The Westside Barbell Conjugate Training System is a strength and conditioning operating system that helps coaches and athletes improve performance in any sport or situation. Our three primary strength training methods, maximal, dynamic, and repeated effort, allow us to develop specific strengths and athletic traits. Unlike linear-based training plans, the Conjugate Training System allows you to develop strengths and skills concurrently.
The Conjugate Training System remains unparalleled in effectiveness and efficiency, as long as the training plan is programmed and executed properly. You’ll sometimes hear folks say, ‘If Conjugate is so effective, why do so few world champion powerlifters use it?’ Well, the truth is, many misunderstand the methods, while others already use parts and pieces of Conjugate.
The strength and conditioning world is finally realizing what we at Westside have always known: Louie is right. Many of the training approaches and opinions that so-called “experts” criticized years ago are now finally being recognized as incredibly forward-thinking and effective.
With this rise in recognition, you begin to see some in the strength and conditioning space halfway admit Lou is right, while saying particular aspects of our training approach need to be adjusted depending on the training population you are working with. What these individuals fail to realize is that that's exactly what the Conjugate Training System is: a system that can be adjusted based on the athlete(s) we are working with.
Instead of seeing our training approach as a system, they oversimplify it as a “program.” Often, these coaches have only begun to understand the basic training template and don't realize there are many other ways to structure and program a Conjugate Method training plan. So, in their mind, this is what the system is limited to: the basic template.
These individuals then fail to read Lou’s books, as well as the books Lou recommended, such as Supertraining, The Science and Practice of Strength Training, and Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches.
So, due to a lack of knowledge and insight, these coaches claim to “evolve” a system that has been evolving for nearly 50 years and has reached a point where it takes considerable experience and success to claim to evolve it.
Knowledge, Experience, Evolution
Louie Simmons dedicated his life to pursuing knowledge and building the most effective strength and conditioning training system possible. Lou was a world-class powerlifter, having totaled elite in five weight classes. Along with his success in sport, he trained his mind just as seriously, constantly reading and writing to improve as a strength and conditioning coach.
Over the years, Lou trained many different groups and athletes at Westside, starting in the 1970s and continuing into the 2020s. These training groups and athletes provided useful data as Lou continued to develop the Conjugate Training System. During these times, many different approaches were tried, refined, added, or discarded.
By the early 2000s, Lou had essentially built a comprehensive system able to be adapted to meet any athlete’s training needs. By then, he had developed the strongest gym on the planet and had significant experience working with collegiate and professional athletes. All of this success was achieved using the Conjugate Method as we know it today.
Something I often think about is how much ground Lou covered in that time.
When I talked about training with him, I often brought up ideas or thoughts I had. Almost always, Lou would describe an exact or similar idea/scenario seen previously at the gym, along with the athlete, their numbers, and the training outcomes from implementing whatever idea was being discussed.
Unless you have spent time around Lou, I think it can be difficult for some to understand how much knowledge and experience he possessed. Lou's dedication to the gym and strength and conditioning is unparalleled, and thinking any modern coach will correct his work is foolish.
As Lou once said to me, “I have taught you everything you know, but I have not taught you everything I know.”
The Supposed Need to Evolve Westside Barbell Squat Training
Today, raw powerlifting is the most common discipline in powerlifting. As many know, Westside Barbell has long been involved in geared powerlifting, which is why folks often make the mistake of thinking the methods need to evolve. Unfortunately, these folks believe our methods and exercise variations are ultra-specific to geared powerlifting.
This is not the case at all.
A common misunderstanding I see online is that the box squat is used at Westside because it somehow mimics the motor pattern of a geared squat. This assumption leads many to unfortunately believe that box squats either need to be eliminated from their training or modified for the raw powerlifter.
The truth is, we use the box to achieve both static and relaxed-overcome-by-dynamic work. The box lets us relax the hips like a seated box jump while keeping our torso static to maintain control of the barbell.
Going from relaxed and static states to a concentric muscle contraction allows for greater levels of force output and increased rate of force development. This training is an effective way to develop the lower body, whether you are training as a geared powerlifter, a raw powerlifter, or an athlete focused on conventional sports.
You’ll also hear folks criticize the Conjugate Method for frequent use of the box squat during dynamic effort training. These individuals believe that if you box squat weekly, you won't remain proficient in the competition-style squat. However, if you program effectively, this is no issue at all.
In our system, we have several options to stay proficient at the competition squat. First, we can use the competition squat as a max effort variation frequently. This means we can perform the competition squat 1-2 times per month, using deadlift and good morning variations in the other weeks.
We can also program submaximal squat work as a primary accessory exercise, working between 70-85% of an athlete’s current one-rep max. While this work isn't performed at a competition-relevant intensity, it is enough to keep us proficient at the competition squat.
