Conjugate Training System: Westside Barbell

Conjugate Training System:

Brief overview on the History of the method;

Its a system were you constantly rotate exercises, first coined "conjugate system" in 1972. The programme was first ran at the Dynmo Weightlifting Club in the Soviet Union (now Russia). The system didn't have a name back then at the club, when it was first programmed they used 25-40 rotating exercises to a group of 70 qualified weightlifters. After a phase of training using this method they reviewed it and feedback from the weightlifters showed 69 wanted more exercises 1 was content with the programme.

Everyone was doing some form of conjugate training back then e.g. bodybuilders training at different gyms using different equipment.

An important point when running the conjugate system on the max effort days is if you handle weights at 90% or more for three weeks you will regress (quote by Louie Simmonds). This is why every three weeks you switch exercises on the training days so there will be no regression. The system allows athletes to max out most weeks 100% or more depending how far they are from a meet without burning themselves.

It is similar to the Bulgarian System (which I will do an article on), this system required their athletes to lift near max weights every day. Both systems want to beat their previous best but if they dont its not an issue try again next time. This conjugate system involving maxing out every week is one of the many reasons to why Westside Barbell is the strongest gym in the world. If you don't have a meet in 3 weeks you are maxing out with the guys and girls who do.

Your level of preparedness isn't what it should be for a contest you are still maxing out and your body only knows it is maxing out. From that your body will react to demands it is placed upon it and adapt (progressive overload principle). So if you train with heavy weights you will become a strong person.

Strength is measured in time not weight, a struggle is a struggle, if I have to fight you and you beat me up and if I had to fight you (different person) and you beat me up all I know is I got beat up twice (Louie Simmonds quote).

How the training looks

Over a week it will follow as;

Monday: Max Effort (lower body)
Wednesday: Max Effort (upper body)
Friday: Dynamic Day (lower body)
Saturday/Sunday: Dynamic Day (upper body)

Max Effort means work up to a one rep max on particular exercise so for lower days a 1RM squats, upper days 1RM bench press.

Dynamic day's training runs on  3 week pendulum wave (each 3 weeks you would change the exercise used). This only applies to the lower dynamic days not the upper. The Upper dynamic days follow

Lets use the Cambered Bar Squat as the exercise and base the percentages of its 1RM

1st Wave of Dynamic Lower Body would be

Week 1: 12 sets of 2 reps at 50% with 25% of chain or band (accommodating) resistance
Week 2: 12 sets of 2 reps at 55% with 25% of chain or band (accommodating) resistance
Week 3: 12 sets of 2 reps at 60% with 25% of chain or band (accommodating) resistance

If you don't have band's or chains you can start the 3 week wave with 75% of your 1RM for that particular exercise. It would look like this then;

Week 1: 12 sets of 2 reps at 75%
Week 2: 12 sets of 2 reps at 80%
Week 3: 12 sets of 2 reps at 85%

At Westside Barbell they always box squat on their dynamic lower body days. Any lower body exercise can work but squats are a preferred choice. One example would be doing front squat for 3 weeks, cambered bar next 3 weeks then using a regular bar the closer it gets to the competition.

Saturday/Sunday for Dynamic Upper body;

It will follow like this;

9 sets of 3 reps at 35% of your 1RM for a particular exercise plus 25% of band or chain (accommodating resistance). The main difference between the lower and upper body dynamic days is the upper body doesn't follow a 3 week wave like the lower body. Each week it changes exercises.

Remember no one can lift a heavy weight slow. You can only lift light weights lazy. Lifting heavy builds speed.

So below we have a layout of what 3 weeks of wave 1 Conjugate training system would look like this;

Conjugate Week Layout 1^st 3 weeks

 Monday                       Wednesday                      Friday                            Saturday

Lower Max Effort          Upper Max Effort               Dynamic Lower           Upper Dynamic

Cambered Bar Squat     Football Bar Bench Press    Parallel Box Squat      Floor Press

 1RM                                              1RM                                         12 sets of 2 @ 50%         9 sets of 3 @ 35%

                                                                                                          12 sets of 2 @ 55%          with 25% band or  

                                                                                                           12 sets of 2 @ 60%          chain resistance

                                                                                                          All using 25% band or

                                                                                                          chain resistance each

                                                                                                            session

Assistance Work (bodybuilding style 3 sets of 12 reps/ Repetition method)

The days which assistance exercise follow work the same muscles but each day use different exercises. For the glutes on Monday box squats may be used but on Friday the glute exercises may be kettlebell swings.

