause a chain reaction within the programming that limits progress. You begin eliminating certain movements or fail to adequately address all involved muscle groups because you believe the best immediate course of action is to shift the training towards aggressively attacking the weakness.
The correct approach is to make slight adjustments. If we know we have properly identified a muscular weakness, our first approach is to add an extra set or two to any exercise that involves that muscle or muscle group. If that fails to work, we will then add one or two exercises that help address the issue.
This approach ensures we are not solving one muscular weakness while creating new ones due to inadequate training.
Always a Way Forward
The Conjugate Method provides the coach and athlete with a training system that can essentially solve any strength and conditioning-related issue. Whether an athlete needs to get stronger, improve their rate of force development, increase their work capacity, or build muscle mass, we can develop a Conjugate-based approach to attain the goal efficiently.
One of the biggest mistakes those new to our methods make is becoming “copycats”. This means that instead of learning the science and logic behind the methods, these individuals try to copy a program. The problem is that the program is likely optimized for someone else.
Of course, we want anyone new to our methods to understand the basic template. However, this is just a template and training schedule; it is up to the individual to fill in the blanks and optimize their training. You can’t expect to copy someone else’s approach and have immediate success, especially if the program is tuned for a specific sport or used for an athlete with an advanced training age.
If you are a powerlifter, you don’t want to follow a Conjugate-based program built for a conventional sport athlete. If you’re new to powerlifting, you don’t want to copy a training plan designed for a lifter with 20 years in the sport. You need to know how to wield the methods to your advantage and create an optimized approach based on your current state and circumstances.
This is why Lou adamantly encouraged people to read. As you read, you begin to learn the foundational science and logic behind the methods and develop the skills necessary to build personalized training plans and troubleshoot accordingly.
If you don’t want to read, hire a coach who does. Knowledge is not only power, but it is pounds (or kilos) added to your total.
