It is the end of 2024, and the Conjugate Method has never been more popular. Looking around the strength and conditioning landscape, you will notice many coaches using the Conjugate Method in full or borrowing aspects from it. It is safe to say that Louie was right, and the critics of Conjugate-style training were wrong. 

As much as these recent converts may try to deny they learned of this training method and style because of Louie, anyone with a brain and their ego in check can see the impact Louie left on the strength and conditioning world. A decade ago, specialty bars, accommodating resistance, and special exercises were considered unnecessary. Now, these tools and strategies are considered common in many training facilities. 

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. 

The system is not limited by anything other than the coach wielding the methods. Below, we will review a few pieces of advice that can help improve your experience with the Conjugate Method. 

The Most Demanding Training Day

When someone new to Conjugate first learns about our training methods, they often assume max effort training days are the most demanding days of the week. However, this is not the case. As anyone who has executed a proper dynamic effort lower or upper day can attest, dynamic effort training days are often the most demanding workouts an athlete will perform. 

What makes dynamic effort training days typically more demanding is the volume and density associated with these training days. Unlike our max effort days, where we take the most efficient route to the top set, our dynamic effort training days have specific volume parameters that must be met. Aside from that, athletes must also regulate rest times during dynamic effort training and perform each set with proper intent to render the training effective. 

During max effort training, our overall training volume will be slightly lower than a typical dynamic effort lower day, and our rest periods will be extended. As the goal is to lift the heaviest weight we can that day, we allow for reasonable breaks between sets when working up to a max effort lift. 

Aside from the physical demands, the mental demands differ during dynamic effort training. With max effort, there is the motivation to lift the heaviest weight possible that day, a mentally stimulating goal for the competitive athlete.

Dynamic effort training is repetitive work performed at specific velocity parameters with short breaks between sets. It is physically demanding work without the potential payoff of a PR lift.

An athlete's success with the Conjugate Method often boils down to their ability to properly execute dynamic effort training. This means having the barbell and accommodating resistance weight correct and executing the methods with the proper intent. It also means keeping pace and moving each set at the proper velocity. 

Athletes using the Conjugate Method should learn to enjoy dynamic effort training days and realize that the accrued volume and properly executed reps will only help to improve the outcomes of max effort training days. Due to the demand placed on an athlete by the weight, max effort days have a built-in motivation system. With dynamic effort, an athlete must apply their will to execute each rep as intended to reap the rewards of this effective training method. 

If you want to ensure you get the most from the Conjugate Method, take your dynamic effort training seriously. 

PR Frequency for Athletes

The ability to attain PR lifts consistently is a marker that lets a coach or athlete know training is trending in the right direction. With strength athletes, we typically expect to hit PR lifts regularly over 8-12 training weeks. However, this may not always be the case with conventional sports athletes. 

Conventional sports athletes have an added layer to their training matrix that the strength athlete does not: sports practice. For the strength athlete, barbell training is sports practice. For the conventional sports athlete, barbell training is a means of developing special strengths that can transfer to sport and enhance athletic ability. 

With these athletes, we are not as concerned with PR frequency as we are with exposing them to specific training intensities to allow gains in absolute strength. Due to additional fatigue caused by sports practice or competition, athletes may not always be able to attain PR weights, but exposure to training intensity at or above 90% will be enough to gain absolute strength.

Again, these gains may not be made at the same rate as a strength athlete. The ultimate goal with conventional sports athletes is to remain consistent with exposure to training intensity to allow for improvements in absolute strength over time while avoiding loss in absolute strength caused by detraining. 

As long as an athlete can consistently hit top sets within 5% of their most recent PR, there is not much to worry about. If this is not possible, we will review the training and recovery plan to see if there are opportunities for optimization to once again make the training acceptably effective. 

Read Books, Avoid Influencers

If you spend less than five minutes in the powerlifting social media world, you will run into at least twenty accounts telling you how to train. While some of this content may be useful to the beginner-level powerlifter, it is often made to get your attention and obtain likes and shares. Much of this content is also based on trying to make athletes doubt their technique or approach to training. 

It is a classic problem, reaction, and solution manipulation. Create a problem, attempt to control the reaction, and drive followers towards a pre-canned solution. The solution often includes a link to subscribe to a Patreon. 

I am all for coaches using social media to help athletes while growing their businesses. However, beginners must know that much of this content is meant to grab attention, cause controversy, or start arguments. This helps these types of individuals gain algorithmic favor. 

No matter the level of athlete, the best option is always self-education. This is where reading books enters the equation. While I know most prefer scrolling over reading, you will reach a much higher level of strength and conditioning enlightenment by reading worthwhile educational materials. 

Combine a disciplined training and reading schedule, and you will be able to understand the concepts and witness them happen within your training. This manner of learning will make a coach or athlete more well-rounded and provide a deeper understanding of training from both a theoretical and practical level.

Instead of repeating something you heard some influencer say, you will be better prepared to form your own opinions on training. Imagine having to learn from influencers nowadays. They all seem aggravated and full of angst. Listening to some of this content is akin to paying to go to one of those deals where you run obstacle courses and let other people yell that you're lazy and fat. 

Escape the world of influencers, educate yourself, and become a better coach and athlete because of it. Here are a few books I recommend for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of strength and conditioning:

The Westside Barbell Book of Methods

Science and Practice of Strength Training

Special Strength Development for All Sports

Facts and Fallacies of Fitness

Shock Method

Supertraining

These books provide tremendous information and cover all there is to know about foundational strength and conditioning training science. Of course, many other great books are out there, but this list is a good place to start. 

Conjugate Takeover

In the next decade, most intelligent coaches will adopt the Conjugate Method in some form or fashion. Whether they'll admit Westside Barbell is the lead contributor to Conjugate Method field research is another story. It should be mentioned that Lou continues to be proven right year after year. 

No other training method can match the Conjugate Method's effectiveness and efficiency. Lou told the world for decades that this training method was the best. As time goes on and science proves Lou correct, you see many coaches adopting training methods and tools they criticized and swore off just a decade ago. 

Lou always preached to us to be open-minded regarding strength and conditioning. Do not fall victim to fear of criticism and always be willing to experiment with training to find a more optimal approach. Whether that involved new special exercises, specialty bars, or accommodating resistance configurations, Lou always looked for the best route to give his athletes an advantage in their training. 

While the Conjugate Method has rules and parameters, coaches have a lot of room to use their own creativity and discretion to obtain specific training effects and manipulate training outcomes. The only limitation is the coach's mind when utilizing the methods. This is why Lou always reinforced the importance of combining training with reading. 

The more knowledge and experience a coach or athlete has, the more effective the training will be. If you are not constantly learning and improving yourself and your approach to training, you are ultimately getting left behind.

Sources:

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