Glutes                                     Shoulders                Glutes                   Shoulders

Hamstrings                            Triceps                      Hamstrings                Triceps

Lower Back                         Chest                          Lower Back              Chest

Abdominals                          Upper back/Lats         Abdominals                Upper back/Lats

You will notice between each lower body session it is 72 hours which is for optimal recovery. 

I will be looking at Westsides Repetition method, Future method and the Bulgarian training method. 

References used

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u10SeIhQGwE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LGHtdkSc6o 

AnAndrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7 

Overcoming Injury and Preventing Injury

Injured....

That word which no athlete wants to hear. For the most part being injured comes from doing something externally controlled ratter than internally controlled.

Meaning you didn't have the control to stop it e.g breaking your leg skiing due to another skiing crashing into
You when you had stopped. We (for the most part) can control what is happening around us (internal control) such as preventing a muscle pull by doing a good warm up and performing the correct technique.

Athletes or anyone for that matter if an injury does happen it should only happen if its the following:

 It was a random occurrence  e.g I dropped a 20kg plate on my toe as I wasn't paying attention when loading the bar.

People make mistakes we are human but it's when people do stupid stuff then they will get injured. Such as:

- Performing the wrong technique week in week out

- Not following a programme

- Trying to max out every week and not letting their body rest/recover through adequate rest days or Deload periods.

- Not warning up or cooling down

- Training through an injury which hasn't recovered fully

- Eating the wrong foods/Eating poorly can affect your immune system which can lead to sickness then injuries.

So if you are like me you have been injured many times and recovered from them all. I often ask myself how did I get injured and for the most part (thankfully) my injures where externally controlled. I used to play rugby and being a contact sport injury was inevitable I broke my leg and dislocated shoulder.

All the muscle pulls/strains I have done previous where due not warming up. I have learned that now in hindsight.

Now I am a powerlifter and I have only injured myself once in the 2 years I have lifted (Minor pull doing German Volume Training). I wanted to put more muscle mass and in the process pulled my lat due to over exertion. Technique went out the window. Stupid error.

As the saying goes "We learn from our mistakes".

Hopefully for those reading your mistakes are only a handful not many.

So let's say you are injured 10-12 weeks out. You will feel annoyed, disheartened, sad etc. I have been there many of times and each time is just the same feeling of "Why me?"

I have come back from all my injures and so can you if you do the following.

- Stay Positive don't let the injury get you in dumps. You can come back from any injury only if you have the mindset. Being injured just takes time to recover from. Your mind is your ally you will recover quicker of you believe you can.

- Being Injured use it as an opportunity. By this I mean if you have injured your upper body work on your lower body make a weakness a strength during the time period of recovery for your injury. Don't sit idle.

- Try many rehab methods. Some people respond better to different methods of recovery. Get deep tissue massages from a sports therapist, acupuncture, yoga and Pilates etc. All great methods for improving your health by de stressing yourself removing knots and bumps in your muscles.

- Drink lots of water. May sound silly bit good body is made up of it (70% to be precise). When you are dehydrated you lose concentration and are more likely to make errors. Being hydrated you won't make these errors. Errors lead to injury.

- Talk to someone who has had a similar injury to you. This can give you an insight on their road to recovery and what they did.

- Get a Physio to create rehabilitation programme for you. This will be your quickest way to getting back to full fitness as this is their area of expertise.

- When you aren't training don't get your body into awkward/uncomfortable positions. As this will cause you to pull something.

-Lift with your legs not with your back is self explanatory.

- Keep warm when training, wear appropriate clothing when training to keep your muscles warm. Preventing injuries is very easy by staying warm.

- Last but not least warm up and cool down.

I hope the points I have provided will help you out in the future.


Guys I have my own Facebook Page where I put up my training videos and other educational posts. Give it a like, share

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7 

How to Avoid Injury and Promote Recovery

As the title states this article will be discussing ways to avoid injury and to promote recovery before,
during and after training. Some are the things I do myself and some are other methods.

Lets look at them (these are not done in any particular order);

Ice baths/Ice packs/Cold Showers/The Sea: After a heavy weights session, strenuous activity which
you know DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) will occur. It is best to get a cold shower, go into
the sea or an ice bath or ice the worked muscle. This cold treatment what it does causes the muscles
blood vessels to contract flushing the waste products out and pumping blood back in with nutrients
to start the recovery process. By doing cold treatments after training your recovery time will speed
up (i have found this) as the muscle with your post workout meal and cool down routine is but back
into its ore exercise state very quickly, so the recovery process can start. Here is ulster rugby team
using there hydro pool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PbBbTlpwdA

Not everyone will have a hydropool so use your bath fill with ice/get a cold shower/ go to the sea/ 

ice pack the worked out area this will get the same effect.

