The key to success with exercise variations is to maximize the benefits of the basics before progressing to more advanced exercises. Doing so allows athletes to build strength, coordination, and competency in foundational barbell, dumbbell, and machine exercises before progressing to more complex exercises. This sets athletes up for consistent success in the weight room and helps to reduce injury risk due to incompetence or mismanaged training.
The Conjugate Method also provides many options in terms of training strategy and approach. While many training methods rely on rules, Conjugate is based on parameters, leaving room for coaches or athletes to adjust training to best suit their needs, depending on current circumstances. Part of what makes our training approach great is the ability to devise creative solutions and optimize training on the fly.
The standard Conjugate Method template calls for four training days per week, consisting of two maximal effort days and two dynamic effort days. Heavy effort training is a training approach that can be used in place of maximal effort training. This is because these two approaches focus on developing absolute strength.
The ability to consistently track progress and collect relevant training data is two aspects of the Conjugate Method that are most beneficial to the coach or athlete. Each week, we can obtain a real-time estimate of an athlete's absolute strength, explosive power, work capacity, and conditioning level.
Accessory work offers the opportunity to increase strength and work capacity while also helping to improve overall physical composition. Currently, you see a trend among powerlifting coaches preaching the importance of hypertrophy-focused accessory work, similar to what might be considered bodybuilding. Westside has been doing this for over 40 years.
Building a strong trunk is a crucial aspect of enhancing athletic performance. Regardless of whether an athlete is focused on conventional or strength sports, training the muscles that comprise the trunk must be prioritized every week. A strong trunk enables athletes to stabilize their spine, hips, and pelvis properly, resulting in lower injury rates and enhanced athletic performance.
Now that we have worked through the last three weeks of training, we are at the point where we will attempt to establish a new PR lift in the barbell squat. While the previous three weeks will allow us to show up on this day in a properly recovered state, we still want to ensure our training day energy management is dialed in to reach the top set with sufficient energy to hit a new PR.
The week before a planned PR attempt is what I refer to as the setup week. This is the week when we will select an exercise that allows us to train to a proper maximal effort while limiting the overall accumulated fatigue. In situations where we are seeking to achieve a PR in the squat or deadlift, good morning variations the week prior make the most sense.
At Westside, we are no strangers to exercise variation. Our training plans are constantly changing to ensure our athletes get the most out of their time in the gym without risk of accommodation. With athletes having only so much time to train, we cannot afford to get lazy with our programming and reduce the rate of improvement.
Advice for beginner-level athletes to help assist in making the correct choices when selecting barbell training weights. Learn the importance of training volume, technique development, and a simple strategy to help accelerate progress.
Time is valuable, especially in the gym. Whether an individual is focused on strength or conventional sports, it is important to ensure that training allows for improvement as efficiently as possible. This is what max effort offers: improvement in absolute strength in the most efficient manner possible.
While the standing good morning movements target the upper and lower portions of the posterior chain, the seated good morning exercise focuses on developing the lower, mid, and upper back and trunk. The primary focus is the improvement of spinal erector and trunk strength, with other muscles such as the hip flexors, rhomboids, lats, and mid/lower traps also being involved.
An athlete's grip strength will dictate their success with the deadlift. Unlike the squat or bench press, where the weight is loaded onto the body, the deadlift requires an athlete to lift the barbell off the ground. Without proper grip strength training, athletes risk slowing their deadlift progress.
Accessory exercises are a significant part of Conjugate Method training. Each training day, 20% of our volume will come from our main exercise, while the remaining 80% will include accessory exercises. Our strategy is to use these exercises to resolve identified weaknesses and bring up lagging muscle groups so the selected accessory movements can vary from athlete to athlete.
When combined with other back exercises, such as barbell rows and cable pulldowns, shoulder shrug variations will help ensure the back is properly trained. This attention to detail will lead to direct improvements in the competition lifts when training the mid and upper back. Whether squatting, benching, or deadlifting, the mid and upper back play a crucial role in completing the lift.
While exercise selection certainly plays a role in accessory exercise training success, the most critical aspect of this training is how the sets and reps are programmed. Appropriate set and rep programming selections will dictate the training adaptations that occur and, when selected correctly, can lead to significant increases in training efficiency.
One type of back exercise we often include is the chest-supported row. While there are many variations of chest-supported rows, the idea behind the exercise is generally the same. Our goal is to limit the amount of momentum achieved using excess leg or torso movement, which places greater emphasis on the mid and upper back along with the rear delts to do much of the work.
A proper speed bench workout comes down to execution and programming. Execution is most important, considering the intent at which each rep is performed is what separates dynamic effort training from repeated effort training. Additionally, athletes must develop proper form to ensure injury does not occur when training at higher velocities.
Unlike other approaches to powerlifting, we do not exclude exercises due to a lack of specificity. We understand that the greatest level of training specificity is when the exercise selection and programming directly match the athlete's current needs. There is much more to specificity than the use of competition-relevant equipment.
