Accessory Training Articles

The development of a strong posterior chain is a necessity for all athletes. Whether an athlete is focused on strength or conventional sports, a strong posterior chain will increase force output, improve stability, and enhance durability. A critical aspect of posterior chain development is strengthening the muscle groups responsible for supporting the spine.

Tue Mar 05, 2024

The raw bench press can be demanding lift in both strength and technique. Having all associated muscle groups adequately trained ensures the athlete can complete the lift successfully and has the durability necessary to withstand the demands of both training and competition. 

Mon Jan 15, 2024

Accessory exercise training makes up a considerable amount of our overall weekly training volume. At Westside, we follow a training rule called the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80% of our training volume will be made up of accessory exercises intended to further improve strength, increase muscle mass, and target weak muscle groups. On each training day, we will select as few as two or as many as five to six accessory exercises to accomplish these training goals.

Mon Oct 23, 2023

During each lower body training day, we will perform accessory exercises immediately after the main lift(s). These exercises are intended to directly target the muscle groups of the lower body to improve strength, muscle mass, and work capacity. As an athlete, the end goal is to use these exercises to become stronger overall, resulting in increased strength in the squat, bench, and deadlift, along with improved athletic performance.

Sat Sep 23, 2023

Without appropriately selected accessory exercises, athletes risk current weaknesses becoming exacerbated while increasing the likelihood of injury as time passes. As we know, weak things break, and weak muscles become strained or torn if not sufficiently addressed.

Wed Jun 28, 2023

Whether you are a professional athlete or a hobbyist who enjoys weight training, all humans can benefit from improving the strength of the muscle groups that comprise the torso. Anatomically speaking, these muscle groups are collectively referred to as the trunk muscles. When people hear the term "trunk," they often think of the abdominal muscles. However, the trunk includes both anterior and posterior muscle groups.

Sun Apr 23, 2023

When most people think of the Conjugate Method, two training methods come to mind, max...

Mon Dec 26, 2022

It's no secret that if you want to be capable of pressing heavy weights on the bench or overhead press, you will need to increase your triceps' strength. The triceps play a significant role in all pressing movements, considering their involvement in elbow extension. It's easy to understand; a lack of tricep strength will limit your ability to extend the elbow, leading to failed sets and reps when training at high levels of volume or intensity.

Sat Dec 03, 2022

It is now week four of the four-week bench press PR program, and it is time to establish a new bench press PR single. Over the past three weeks, we have worked at different levels of volume and intensity while challenging our press strength and technique using exercise variation. Now it is time to see if the work we have put in will pay off as expected. 

Tue Nov 29, 2022

It is now week three of the four-week bench press PR program, and it is time to change up the angle of the press. We have focused on pressing from the flat position for the past two weeks. This week, we will focus on pressing from the incline position. This will allow us to place emphasis on the pecs and shoulder muscles, as well as the triceps. 

Sun Nov 20, 2022

The success of your Conjugate Method programming will depend on your ability to properly regulate three aspects of training: intensity, volume, and frequency. All three play a significant role in deciding whether or not you will attain the training goals you have in mind when designing your programming.

Thu Nov 17, 2022

Ideally, an athlete should be rolling into the training week feeling adequately recovered and ready to handle some heavy weights. This week, we will work up to our first max-effort single attempt of the four-week PR training plan. This week will test an athlete's most significant weakness in the bench press.

Sat Nov 12, 2022

As you accumulate training time, you may reach a point you cannot consistently hit a PR lift when you train a max-effort exercise.

Fortunately, this is not that big of an issue. The intention of max-effort training is to lift the heaviest weight possible, with the goal being to recruit the greatest number of motor units possible. By achieving maximal motor unit recruitment, we can improve absolute strength, eventually leading to a new PR lift being established.

Fri Nov 04, 2022

As an athlete new to the Conjugate Method, it is vital that you understand how to organize your training days properly. The organization of the training week is simple; max-effort lower on Monday, max-effort upper on Wednesday, dynamic-effort lower on Friday, and dynamic-effort upper on Saturday. You don’t have to train on those exact days, but you must maintain the timespan between each training day for recovery to remain optimal. 

Mon Oct 31, 2022

The giant cambered bar is one of the most effective training tools a gym can have in its arsenal of specialty barbells. What makes this bar so valuable is its emphasis on the posterior chain, significantly improving the strength of the back, glutes, hamstrings, hips, and trunk. If you want to take your squats, deadlifts, jumps, and sprints to the next level, you should use the giant cambered bar for max effort, dynamic effort, and repetition effort work.

Wed Oct 26, 2022

At Westside, we have a few different ways we go about training the triceps. To maximize your results, you must train the triceps in a few different ways to improve strength, size, and muscular endurance. Effective tricep training includes more than a few sets on the cable press-down machine after your main exercise. 

Fri Oct 14, 2022

It’s simple; if you want to become as strong as possible, you must have a strong trunk. Without the ability to create a strong brace, you will miss lifts or experience a lower back injury that forces you to take time off. If you have a weak trunk, it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong.

Fri Oct 07, 2022

In almost any sport, your hands are the first point of contact for the device used to play the sport. Whether you’re a weightlifter gripping a barbell, a golfer gripping a club, a basketball player securing a rebound, or a wide receiver catching a pass, having strong hands and forearms can be a great benefit.

Sat Oct 01, 2022

The incline bench press is one of the most effective upper body exercise variations you can perform to develop the chest, shoulders, and triceps. At Westside, it is not uncommon to see athletes performing various incline bench press exercises using barbells and dumbbells.

Tue Sep 27, 2022