How I train

I was asked the other day “how’s training going?”  For me to answer this is very simple, it’s always going well!  My performance in my chosen sport keeps improving and I rarely, if ever, get injured.  I don’t spend hours in the gym, I’m not so stuffed after a workout that I can’t do anything for days afterwards and because of these factors I’m always keen to train.

What more could I ask for?

This post is a breakdown of my training methods that have been tweaked over the last 3 years of reading, learning and practicing the conjugate method of Westside Barbell fame.

Basics of the conjugate system

For an athlete to increase their maximal strength, three systems must be utilised, the maximal effort method, the dynamic effort method and the repetition method.  Each of these a crucial for the development of maximal strength and power for sports.  The conjugate system brings these three training methods together into a weekly “cycle” incorporating both upper and lower body days.  Each of these is broken up into a dynamic day and a maximal effort day, with each day being followed by accessory work using the repetition method.

                   The most jacked 65 year old you'll ever see...

Let me explain how this works…

Each workout needs to begin with a thorough warm-up including some dynamic movement representative of what you workout will entail and some light movements, again specific to the workout.

One aspect of powerlifting that is often overlooked is general physical preparedness, or GPP.  While some of the strongest lifters in the work may not look like they do much in the way of conditioning, the reality is that most lifters will be competing in a weight class with an upper limit and this means they will at some stage need to keep their weight in-check.  One way to do this is in the warm-up.  Something that won’t tax the body too much but will allow the lifter to get more work done, like light sled drags, are perfect.  Even walking with a weight vest will get the body warm and prepare the joints for the workout that follows.  This is something I try and do before most workouts, even if it’s just more repos with a lighter weight or a few more sets in there, anything to get some more work done.

The maximal effort method

This is just what it sounds like, lifting to a maximum weight with a certain exercise.  The benefit of this is that by lifting maximally, we can increase the number of motor units working during a lift and therefore increase our total muscle contractions and lift a heavier weight.  The downside of this is that after 2-3 weeks, the nervous system is weakened by the maximal lifting and performance starts to diminish.  To over come this, I change my exercises every 1-2 weeks which keeps my nervous system fresh and helps recovery. 

     This guy just broke 2300 pounds in a belt and wraps using this                                                       method

As an example of this, for lower body max effort work, I will choose a single exercise to lift to a maximum for that day.  This exercise will generally change each week, unless it is something I haven’t done for a while.  I rotate through a good morning, deadlift and squat and rotate reps from triples to doubles to singles to create at least 9 weeks of movements that won’t be the same.  I may start off with a concentric (bottom up) sumo stance good morning for a max triple, the next week might be rack pulls, again for a triple then a box squat the following week.  From there I’ll move to doubles but for different exercises, say close stance good morning, deficit deadlift and pause squat then move into singles for another three exercises.  This still focuses the work on the muscles required for squatting and deadlifting without over stressing my nervous system week after week on the same exercise. 

Following the max lift, a heavy accessory exercise will be performed for some heavy sets of 6, them some lighter, higher reps work finishing off with abs work.  Again, the accessory work will always be rotated and is worked to the individuals weaknesses, in my case my quads and hip flexors and lower back.  Everyone needs to determine where they are weak in each of the movements and this should to be the focus of their accessory work to bring up the weaker areas.

The dynamic effort method

The basics of this are to move light weight as fast as possible.  Why I do this is to develop my rate of force production and apply the maximum force that I can.  It is also a great time to practice technique and form for the three main lifts!

To lift maximal weights in competition, we need to be able to apply maximal force to the barbell.  The idea with the dynamic method is that if I want to squat 200 kg, I need to apply 200kg worth of force to a lighter barbell.  Same goes for the bench press and the deadlift.  During my dynamic day is when I get used to applying a large amount of force with the correct technique.  During this day I also keep the reps low per set.  This is to mimic the time spent under the bar during a competition lift.  A squat is completed in around 5 seconds and a bench press in around 4-7 seconds.  A fast double with light weight for a squat will last approximately 5 seconds and a triple bench press will last around 6 seconds.  This way I get used to applying maximum force for the duration of the competition lift.

As I compete in raw powerlifting, we don’t get to use supportive gear such as squat suits or bench shirts.  This means that during the lift, we will have sticking points.  To overcome these, I use a variety of jump-stretch bands or add suspended chains from the bar.  The idea with these is that the weight will be slightly lighter at the bottom of the lift and slightly heavier at the top.

During the extension of a joint, there is a reactive deceleration when nearing full extension.  This leads to a reduction in force and a slowing of the bar.  When the weight is steadily getting heavier, I need to apply more force to the bar, even to the limit of extension of the joint.  This means that when a constant weight is being held, I’ll be able to continuously apply more force and move through the sticking points.

The repetition method

As the name suggests this is where you… you know… do more reps of stuff.  The idea behind this is to bring up weak points in your musculature to improve you lifts.  For me, my quads/hip flexors and triceps are the weak bits that need strengthening.  This is based on hypertrophy training as a larger cross section of muscle can apply more force and contract harder, thereby making me lift more weight, which is what it’s all about.  This means sets of 6-15 even up to 20-30 for certain exercises to increase hypertrophy and make that bit stronger.  Do this for 2-3 exercises

So there you have it.  One day lift something to a maximum, then do some higher reps stuff on things that a weak for you.  Another day, lift something light as fast as you can, then do some higher reps stuff on things that are weak for you.  Do this for both bench specific and squat/deadlift specific for a total of 4 workouts per week.  Add some conditioning at the start or end of your session.  It’s that simple, but none of this is easy.  For this to be successful, you need to lift with everything you have and be brutal in your assessment of yourself, which can be quite a revealing process.

I hope everyone has leaned something from this, if you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or message me via our facebook page.