It has been said that there are more useful training methods than the Conjugate Method when dealing with athletes new to barbell training. There is a belief that when an athlete is new to barbell training, the only sensible way to train is to use linear-based periodization with blocks dedicated to developing a single aspect of strength and athleticism. This belief is untrue and is often perpetuated by individuals unfamiliar with or opposed to the Conjugate Method.

Over the last few years, we have put together a series of articles called the Base Building series. These articles cover the basics of using the Conjugate Method to train beginner-level athletes and provide programming strategies to assist all coaches or athletes new to Conjugate. This article aims to tie all previous articles together by demonstrating a typical base-building training week from a programming and strategy perspective.

Why should an athlete use the Conjugate Method when a beginner-level trainee can make gains using a linear-based plan? The answer is efficiency. It has been our experience that athletes new to barbell training who utilize Conjugate-based training make gains in strength and performance at a faster rate than those using a phase-based approach. 

Instead of focusing on only one aspect of strength in each phase, Conjugate Method training focuses on developing multiple special strengths and athletic traits simultaneously. Whether an athlete is a complete beginner or experienced with barbell training, Conjugate-based training plans will always improve athletes at a superior rate than linear-style training plans. 

Below, we will review how to properly implement a Conjugate Method training plan when working with a beginner-level athlete. 

The First Three Weeks

Before beginning the Base Building Basic Training Template, we must evaluate initial strength levels and ensure the athlete understands how to execute all programmed exercises. The goal of this training is to get a basic understanding of the athlete's upper and lower body strength and movement capabilities using a three-week training wave. While three weeks is an acceptable period of time for most athletes, some individuals may require extended periods of introductory training. 

During the first week, the athlete will train four times per week, all sessions being repeated effort focused. The goal of this week is to accumulate reps at low to moderate levels of training intensity to gain a basic understanding of motor patterns and movement skills. Two training days will focus on lower body main exercises, while the other two will evaluate upper body strength. 

Here is what week one will look like:

Monday - Repeated Effort Lower (Squat)

Barbell Squat - 5 x 10, 8, 6, 3, 3 reps

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Wednesday - Repeated Effort Upper (Bench Press)

Barbell Bench Press - 5 x 10, 8, 6, 3, 3 reps

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Friday - Repeated Effort Lower (Deadlift)

Deadlift - 5 x 10, 8, 6, 3, 3 reps

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Saturday - Repeated Effort Upper (Overhead Press)

Barbell Overhead Press - 5 x 10, 8, 6, 3, 3 reps

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

When programming the accessory exercises, we will most often perform a relevant multi-joint movement for accessory A while following up with single-joint movements for our final two accessory exercises. On lower body training days, accessory C is often an abdominal exercise.

Going into the second week, we will follow a similar programming scheme as the week before, but we will begin to lower the main movement volume to allow the training intensity to rise a bit. This will help evaluate absolute strength and movement competency, given the increased demand placed on the athlete. During this week, it is important that coaches or athletes shut the main exercise down as soon as a moderate breakdown in technique occurs. 

Here is what week two will look like:

Monday - Repeated Effort Lower (Squat)

Barbell Squat - work up to a top set of three reps. Take small jumps to accumulate more sets. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Wednesday - Repeated Effort Upper (Bench Press)

Barbell Bench Press - work up to a top set of three reps. Take small jumps to accumulate more sets. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Friday - Repeated Effort Lower (Deadlift)

Deadlift - work up to a top set of three reps. Take small jumps to accumulate more sets. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Saturday - Repeated Effort Upper (Overhead Press)

Barbell Overhead Press - work up to a top set of three reps. Take small jumps to accumulate more sets. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

The accessory exercise selections made in week two should differ from week one. We want to include exercises that are most often programmed during a regular training cycle that weren't selected in the week prior. 

Week three is a testing week, where we will attain the data necessary to begin a Conjugate Method Base Building training plan properly. During this week, athletes will work up to regulated max-effort singles to establish an estimated max to both set goals during max-effort training and find working weights when executing percentage-based training. The goal of this week is to collect data without risking injury to the athlete.

To ensure the risk of injury is low, coaches or training partners must properly evaluate athletes during this final introductory training week. The goal of each training day during the third week will be to work up to a top set single rep in the main exercise around or slightly above 90% capacity. We will end the exercise once we reach the point where the set is a bit of a struggle, and there were some manageable technical breakdowns.  

Coaches and athletes should remain vigilant and manage each main exercise properly. We are not here to prove anything regarding current ability; we are merely collecting training data to help facilitate optimal training as we transition to the Base Building training plan.  

