What is Conjugation Training?

Welcome to my brief guide to conjugate-style powerlifting, also referred to as “Westside.”

A Primer on Periodization

Periodization is how an athlete chooses to organize his or her training. It is a way for athletes to plan their changes in exercise selection, intensity, and volume over time. Macro-periodization refers to planning over a long period of time such as months or even years, while micro-periodization refers to planning over a shorter time period such as weeks or days. Further reading: A Simple Guide to Periodization for Strength Training | Breaking Muscle. There are many different types of periodization, but an increasingly popular one (and one that I use most frequently) is Conjugate Periodization.

A Brief History of Westside Training

Conjugate Periodization was brought to fame by Louie Simmons and his Westside Barbell System, which is best known for its exercise selection, periodization, and use of bands and chains. The only difference between Westside and Conjugate is that a proper Westside routine is done under the guidance of Louie Simmons at the Westside Barbell Gym in Columbus, Ohio. Dave Tate explains the Westside system best here: The Periodization Bible

So… What is Conjugate Training?

While most periodization schemes dedicate different blocks of training to different athletic qualities (i.e. one month for endurance, one month for size, one month for strength), A conjugate program trains many different athletic qualities at the same time. It develops absolute strength, speed, work capacity, and explosiveness simultaneously. The system made famous by Louis Simmons is a 4-day per week routine and includes two max effort sessions, one each for upper body and lower body; and two dynamic effort sessions, one each for upper body and lower body.

Max Effort Days

On max effort days you pick a lift and work up to a 1–3 (sometimes 5) rep max. You follow this up with a relatively heavy supplemental lift (i.e. something similar to the main lift that you know increases it) and assistance exercises focused on hypertrophy. I enjoy this type of training because the first exercise thoroughly primes your nervous system for the rest of the workout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rwfFmlpLWg

Dynamic Effort Day

Dynamic effort days are focused on speed. For upper body, a common thing to do is speed bench press for 8 sets of 3 with different grips. It is wise to start around 50% of your max (feel free to increase the weight as long as the bar is moving fast). The goal is to the move the bar as fast as possible. It is also common practice to occasionally work up to a heavy triple or single after speed work. This trains you to keep pushing a heavy weight even after your muscle fibers are fatigued. For lower body, you would do speed squats for 10 sets of 2 followed by speed deadlifts for singles.

Many lifters choose to use something called accommodating resistance, which means using equipment that makes a lift more difficult as you move through the concentric portion of the lift. Generally, this means using bands or chains. Accommodating resistance allows you to keep applying maximal force to accelerate the bar throughout the entire lift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_XEFLgP39M

Another variation that some lifters do for speed training is using plyometrics and explosive exercises. Plyometric pushups, push presses, power cleans, and different types of jumps are all great exercises for dynamic effort day. Watch one of my favorite athletes Terron Beckham take you through a few exercises that help you increase your vertical jump. You can incoporate some of these exercises on dynamic effort days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hPDUYPfOFA

Who Should Train Like This?

This type of training is a pretty popular choice for both collegiate and professional sports because it excels at quickly developing a total athlete. If you are training for a sport, only have a couple of months to gain strength and size, or simply want to give it a try, then I urge you to try it out. Here is another great resource for learning about conjugate training: The Conjugate Method for Powerlifting: A User’s Guide.