One aspect that separates the Conjugate Method from many other popular strength training methods is the ability to precisely address any athlete's training needs or weaknesses at any time. Instead of being limited by ultra-specific training phases and exercise selection options, Conjugate removes the limitations and provides a more efficient way to organize training. 

Exercise variation is an important component of effective strength and conditioning training. Over the years, Westside Barbell has demonstrated the ability of targeted exercise variation to deliver specific training adaptations. Whether working with strength or conventional sports athletes, we can always find a variation to further develop any athlete's strength and conditioning. 

However, selecting and implementing exercise variation is often misunderstood and mismanaged. Unfortunately, this has led to many questioning whether or not an athlete requires variation to improve. You see this often in the powerlifting world, where coaches disregard exercise variation in favor of repetitive SBD-style training days. 

Below, we will discuss how to manage exercise selection for main and accessory exercises to ensure training remains productive and properly organized. 

Main Exercise Variation

The selection of main exercises will differ between strength and conventional sports athletes. With strength athletes, we will utilize exercise variation to an extent while keeping the competition-relevant lifts consistently in the exercise rotation. Athletes do not require such specificity, considering the concern is solely on developing sport-relevant strengths and not so focused on mastering competition-relevant barbell lifts. 

Here is an example of max effort lower exercise selection for a strength athlete:

Week 1 – Deadlift

Week 2 – Cambered Bar Good Morning

Week 3 – Squat

Week 4 – SSB Low Box Squat

As you can see, this exercise selection strategy includes two competition-relevant exercises and two exercise variations. The deadlift and squat are competition-relevant, while the cambered bar good morning and SSB low box squat each emphasize the posterior and anterior chains. 

Here is how we would approach weeks 5-8:

Week 5 – 2" Deficit Deadlift 

Week 6 – Bow Bar Box Squat

Week 7 – Beltless Deadlift

Week 8 – Front Squat

The exercise selection is less competition-relevant in these four weeks than in the previous four weeks. However, the selected variations are still capable of improving the competition lifts. The idea is to slightly adjust basic movements to introduce a different training effect to bring about new adaptations.

Once we work through weeks 5-8, we will then run through the week 1-4 exercise selection again. This will allow us to test for new PR lifts in these variations and will give us new training data regarding where our competition squat and deadlift currently are. When organizing exercises this way, we would keep the competition-relevant exercises fixed while changing the special exercises as training progresses. 

When training conventional sports athletes, we are not as concerned with testing the competition lifts, which allows for more freedom when selecting main exercise variations. While the eight weeks displayed above would also work for an athlete, it would also be just as useful to remove the competition-relevant lifts and add in athlete—or sport-specific exercise variations. 

We would still want to repeat the training in an ABAB pattern for 16 weeks, considering this will allow athletes to test strength improvements as past variations are revisited within the proper time frame.

Main exercise selections for strength or conventional sports athletes can be as advanced or simplistic as necessary. The variation a coach chooses will depend on the athlete, their fitness level and training needs, and the tools available at the training facility. 

Accessory Exercise Variation

At Westside, our training days will feature accessory exercises immediately after the main exercise. The goal of accessory exercise training is to adequately train all relevant muscle groups, depending on the training day (upper or lower), and specifically address weaknesses identified during main exercise training. 

Ideally, we want a good portion of our exercise selection to train all involved muscle groups adequately. This helps ensure no imbalances occur due to mismanaged training and will reduce the instances where direct training is needed to resolve a weakness. Once this goal is accomplished, we can dedicate 1-2 accessory exercises specifically to address known weaknesses. 

Here is what lower body accessory exercise selections could look for an athlete dealing with a lower body posterior chain weakness:

Exercise 1 – Romanian Deadlift, 4 x 8-10.

Exercise 2 – Bulgarian Split Squat, 3 x 10-12.

Exercise 3 – Inverse Curl, 4 x AMRAP

Exercise 4 – Reverse Hyper, 4 x 15-20. 

Exercise 5 – GHD Sit-Up, 4 x AMRAP

The training is essentially divided 60/40, with 60% of the exercises focused on lower body posterior chain muscle groups and 40% on lower body anterior chain muscle groups. This means training is biased towards the weaker muscle groups without neglecting the others involved.

With conventional sports athletes, the specific demands of the sport the athlete is preparing for will often dictate the accessory exercise selection. This could mean we add more emphasis on unilateral training or more plyometric exercises on dynamic effort training days. It all depends on the athlete and their sport.

The goal is to keep the boat afloat while eliminating the leak. We do not want to be so biased toward identified weaknesses that we solve one issue while creating another. Solving weaknesses does not require excessively modified movements; it just requires smart exercise selection and organization. 

Every week, I use an "A" set of accessory exercises for my max effort days and a "B" set for my dynamic effort days. There is no set rule as to which exercises can be used on an "A" day versus which can be used on a "B" day. However, these days should be organized so that the exercises or muscle groups missed on one day are adequately trained on the other day. 

I typically keep the same selection of accessory exercises for at least two training weeks. After that, I review my training and decide which exercises will remain and which will be replaced, depending on issues identified during the last four weeks of training. 

Most often, exercises such as Reverse Hypers and various ab movements remain constant while the other movements are adjusted. 

Simple First, Advanced Later

Exercise variation is critical to productive strength training. The law of accommodation dictates that training response is reduced over time if the stimulus remains the same. Therefore, exercise variation must be included if an athlete wishes to improve strength and conditioning as efficiently as possible. 

The misinformed often criticize exercise variation due to a lack of understanding of what it is trying to accomplish. Depending on the athlete, we can create variations to address weakness within particular ranges of motion or specific muscles or muscle groups. The variation selected will almost always be unique to the athlete and their current situation. 

At Westside, we focus on simple adjustments and variations first, with advanced variations reserved for those with more training experience. This allows athletes to maximize their benefit from exercise variation, leaving plenty of room to introduce further variation to bring about improvement as training progresses. 

A squat variation for a beginner can be as simple as opting for a front rather than a back squat. With advanced athletes, we may need more targeted exercises, such as a giant cambered bar and Anderson squat with chains. 

Do not be fooled into believing that you must use the most advanced variations to gain strength or improve technique. Too many people see a variation we are using at Westside and try to immediately add it to their own training. However, it is critical to understand that the abstract variations we utilize are based on the athlete's level and needs. 

Everything has a purpose and reason, and the exercise selection is relevant to the athlete. If you are a beginner, start with slight adjustments to basic movements before moving on to what would be considered an advanced exercise variation. 

For more information regarding training strategy, check out our Starting Conjugate article series.

Sources:

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

Verkhoshansky, Y., & Siff, M. C. (2009). Supertraining. Verkhoshansky.