The Conjugate Method training structure seeks to consistently improve multiple strengths and athletic traits simultaneously. This is tremendously beneficial for the conventional sports athlete, given the limited time they often have to spend in the gym. When our athletes are in the gym training, we want to ensure we are delivering the most effective and efficient training plan possible. 

The repeated effort method plays a significant role in this process. Each training day, athletes will perform specific exercises according to the parameters of repeated effort training. This is what is referred to as accessory exercise training. 

At Westside, we utilize accessory exercises to improve the strength and physical composition of our athletes. These movements focus on building specific muscles and muscle groups involved in sport-related tasks and can be selected to address weaknesses identified throughout the training process.

However, to ensure this work is productive, coaches and athletes must understand how to rotate these movements effectively. If exercises are performed for an extended duration, accommodation sets in, and the movements become less effective. If movements are performed too infrequently, they can become ineffective because athletes lack the competency to execute them.

Below, we will review the basic Westside Barbell accessory exercise rotation strategies we employ when working with conventional sports athletes.

Option 1: Three-Week Accessory Exercise Rotation

One thing that is commonly misunderstood about the Westside Barbell approach to training is the frequency with which we rotate our accessory work. Many believe that we are constantly adding new movements into the mix, and failure to do so results in less effective training. When in reality, the opposite is true. 

Can we add new movements into the mix frequently? Yes. However, our exercise rotation strategy will always depend on the athletes we are working with and their level of barbell training experience. 

When working with conventional sports athletes, it is common to encounter athletes with no barbell training experience. In this case, we want to introduce basic exercises to both build exercise competency and achieve the most significant amount of adaptation through simple variations. 

If an athlete has little to no training experience, we will focus on basic, old-school bodybuilding-style movements, mixed with a few Westside-style exercises.

We will then keep these movements in place on their designated training day for up to 3 weeks. This accomplishes the goal of building competency through basic exercises and ensures athletes get the most return on their time invested in training.

For these athletes, the first week serves as an introduction to the movement, while the second and third weeks allow them to execute it more productively and with heavier training weights. Essentially, we teach the movement in the first week, then focus on finding appropriate training weights in weeks two and three.

This approach helps make training more effective and keeps injury rates very low. Athletes build the competency necessary to execute each movement effectively, and they have time to find appropriate training weights to set benchmarks from.

If we were to allow only athletes new to barbell training one shot at getting an exercise right per month, there is a good chance movement quality would suffer, or training weights would be inappropriate. Or, in a worst-case scenario, athletes will select an inappropriate training weight and perform the movement with poor technique. 

With the three-week rotation, athletes have the time needed to develop a proper understanding of the assigned exercises. They can also progress their training weights in the safest manner possible. 

Option 2: Weekly Rotation

As athletes become more experienced in the gym, we can introduce a more advanced approach to accessory exercise rotation. This is when we can begin rotating accessory exercises weekly. The weekly rotation is beneficial because it allows us to introduce a variety of stimuli into the training equation. 

As athletes gain barbell training experience, increasing the frequency of accessory exercise rotation can help ensure training remains productive and avoid issues related to exercise accommodation. At this point in the training process, athletes have experienced a variety of maximal, dynamic, and repeated effort movements, so we don’t need to worry as much about exercise and movement competency. 

Additionally, athletes have a good idea of their training weights, so we do not have to worry about poor execution caused by improperly selected weights. 

It is critical to understand that, even when following a weekly rotation, some exercises will be included on a near-regular basis. For example, we will execute movements such as Reverse Hypers and sit-ups every week. However, to add variety, we can change the Reverse Hyper to include band resistance or transition our bodyweight sit-up training to weighted resistance. 

This is also the point in training where we will become more concerned with addressing identified weaknesses. When athletes are new to training, we know that nearly all involved muscle groups will be weak to some degree, so we seek to balance exercise selection to ensure these muscle groups are appropriately trained. 

However, with more experienced athletes, we can begin to accurately identify weak muscle groups and address them as needed with appropriate movements. 

For instance, an athlete with weak triceps may see a steady rotation of rolling dumbbell extensions, JM presses, and cable pressdowns. Will we only focus on triceps movements? Of course not, but if the triceps are weak, we will ensure that at least 2 of our upper-body accessory movements address the issue. 

The strategy is simple: avoid getting so obsessed with weaknesses that you neglect all other involved muscle groups, but always ensure weaknesses are addressed aggressively.

As time goes on, and different rotations and exercise combinations are utilized, coaches and athletes will begin to notice the training adaptations associated with specific exercises. From there, we will frequently rotate through exercises we deem most effective and limit the use of those that do not provide as much benefit.

Overall, our goal when rotating accessory exercises weekly is to provide adequate stimulus with the most effective exercises for each athlete. 

Keep It Sensible 

No matter which accessory exercise rotation strategy you choose, the key is to keep the exercise selection sensible and relevant to the sport the athlete is preparing for. 

For instance, we do not want a conventional sports athlete to follow a biceps training plan similar to that of a professional bodybuilder. Still, we also want to ensure the biceps are trained to support sport-related tasks and are resilient to the demands of the sport. 

Also, we want to ensure we do not introduce so many exercises that it becomes difficult to see which exercises are most and least effective. We want to keep our accessory exercise selection strategy sensible to allow for reliable data to be extrapolated from the training process on a weekly and monthly basis. 

If there is no strategy in place and exercises are randomly selected, training becomes a jumbled mess. 

Ideally, we want to manage our accessory exercise selections so we can identify which movements are most and least effective. From there, we can hone in on specific movements that the athlete responds best to and modify them to keep them in the rotation while avoiding accommodation.

Suppose we find an athlete who responds well to the Romanian deadlift. In that case, we may perform a typical Romanian deadlift as accessory work during week one, a Dimel-style deadlift during week two, and Jefferson curls during week three. Different movements to some degree, but similar enough to where we know the athlete will likely respond well to the training. 

The key to effective accessory exercise training is the proper evaluation of the athlete. We want athletes to follow training strategies that match their current experience level and to select exercises that they respond to best. When this level of specificity is achieved, training will be highly productive.