Introduction

If there’s one gym sin I have been guilty of, it’s program hopping.

As a coach, I know the importance of sticking to a program if you want real progress. And while I’ve gotten better at it, it’s still something I struggle with.

Why? I get bored.

It’s that simple. My ADHD shows up hard in the gym. Following a program exactly as written takes real effort, and most days I’m tempted to just do whatever feels interesting in the moment.

So I compromise.

Within a structured plan, I’ll call small audibles as the spirit moves me to keep things fresh. And fortunately, there’s a training style that actually rewards that kind of variety instead of punishing it.

What Is Conjugate Training?

What most people call “conjugate training” became popular through Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio. He didn’t invent it, of course, he adapted it from the Soviet Dynamo Club system. It was Louie who brought that system to powerlifting and the wider world of sport training. 

Technically, the Westside method is a concurrent training system that uses conjugation, not a purely conjugate system.

Let’s break that down.

CONCURRENT TRAINING

Traditionally, concurrent training means developing multiple physical qualities at the same time like strength and endurance, or, put another way, lifting and cardio at the same time. 

In strength training, this means working:

• Max strength
• Explosive strength
• Hypertrophy
• Strength endurance

…within the same week (or even the same day).

CONJUGATE TRAINING

Conjugation refers to rotating exercises over time.

The key idea:
You move from weaker variations toward stronger/more specific ones.

“Conjugate” literally means to join together. In training, your exercise variations build on each other over time, joining that hard work, to improve your main lifts.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Conjugate training ala Westside =
Train multiple strength qualities while rotating exercises in a way that builds toward your best lifts.

Weekly Split (4 Days)

This is the classic setup:

• Day 1: Max Effort Lower
• Day 2: Max Effort Upper
• Day 3: Dynamic Effort Lower
• Day 4: Dynamic Effort Upper

You can rearrange the days as needed. Just make sure to keep alternating upper and lower sessions.

Max Effort Days

For each main lift (squat, bench, deadlift), pick 3–5 variations.

• Most should target weaknesses
• A small portion can be overload movements

Rotate to a new variation each week.

Every 6th week, perform the competition lift as your max effort movement to test progress. Then, start the variation cycle over again. Change any exercises that you think may not have been beneficial. 

HOW TO RUN IT

Work up to a max single.

I like to structure this like a meet:

• Warm up and ramp the weight over many sets to heavier weights
• 3 heavy attempts to reach a daily max
• Occasionally up to 5 singles, but usually 3

After your top single:

• Drop the weight by ~20%
• Perform 10-15 total reps
• Use small sets (2–3 reps each)

ACCESSORIES

Pick 1–2 exercises per body part and perform:

• 2-4 sets
• 6-8 reps
• Stop ~2 reps shy of failure

LOWER BODY DAYS:

• Hamstrings / posterior chain
• Quads
• Lats
• Single-leg work

UPPER BODY DAYS:

• Chest
• Triceps
• Shoulders
• Upper back

Stick with these and progress them. If you stall for more than 2 weeks, rotate the exercise.

Dynamic Effort Days

This follows a classic Westside-style wave—with a small tweak.

LOWER BODY

• Week 1: Max sets of 2 in 20 min @ 50%
• Week 2: Max sets of 2 in 18 min @ 55%
• Week 3: Max sets of 2 in 16 min @ 60%

UPPER BODY — using comp lifts

• Week 1: Max sets of 3 in 20 min @ 50%
• Week 2: Max sets of 3 in 18 min @ 55%
• Week 3: Max sets of 3 in 16 min @ 60%

After 3 weeks:

• Repeat the wave
• Add 15–25% band tension

After the full 6-week block:

• Test your competition lifts on max effort days
• Establish a new 1RM
• Recalculate your percentages

ACCESSORIES

After speed work:

• 1–2 exercises per body part
• 4–6 sets
• 12–15 reps
• ~2 reps shy of failure

Same body part structure as max effort days.

KEY FOCUS

The goal of the DE day is to increase rate of force production, speed, as well as provide technical practice of the main competition movement. Never let your form get sloppy in an attempt to move faster. Move fast and well.

Closing Thoughts

Conjugate training can be challenging and fun. It has worked for many lifters over many years and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The adjust-on-the-fly aspect of this training keeps things fresh or, when needed, allows you to train even on days when training may not feel great. Its simplicity, a heavy day and a light/technical day, has stood the test of time.