Here is what week three will look like:

Monday - Squat Test Day

Barbell Squat - work up to a top set single. Shut the exercise down once 90%+ has been achieved. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Wednesday - Bench Press Test Day 

Barbell Bench Press - work up to a top set single. Shut the exercise down once 90%+ has been achieved.  

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Friday - Deadlift Test Day

Deadlift - work up to a top set single. Shut the exercise down once 90%+ has been achieved.  

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Saturday - Overhead Press Test Day

Barbell Overhead Press - work up to a top set single. Shut the exercise down once 90%+ has been achieved. 

Accessory A

Accessory B

Accessory C

Once again, we will select accessory exercises commonly occurring during the Base Building plan that have not been performed over the last two training weeks. 

Once the third week of training has been completed, most athletes will be properly educated on the basics of common exercise execution and established baseline levels of strength for their repeated and max-effort training. If a coach is competent, these three weeks will have provided plenty of insight to deliver worthwhile Conjugate base-building training to the athlete. 

Keep in mind that by the third week of training, there will undoubtedly be some accumulated fatigue that will affect the outcomes of the test lifts. Most athletes will likely test under their true capability. However, this will play in their favor, considering initial max effort expectations and repeated effort working weights will certainly be manageable. 

Base Building Training Week Walkthrough

Now that we have completed the initial three-week training introduction, we can move on to the actual base-building training plan. The focus of the Base Building training template is simple: increase absolute strength, enhance work capacity, and improve overall physical composition. This plan can be used short-term (10-16 weeks) or long-term (1-3 years), depending on the athlete's ability level and training needs. 

Each training day will feature a main exercise, followed by a battery of accessory exercises to build strength and muscle mass further. Exercise selection should remain reasonably basic. The main movements will focus on basic exercise variations of the squat, bench, and deadlift, while the accessory training should focus on building all involved muscle groups properly. 

Considering many weaknesses are present during the beginning stages of training, we are concerned with proper training of all involved muscle groups instead of targeted training based on assessed weak points. 

Athletes executing the base-building plan should always make smart and safe choices while training. We want to focus on stacking PR lifts without missing them, particularly with max effort. With beginner-level athletes, we want to avoid taking any risks during max-effort training to avoid missed lifts and keep training productive. 

Now, we will cover a walkthrough of the four Base Building training days.

Monday - Max Effort Lower

When performing max effort lower training, athletes will choose basic variations of the squat and deadlift. This means exercises such as the barbell squat, front squat, conventional deadlift, and sumo deadlift, along with some specialty barbell work such as the SSB or giant cambered bar. 

Each ME lower training day aims to work up to a top-set single that exceeds 90% intensity. As long as an athlete consistently achieves that goal, absolute strength will rapidly improve. 

Here is an example of a Base Building ME lower training day:

Main Exercise

Conventional Deadlift - work up to a top set single

Accessory Exercises

Barbell Squat - 4 x 8-10

Hamstring Curl - 3 x 10-12

Reverse Hyper - 4 x 15-20

Sit-Ups - 4 x 15-20

Forward Sled Pull - 10 trips, 40-60 yds per trip, moderate sled weight.  

As you can see, we keep the exercise selection basic. The main exercise is a simple conventional deadlift, followed by sensible accessory exercises to help improve strength and technical execution. 

You'll notice I selected the barbell squat as the first accessory exercise of the training day. This is to accumulate reps with a main movement during accessory work to better acclimate the athlete to the movement. If the main movement had been a squat, I would have selected a deadlift exercise as the first accessory movement performed. 

Wednesday - Max Effort Upper

Max effort upper will focus on executing high-intensity bench and overhead press variations. We will often select movements such as the bench press, close grip bench press, incline bench press, floor press, push press, or strict press. The goal is to work up to a top set single at or exceeding 90% without missing a rep or risking injury. 

Like our ME lower training day, we will perform our main exercise and follow up with accessory exercises. 

Here is an example of a Base Building ME upper training day:

Main Exercise

Close Grip Bench Press - work up to a top set single

Accessory Exercises

Incline Bench Press - 4 x 8-10

Barbell Row - 4 x 10-12

Rolling DB Tricep Extension - 4 x 10-12

Hammer Curl - 3 x 12-15

DB Lateral Raise - 3 x 10-12

For the primary accessory exercise, we selected the incline bench press, a common main exercise for the ME upper training day. The remaining accessory work addresses the commonly involved muscle groups when executing a bench or overhead press variation. 

An essential aspect of accessory exercises that must be understood is intensity regulation. Considering that all accessory exercises will be performed pre-fatigued to some degree, we want to use the heaviest weights without compromising the technique or missing prescribed sets and reps. This general strategy will help athletes obtain the most significant training effect from accessory exercise training. 

Friday - Repeated Effort Lower

Many familiar with the Conjugate Method will notice the first major change to the conventional training template on our first repeated effort lower training day.

