Strength Training Articles

Conjugate Method Articles

Articles Tagged with Conjugate Method
How to Organize and Program a Training Day

How to Organize and Program a Training Day

At Westside, we understand that energy levels must be appropriately managed for a training day to be effective. This means that we select and organize exercises in a way that ensures the athlete performing the movements will have adequate energy to execute each exercise properly without missing any sets or reps. 

Thu Jan 30, 2025
Alternative Dynamic Effort Training Waves

Alternative Dynamic Effort Training Waves

The dynamic effort method is one of the three primary training methods featured within the...

Mon Jan 20, 2025
Common Conjugate Mistakes

Common Conjugate Mistakes

High-level sports performance requires an athlete to possess multiple strengths and skills to be successful. Knowing this, it makes sense that the most optimal training method would simultaneously train multiple strengths and abilities. If we want to build an athlete's strengths and skills in the most efficient manner, the Conjugate Method is the logical choice. 

Thu Jan 09, 2025
Basic Conjugate Training Advice X

Basic Conjugate Training Advice X

Lou's work will continue to be adopted on a mass scale. This is because the Conjugate Method is at the peak of effectiveness when fully developing all aspects of athletic performance. From absolute strength to speed training, the Conjugate Method provides a platform for the enlightened strength coach to prepare any athlete for any sport to the highest degree. 

Thu Dec 26, 2024
Conjugate for Wrestling: Max Effort

Conjugate for Wrestling: Max Effort

The maximal effort method is a strength training method used to improve absolute strength. The...

Tue Dec 17, 2024
Starting Conjugate: Standard Powerlifting Competition Strategy

Starting Conjugate: Standard Powerlifting Competition Strategy

For some, this may be considered common sense. However, I wanted to write this article to provide beginner—and intermediate-level lifters with information that could lead to fewer missed attempts and improved totals. Who knows, it may even help some of you "experts" out there. 

Tue Dec 10, 2024
Conjugate for Strongman: Max Effort Upper Exercise Selection

Conjugate for Strongman: Max Effort Upper Exercise Selection

The Conjugate Method not only helps improve strength but also allows athletes to become proficient in a variety of overhead press variations. In a sport like Strongman, where you never know what demands might be placed upon you in the next competition, this style of training only makes sense. 

Fri Nov 29, 2024
Workout Walkthrough: Combined DE 11/15/24

Workout Walkthrough: Combined DE 11/15/24

Overall, a solid training day. It's good to be back to squatting and benching relatively pain-free. 

Thu Nov 21, 2024
Solving Fatigue-Related Issues

Solving Fatigue-Related Issues

Proper management of training fatigue may be the most important aspect of strength training. While many focus on exercise selection, sets, repetitions, and overall program design, none of that matters if training fatigue is not kept in check. Aside from genetics, training fatigue management ultimately decides your response to and success with strength training. 

Tue Nov 12, 2024
Workout Walkthrough: Max Effort Upper

Workout Walkthrough: Max Effort Upper

I am now back at Westside Barbell training full-time and wanted to use this opportunity to provide more insight into how we train at the gym. These articles will feature training videos as well as brief explanations and opinions. Ideally, lifters will use these articles to compare notes or double-check the technique and execution of various exercises. 

Wed Nov 06, 2024
Westside Barbell Quadriceps Training

Westside Barbell Quadriceps Training

Be wary of anyone who tries to say the Conjugate Method needs to be improved or is lacking something. I have trained and followed the Conjugate Method for nearly 20 years and can confidently say that no other method compares when developing a total athlete. I can also assure you that we do not forget to train the quadriceps of the athletes we work with. 

Fri Oct 18, 2024
Basic Exercise Variation Management

Basic Exercise Variation Management

Exercise variation is an important component of effective strength and conditioning training. Over the years, Westside Barbell has demonstrated the ability of targeted exercise variation to deliver specific training adaptations. Whether working with strength or conventional sports athletes, we can always find a variation to further develop any athlete's strength and conditioning. 

Fri Oct 11, 2024
Basic Conjugate Training Advice IX

Basic Conjugate Training Advice IX

The Basic Conjugate Training Advice series of articles aims to provide insight into our mindset when programming and executing training at Westside Barbell. Ideally, these pieces of advice will bridge knowledge gaps and help individuals succeed with their Conjugate-based training plan. 

Fri Oct 04, 2024
Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Upper Walkthrough

Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Upper Walkthrough

Dynamic effort training is essential to our upper body training at Westside Barbell. It allows us to improve upper body explosive strength, leading to greater levels of pressing power. While this training has proven incredibly effective for strength athletes, it is also valuable for conventional sports athletes. 

Fri Sep 27, 2024
Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Lower Walkthrough

Starting Conjugate: Dynamic Effort Lower Walkthrough

The dynamic effort method can be confusing to the beginner. However, once you begin to understand why we do what we do, it becomes rather simple. The big idea is to move submaximal weights as fast as possible, with the training weights decided by percentages taken from current PR lifts. 

Fri Sep 20, 2024
Basic Conjugate Training Advice VIII

Basic Conjugate Training Advice VIII

Every year, some aspect of training is considered "new" by the strength and conditioning world at large. However, if you know Lou and Westside, you likely have heard of these "new" approaches to training ten or twenty years before you saw it on social media. Whether content creators know it or not, the ground they believe they just discovered has Lou's tracks all over it. 

Fri Sep 13, 2024
Accessory Exercise Training Strategies

Accessory Exercise Training Strategies

In the world of Conjugate, accessory exercises play a critical role. At Westside, we use accessory exercises to build strength, target specific weaknesses, increase work capacity, and improve overall physical composition. These exercises make up the bulk of our daily and weekly training volume. 

Thu Sep 05, 2024
Base Building: Introducing Specialty Barbells

Base Building: Introducing Specialty Barbells

Many believe that the phenomenon of "beginner gains" only happens for a short time, then an athlete should be satisfied with 5-10 lb PRs on their lifts each year. At Westside, we understand that while we may not be able to constantly improve at the same rate as a beginner, we can still use exercise variation and different training tools to maintain a rate of improvement that far surpasses 5-10 lb PRs once per year. 

Fri Aug 30, 2024
Base Building: Targeting Identified Weaknesses

Base Building: Targeting Identified Weaknesses

At Westside, we are always looking for a weak muscle group to improve. However, we do so sensibly after reviewing multiple days and weeks of training data. We do not begin adjusting training just because we had one bad day; we wait until we have multiple days and weeks of training data that clearly point to a specific muscular weakness. 

Fri Aug 23, 2024
MMA Strength and Conditioning

MMA Strength and Conditioning

The Conjugate Method has helped many fighters and athletes improve their sports performance. What makes our training methods so effective is our ability to adapt and build a program that cooperates with an athlete's practice schedule and properly develops all special strengths and athletic traits. When it comes to training athletes in the gym, the Conjugate Method is the ultimate training method.

Tue Aug 20, 2024