Another criticism is that frequent band use creates a false sense of stability. We at Westside call this the grounding effect: the athlete begins to rely on the bands' stability, and their competition squat technique becomes less efficient.
In my opinion, this phenomenon is a bit exaggerated in how negatively it impacts competition movement proficiency. However, we still alternate between bands and chains wave to wave, so the athlete experiences overspeed eccentrics + accommodating resistance on one wave and just accommodating resistance on the other.
Because bands are the only form of accommodating resistance that provides an overspeed eccentric and accommodating resistance effect, I consider them superior to chains. Chains become the preferred form of accommodating resistance only when we execute a competition-style squat with accommodating resistance.
Free squatting against bands can wreak havoc on the hips and quads, since these muscle groups have to do a tremendous amount of work to decelerate the barbell when you use overspeed eccentrics without a box. Chains are best for free squats, while bands are better when squatting to a box.
You will see some coaches act like using chains during maximal effort or executing dynamic effort without a box is a revolutionary edit to our methods. In reality, these modifications have been used in the gym for decades.
Unnecessary Changes to Bench Press Training
Now, we will discuss the unnecessary edits some make to the Westside Barbell bench press training approach. As with the squat section, criticism of our bench press approach often centers on competition specificity. This often comes down to our use of dynamic effort bench press training.
I think most would agree the Westside Barbell bench press training approach is pretty much bulletproof. The system has created countless 500lb raw benchers, and many 600lb raw benchers. Beyond that, we have had gym members press 900 and even 1000lb+ in geared competition.
However, the raw powerlifting crowd often attacks the speed bench and questions whether it is effective. Then, when they do dynamic effort bench training, they pause the reps in the name of competition specificity. You’ll notice a recurring theme here.
Dynamic effort bench press is intended to be done in a ballistic manner. The idea is to reverse the direction of the barbell as rapidly as possible, without a pause. This improves the rate of force development and helps build reversal strength.
Again, this training approach is intended to develop specific strengths and traits, but because Westside competed in gear, coaches believe the methods have to change slightly so they can say they changed the system.
What these coaches don’t know is that we executed dynamic effort bench presses focusing on both static- and relaxed-overcome-by-dynamic work. However, athletes have achieved the best results when they focus on ballistic pressing without breaking up the eccentric/concentric chain.
If we need to get more proficient at pausing our bench press for competition, we can do so during maximal effort training. If we need more work, we can execute it as a primary accessory exercise, as we did with free squat training.
The Westside Barbell bench press approach has produced tremendous success in both geared and raw powerlifting. It does not need to be “fixed” by social media influencers.
Criticism of Exercise Variations and Specialty Bars
The final criticism of our training I will discuss concerns our use of exercise variations and specialty bars. You will often hear that if an athlete uses exercise variations and barbells that lack competition specificity, they will almost certainly lose skill and regress. Again, this is another common belief held by critics of the system associated with raw powerlifting.
First, the number of exercise variations and specialty bars in a training plan is up to the coach or athlete. You can develop exercise rotations with a high frequency of competition-specific movements while still using the Conjugate Method.
However, the fear that athletes will become less skilled at the competition movements by becoming proficient at many styles of that movement is a bit short-sighted. In our experience, the better an athlete becomes at all variations, the better they perform the competition-specific variations.
In my opinion, the athlete who can execute the squat, bench press, or deadlift at a high level using many different bars, motor patterns, and setups builds greater overall proficiency in the competition movements than the athlete who is only versed in the competition-style movement.
Exercise variations target different joint angles and aspects of the movements. Specialty bars place specific demands on different muscle groups. Using them together creates a powerful combination that helps athletes become brutally strong and adapt to the demands of competition-specific movements.
Again, to maintain competition-specific motor pattern proficiency, program the movement as a primary accessory exercise.
Don't rob yourself of the ability to create programming that directly addresses your weak points. Avoiding exercise variations and specialty barbells will only slow your progress.
False Prophets
In today's strength and conditioning world, everyone wants to be the next innovator. With the recent popularity our training style has gained, some will inevitably believe they are the ones who will take the methods to the next level. Oddly enough, these are often individuals who have little understanding of Conjugate or strength and conditioning science.
Whenever you see an influencer try to say they’ve come up with some new approach to the Conjugate Method, you can safely assume that Lou has likely covered that ground already. We have seen so many different athletes and situations in the gym that no scenario goes unaddressed within the system, particularly in powerlifting.
Any coach seeking to master the Conjugate Training System should focus on learning how to wield all aspects of the methods effectively. This means being able to see a path forward that uses all components of the system effectively.
With limited understanding, you can often be led into false eureka moments because you don’t know what you don’t know. That is why it is critical for any coach using the Conjugate Method to learn our gym's history and methods, as well as foundational strength and conditioning science.
Couple that knowledge with proper experience, and you will develop the ability to use our training system to address the athletic performance needs of any athlete you work with.
