If an individual chose to monitor a university football athletic weight room, he or she would most likely see a series of different functional lifting, Olympic lifts, and core lifts, such as squat, bench, deadlift, power clean, or power pulls. I’ve learned that people with improved functional and core lifting are superior athletes. When players repeatedly use the same simple method of training to raise their strength level, they will eventually stall. “Many have theory that to squat, bench, or deadlift more, you simply have to do the three lifts. If it were that simple no one would need special exercises, machines, or systems of training.”2 This is where the conjugate method was born.
In the early 1970s, a group of 70 highly skilled Olympic lifters were introduced to a system of 20-45 special exercises that were grouped into 2-4 exercise per workout. They rotated these special exercises as often as necessary to make continuous progress. Because athletes vary in body types, they may excel at one lift but struggle with another. If an athlete lacks in muscles that bench press, yet they bench press regularly, then incorporating special exercises for the triceps, anterior deltoid, and pectoralis major are needed to strengthen those areas. For most people this is an easy method to implement. “The normal flow is to go from general strength (10 reps), to strength (5-8 reps), power (2-5 reps) and finally to power endurance.”1
This method was created to improve an athlete's Olympic and core lifts which will improve their athleticism. If the athletes only squat, they will only get so strong because there is no new stimulus introduced. The conjugate method provides new stimulus to strengthen the muscles of the main lifts. The conjugate method is used for high-level athletes who have been training for a long time.
1Read, A. (n.d.). Conjugate Method: A Better Way to Plan Your Training Week. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/conjugate-method-a-better-way-to-plan-your-training-week
2Simmons, L. (n.d.). The Conjugate Method - Westside Barbell. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://westside-bar bell.com/the-conjugate-method/
Great insight! This is a problem I believe many people struggle with when it comes to making gains, especially those who have never been in an organized athletic program.
ReplyDelete