When working with beginners, we are primarily concerned with exposing the athlete to adequate levels of intensity to improve absolute strength and accumulating enough volume to make gains in working strength and physical composition. This means we will substitute traditional dynamic effort training for repeated effort work. 

We primarily do this to reduce the risk of injury and avoid giving the athlete too many tasks to master at once. As an athlete new to training, it can take time to become comfortable lifting at high levels of volume and intensity. If we were to add specific velocity requirements to movements as well, we risk overcomplicating the situation for a beginner-level athlete. 

So, when executing a base-building training plan, we will perform two repeated effort lower main exercises each week instead of traditional dynamic effort training. However, we will still include some explosive power training during our repeated effort lower accessory exercises. 

Here is an example of a Base Building RE lower training day:

Main Exercise

Barbell Squat - 5 x 5 @65-70% (week one of three-week wave)

Accessory Exercises

Box Jumps - 8 x 3 performed to the highest box possible without missing a rep.

Box Squat - 4 x 10-12

DB Romanian Deadlift - 3 x 10-12

GHD Sit-Ups - 4 x AMRAP

Backward Sled Pull - 10 trips, 30-40 yards per trip, moderate sled weight. 

This week would represent the first week of a three-week repeated effort training wave. We will follow a three-week wave using a 5 x 5 rep scheme, performing squats at 65-70% in week one, 70-75% in week two, and 75-80% in week three. We can also follow a traditional 12 x 2 / 10 x 2 / 8 x 2 wave, where training intensity would be raised by 5% each week. 

This is where the initial lift test data comes into play to determine the training weights during the first few repeated effort training waves. 

Saturday - Repeated Effort Upper

Repeated effort upper follows the same strategy as repeated effort lower, with an upper body focus. This training day aims to raise the training volume and improve our pressing strength. This training is excellent for beginner-level athletes to improve strength, build muscle mass, and accumulate reps to dial in technical proficiency. 

Our repeated effort upper training will follow similar set and rep schemes and training percentages to our repeated effort lower training. When performing repeated effort upper training, we will execute three-week training waves using a 5 x 5 or 9 x 3 rep scheme for all three weeks. Our training percentages will be 65-70% in week one, 70-75% in week two, and 75-80% in week three. 

Here is an example of a Base Building RE upper training day:

Main Exercise

Bench Press - 5 x 5 @65-70% (week one of three-week wave)

Accessory Exercises

Plyometric Push-Ups - 4 x 8-10

Lat Pulldown - 4 x 10-12

Skullcrushers - 4 x 10-12

Chest-Supported Row - 3 x 10-12

DB Front Raise - 3 x 12-15

The accessory training is focused on improving upper body strength and muscle mass by selecting exercises that address all muscle groups involved in press exercises. Additionally, we use plyometric push-ups to achieve some upper body explosive power training. 

It is important to note that accessory exercise selection for each training day is dictated by the accessory exercise selections of the previous lower or upper body training day. For instance, if we perform a dumbbell bench press during our ME upper day, we will follow up with something like an incline or standing overhead dumbbell press during the RE upper day. This helps to ensure that all involved muscles and muscle groups are trained adequately.

Simple and Effective

Conjugate Method training can be challenging for the beginner-level athlete or coach. Multiple training methods are involved, and each method has specific ways of executing it. There are tricks to determining ideal sets and reps and a multitude of options when it comes to exercise selection.

While it is undoubtedly necessary to master all aspects of Conjugate Method training in time, the beginner doesn't need to know everything immediately. 

By following the training plan described above, athletes will be provided with optimal training volume and intensity levels, leading to rapid improvements in strength and fitness. Our Base Building basic template is a simplified version of the traditional WSBB standard template. It is an excellent way for beginners to utilize the Conjugate Method to improve sports performance. 

The training plan in this text will help athletes improve their strength and performance faster than traditional linear-based beginner training plans. It allows beginner-level athletes to properly learn how to execute fundamental movements at different levels of training intensity and moves these athletes directly into the most efficient training method on the planet - the Conjugate Method. 

The trick to success when using the Conjugate Method for beginners is to keep things simple. The goal is to choose simple exercise variations performed at escalated levels of volume and intensity to achieve positive training adaptations week to week and month to month. 

We program in a way that allows absolute strength, explosive power, work capacity, and physical composition to improve simultaneously. Linear-based training cannot match this. Whether a beginner or an experienced athlete, you should use the most efficient training method possible.

For more Base Building information, check out these blogs.

Sources:

Simmons, L. (2007). Westside Barbell Book of Methods. Westside Barbell.

Zatsiorsky, V. M., & Kraemer, W. J. (2006). Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics