Training Methods & Techniques Articles

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

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

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

The Conjugate Method opens up a whole new world of possibilities for athletes. Whether an athlete seeks to improve absolute strength, explosive power, speed, or conditioning, the Conjugate Method will deliver. However, a coach or athlete's success with the Conjugate Method will always depend on their overall understanding of strength training theory and application.

Thu Apr 11, 2024

Similar to conventional sports, where a lack of mental and physical discipline leads to failure, barbell training requires an athlete to maintain the ability to remain mentally focused and physically disciplined whenever training occurs. Given the demands the Conjugate Method places on an athlete, athletes must approach all training days with the right intent and technical execution. 

Sun Jan 21, 2024

If there is one key aspect of the Conjugate Method that makes it superior to all other training methods, it is efficiency. Athletes only have so much time away from practice or competition, so any time spent training must be spent as efficiently as possible. Using the Conjugate Method, we can easily tailor training to ensure the training is specific to each athlete. 

Mon Dec 18, 2023

While there are some similarities between strength training and bodybuilding, there are many differences regarding training goals and outcomes. Strength training focuses on enhancing an individual's strength and overall athletic performance, whereas bodybuilding training focuses on muscle mass and aesthetics. Strength-focused athletes want to get stronger and more explosive; bodybuilders wish to increase muscle mass and reduce body fat.

Fri Sep 29, 2023

The Anderson squat is a variation created by the late great Paul Anderson, a world-renowned Olympic weightlifter and strongman. Paul was an Olympic gold medal winner and is known as possibly the strongest man ever to walk the earth. The Anderson squat was one of his preferred ways to develop lower body strength. 

Sun Sep 17, 2023

Improvement depends on your ability to be honest with yourself and acknowledge your weaknesses in the gym. Once this is done, a plan of attack can be formulated to address the identified weaknesses. This becomes a pattern, and after some time, fewer and fewer weaknesses exist while sports performance continues to improve. Be honest with yourself and your training - always seek to find and destroy weaknesses. 

Sat Sep 02, 2023

At Westside, we use the Conjugate Method to achieve a "stair-step" pattern of improvement. This means we simultaneously develop multiple strengths relevant to sports performance, leading to consistent overall improvement provided our intensity, volume, frequency, and recovery time are appropriately planned. 

Sun Aug 27, 2023

General physical preparation training, commonly called GPP training, is the training or training phase used to establish the strength and endurance necessary to accomplish a sport-relevant training program. GPP training builds basic levels of strength, endurance, coordination, proficiency, and durability, allowing an athlete to train at increasingly high levels of volume and intensity. 

Thu Aug 10, 2023

One variation that is frequently used is the pin press bench. This joint angle-specific exercise focuses on and develops anterior shoulder and tricep strength. As athletes perform and benefit from this exercise, they will notice an ability to lock out heavier weights in the bench and overhead press and produce greater force from 90 degrees to lock out as the arms extend during sports competition.

Mon Jul 24, 2023