Conjugate Method Articles

I am now back at Westside Barbell training full-time and wanted to use this opportunity to provide more insight into how we train at the gym. These articles will feature training videos as well as brief explanations and opinions. Ideally, lifters will use these articles to compare notes or double-check the technique and execution of various exercises. 

Wed Nov 06, 2024

Be wary of anyone who tries to say the Conjugate Method needs to be improved or is lacking something. I have trained and followed the Conjugate Method for nearly 20 years and can confidently say that no other method compares when developing a total athlete. I can also assure you that we do not forget to train the quadriceps of the athletes we work with. 

Fri Oct 18, 2024

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. 

Fri Oct 11, 2024

The Basic Conjugate Training Advice series of articles aims to provide insight into our mindset when programming and executing training at Westside Barbell. Ideally, these pieces of advice will bridge knowledge gaps and help individuals succeed with their Conjugate-based training plan. 

Fri Oct 04, 2024

Dynamic effort training is essential to our upper body training at Westside Barbell. It allows us to improve upper body explosive strength, leading to greater levels of pressing power. While this training has proven incredibly effective for strength athletes, it is also valuable for conventional sports athletes. 

Fri Sep 27, 2024

The dynamic effort method can be confusing to the beginner. However, once you begin to understand why we do what we do, it becomes rather simple. The big idea is to move submaximal weights as fast as possible, with the training weights decided by percentages taken from current PR lifts. 

Fri Sep 20, 2024

Every year, some aspect of training is considered "new" by the strength and conditioning world at large. However, if you know Lou and Westside, you likely have heard of these "new" approaches to training ten or twenty years before you saw it on social media. Whether content creators know it or not, the ground they believe they just discovered has Lou's tracks all over it. 

Fri Sep 13, 2024

In the world of Conjugate, accessory exercises play a critical role. At Westside, we use accessory exercises to build strength, target specific weaknesses, increase work capacity, and improve overall physical composition. These exercises make up the bulk of our daily and weekly training volume. 

Thu Sep 05, 2024

Many believe that the phenomenon of "beginner gains" only happens for a short time, then an athlete should be satisfied with 5-10 lb PRs on their lifts each year. At Westside, we understand that while we may not be able to constantly improve at the same rate as a beginner, we can still use exercise variation and different training tools to maintain a rate of improvement that far surpasses 5-10 lb PRs once per year. 

Fri Aug 30, 2024

At Westside, we are always looking for a weak muscle group to improve. However, we do so sensibly after reviewing multiple days and weeks of training data. We do not begin adjusting training just because we had one bad day; we wait until we have multiple days and weeks of training data that clearly point to a specific muscular weakness. 

Fri Aug 23, 2024

The Conjugate Method has helped many fighters and athletes improve their sports performance. What makes our training methods so effective is our ability to adapt and build a program that cooperates with an athlete's practice schedule and properly develops all special strengths and athletic traits. When it comes to training athletes in the gym, the Conjugate Method is the ultimate training method.

Tue Aug 20, 2024

At Westside, we have helped many athletes improve their sports performance. The idea behind our training is simple: focus on enhancing all relevant special strengths in the gym while maintaining a predictable recovery schedule that allows athletes to have the energy to improve sports skills at practice.

We build the special strengths that help better execute sports skills, and team practice helps refine skill execution and enhance sports competency. 

Mon Aug 12, 2024

Every wrestler knows how to shoot a takedown; the raw power and speed with which the takedown is executed decides its effectiveness. In a sport where brute strength and conditioning play a significant role, it only makes sense that wrestlers can benefit significantly from an adequate strength and conditioning program.

Mon Aug 05, 2024

At Westside, we have trained and consulted with many different football coaches and players over the years. Using the Conjugate Method, we have assisted athletes in becoming stronger, more explosive football players who can perform at a high-level week after week. 

Thu Aug 01, 2024

The box squat is one of Westside Barbell's most frequently used lower-body exercise variations. We utilize the box squat and its variations during max effort training and dynamic effort lower every week. This exercise has helped both strength and conventional sports athletes improve absolute strength, explosive power, and work capacity. 

Fri Jul 26, 2024

The deficit deadlift is a lower-body exercise variation that extends the overall range of motion of a traditional deadlift, placing an increased demand on the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

This exercise is often used as a main exercise during a max effort training day but can also be used as an accessory exercise on both max and dynamic effort training days. At Westside, the deficit deadlift is one of our more frequently used deadlift exercise variations.

Fri Jul 19, 2024

Powerlifting and weightlifting focus on determining the strongest athlete using basic barbell exercises. Both sports require athletes to successfully perform barbell lifts to a standard, with the goal of lifting the heaviest weights possible to achieve a winning total. In strength sports, a total refers to the sum of the heaviest successfully completed competition lifts. 

Fri Jul 12, 2024

The seated deadlift is a lower-body exercise variation used to improve hip strength and deadlift technique. When performed correctly, it targets the superficial and deep gluteal muscles, adductor muscles, iliopsoas group, and abdominals. Depending on how the exercise is programmed, it can be used to build or test strength and technique.

Fri Jun 28, 2024

Building strong and healthy shoulders is a critical aspect of training. If you are an athlete, improving the strength, work capacity, and durability of the shoulders will improve sports performance and lengthen careers. Not only will this benefit the athlete in the short term, but the long-term quality of life will be enhanced as athletes age and experience fewer instances of shoulder pain or discomfort. 

Thu Jun 20, 2024