Compression clothing: Is designed to either keep u warm or cool. Since its a tight fit material it helps 

remove sweat or retain heat. It also helps to keep muscles aligned correctly to avoid injury. I use 

compression clothing when doing leg sessions as I want to keep warm during a workout which 

involves a large group of muscles. 

Sports massage: I get one of these every 4/5 weeks to just loosen my body up from all the training. 

Sports massage reduces inflammation and swelling of a muscle. It is best used after training or the 

day before a competition so you get a good nights sleep as you are feeling relaxed. 

Active recovery: After your training session you should gradually bring down your heart 

rate/ventilation rates by doing some form of light continuous (low intensity work) e.g. 5 mins on the 

exercise bike. This could also be an active recovery session such as doing a low intensity workout (30 

mins on the exercise bike ). Active recovery could also be called a de load week. 

Warm up: Extremely important as it raises heart rate, breathing rate, increases body temperature, 

starts sweat response, heat production, warms muscles up, increases range of motion, flexibility 

increased, synovial fluid production at the joint increased, alertness increased. The list goes on... 

It seems stupid not doing a warm up when about to do training or an event as you will most likely 

get injured and be out for a long time. 

Cool down: As important as the warm up is. A cool down is needed to bring the body back to its pre 

exercise state. Same as active recovery a lower intensity of continuous activity to remove lactic acid 

and increase EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption). During the cool down is when you can do 

your stretching so you can increase your ROM (Range of Motion) as the muscles are warm from the 

training. 

Stretching: Should be done primarily after training when you are warm to increase flexibility but can be done before in the warm up and during to keep yourself loose and relaxed. There are many types 

if stretching, Static, Dynamic, Ballistic, PNF (Propreoception Neuromuscular Facilitation ) etc each 

with their own purpose for specific sports. Dynamic and PNF the best. 

Foam rolling: This could come under a form of stretching but I think it deserves its on sub title. If you don't have a foam roller/rumble roller then get one. The term used with foam rolling is self-myofascial release. This simply means it helps remove knots and tight sports with the muscle tissue. I find doing this for 10-15 mins really helps out my workouts before, between sets and after my workout. It does hurt a bit the first few times but you get used to it.

Pre/Post workout food: without good nutrition our body will not recover from the training we put ourselves through. Protein before and after workouts, a multivitamin (use it as an insurance policy), cod liver oil for joints, zinc for your immune system and creatine to replenish phosphocreatine stores. Be hydrated all the time, being dehydrated can make your performance suffer. Fuel your workouts by eating carbohydrates for high intensity workouts and to refuel after training to replace glycogen stores which have been used. 

Form/ Technique: Learn the correct form for the movement and once learned move up the weight and try different varieties of it. Without good form you will increase the chances of getting an injury. Now if you where to round your back during a 3RM front squat don't panic, that's okay as you aren't always going for a 3RM front squat. Now if your rounded your back everytime you front squatted then you are begging to get an injury.

When I said do different varieties of the movement this builds up different skills and strengthens different planes of motion. It strengthens different grip positions/feet positions which I turn when going back to the original movement you will find it easier. That's my opinion, I do front squats, box squats and Bulgarian split squats to improve my back squats.

Supports: This maybe a more personal point, I have been watching a lot of Olympic weightlifting videos and powerlifting videos. What I am seeing in common is they either wear knee sleeves, bandages on their shins or knees, wraps or a combo of some of them. I am trying out them at the minute to see whats the fuss is about, personally knee sleeves don't add support (unless a size smaller than normal) but only keep my knees warm.

Chalk: get chalk it's cheap and it will prevent a torn callus. A torn callus is not a pleasant thing. Chalk is used by weightlifters, powerlifters, gymnasts and throwers as it gives them so much grip.

I do recommend a good weightlifting belt to protect your lower back when lifting max weights but use it sparingly. Try and use it little as possible so your core doesn't rely on it so you develop a very strong mid section. In my sport I need it but if I was telling someone to squat/deadlift I wouldn't let them use it unless its a max effort 1 rep.

Wrist straps very good for taking off the pressure from the wrists especially when over head pressing and doing cleans.

Here is Dimitri Klokov a Russian weightlifter he uses two back supports, wrist straps and bandages for his knees when he is training. In his other videos he shows the camera his two belts, which are Velcro based. He wears them under his tops.

http://youtu.be/v9N9q3-qynI

I hope you liked this, just my opinion on how to reduce your chance of getting injured as it is soul destroying getting injuried. I've broken my leg, dislocated my shoulder twice, broke my forearm in 2 places and displaced a growth plate in my wrist. All good now no injuries to date (touch wood).

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7