Train to Be Ready—Always

At Westside Barbell, we don’t train athletes to peak once or twice a year—we train them to be ready at all times. This isn’t about gearing up for one competition and then fading away.

It’s about building a system where you’re always operating at 90% or higher. Louie Simmons called this Training at 90%—a state where your body doesn’t require weeks or months of preparation before stepping onto the mats. This is the difference between being an athlete who needs weeks to get ready and being an athlete who’s dangerous 365 days a year.

If you’re a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor, this is non-negotiable. Tournaments pop up fast. Superfights get scheduled with little notice. You need to be physically and mentally prepared to capitalize on every opportunity.

That’s why we don’t waste time with ineffective training cycles. Instead, we manipulate volume, optimize exercise selection, and build an engine that never shuts off.

Jiu-Jitsu is a sport of constant adaptation, and if your body isn’t built to handle high training loads while staying explosive and resilient, you’ll always be playing catch-up.

What Competitive Jiu-Jitsu Demands

To give a simple overview of how we view Jiu-Jitsu, it is a battle of physical dominance, skill execution, and strategic endurance. To consistently win, you need to at least master three physical attributes:

1. Strength That Transfers to the Mats

The strongest grappler isn’t always the best—but all else equal, the stronger athlete wins. Strength dictates control, dictating whether you can hold an opponent down, resist a sweep, or impose pressure they can’t escape. This isn’t about gym numbers—it’s about developing usable strength through posterior chain dominance, grip endurance, and positional power.

2. Explosiveness That Breaks Opponents

Speed and power create moments where skill alone won’t save your opponent. Explosive hips win scrambles. Fast-twitch strength determines who gets the takedown, who establishes top position, and who finishes the submission before the opponent reacts.

3. Durability and Recovery Capacity

Jiu-Jitsu punishes athletes who break down easily. High-intensity rounds, awkward joint positions, and endless drilling wear on the body. You need the ability to train, compete, and train again without burning out. This is where work capacity and smart recovery separate elite competitors from the rest.

How the Conjugate Method Gives You the Edge

The Westside Barbell Conjugate System isn’t some recycled training template—it’s an adaptive system designed to build athletes, not just lifters. Every component of this method serves a purpose in making you a more dangerous grappler.

Max Effort (ME) Days

• One upper and one lower body session per week.

• Heavy variations of squats, deadlifts, and presses to build absolute strength.

• Strength = control. If you can generate force under max loads, an opponent will struggle to move you where they want.

Dynamic Effort (DE) Day

• One lower-body and upper-body speed session per week.

• Submaximal weights moved explosively to develop power and speed.

• Bands and chains increase resistance throughout the movement, mimicking how real-world force application works in Jiu-Jitsu.

• Explosiveness off the bottom, fast takedowns, and aggressive transitions start with speed-strength training.

• Builds a high level of work capacity

Supplemental Work

• Upper Plyometrics & Postural Stability: Builds shoulder resilience, grip endurance, and bulletproofs your frame.

• Lower Plyometrics & Postural Stability: Strengthens the hips, hamstrings, and ankles—crucial for shooting takedowns and dynamic guard work.

• General Conditioning: Sled drags, carries, and rotational work to increase work capacity without breaking the body down.

This three-day system with supplemental sessions ensures that you train with intensity while allowing optimal recovery, which is critical for balancing strength work with BJJ practice.

Why Westside Athletes Are Ready Anytime

Westside Barbell’s system isn’t designed around peaking for one day—it’s about being strong and explosive every single day. Our athletes don’t need 8-12 weeks of competition prep to perform at their best. Instead, we keep them at a constant high level of readiness by controlling volume, avoiding unnecessary fatigue, and making recovery an intentional part of the process.

If an elite grappler gets a short-notice match, they don’t panic. They’re ready. They don’t need extended prep—they’ve already built the foundation to step onto the mat and dominate.

That’s the difference between training to be ready and training to get ready.

Built for Jiu-Jitsu Longevity

Training hard is easy. Training hard and staying healthy is what separates short-lived competitors from long-term champions. At Westside, we don’t just focus on strength—we focus on joint integrity, muscular balance, and structural resilience.

• Posterior chain dominance keeps the lower back and hamstrings strong—essential for preventing injuries from takedowns and guard play.

• Rotational power work mimics the demands of throwing, sweeping, and scrambling.

• Grip endurance training ensures you don’t gas out trying to hold a dominant position.

• Sled work and GPP circuits build an engine that outworks your opponent when it matters most.

BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re breaking down after every tournament, you’re missing the point.

Conclusion: Train Like It Matters

The Westside Barbell gym and our athlete program aren't places for hobbyists. It’s a system for athletes who want to dominate. The Conjugate Method is built on science, decades of real-world success, and the same principles that made Louie Simmons’ athletes some of the strongest in the world.

If you want to be the kind of competitor who never needs to “get in shape” before a tournament—if you want to step on the mat at a moment’s notice and know that you’re physically prepared—then Westside Barbell is the only choice.

This isn’t about lifting weights. It’s about building the kind of strength, explosiveness, and endurance that changes how you fight.

For those who do what others won’t—Westside Barbell is waiting.

Related Jiu-Jitsu Videos 

Recommended Reading 

• Science and Practice of Strength Training – Vladimir Zatsiorsky & William Kraemer
• The Westside Barbell Book of Methods – Louie Simmons
• Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for All Sports – Tadeusz Starzynski & Henryk Sozanski