# A conjugate program...



## Dale Mabry (Mar 17, 2006)

So, I figured I would pass this program I am working on to you and maybe you will give it a try, maybe not.  I am not claiming this as my own, I look at it more as an arrangement of other's ideas to a directed goal.  I have also submitted it for publication in some journals.  I will not source any of the information here in the hopes of keeping it short.  If you want the sources I will PM them to you.  

The routine is an advance routine based on conjugate periodization.  Rather than having max effort days and dynamic effort days, I split the major groupings into strength and power.  Strength is done with 3 minute rest intervals and 4 sets of 4 reps, power the same, but the emphasis is on a power movement rather than a strength movement.  As such, explosive bar speed is emphasized.  I used a lower/upper split so my weekly split looked like:

Monday-Upper Power
Tuesday-Lower Strength
Wednesday-Off
Thursday-Upper Strength
Friday-Lower Power

Now, for each day I would pick 2 core exercises that accomplished the  specified goal.  So for Monday I would do Bench Throws and Power Cleans, each for 4 sets of 3-4 emphasizing bar speed over weight lifted.  Tuesday would be Squats and Step ups for max total weight, Thursday Bench Press and Barbell Row for max total weight, and Friday was Jump squats and 1-leg hop over barrier.  Again, since speed was key, I threw in a plyo movement for the second core lower power exercise.

So that was the bulk of my program.  The second part of each day was assistance work.  With the assistance work, I chose another biomotor ability (Power, strength, muscular endurance, and hypertrophy are all termed biomotor abilities) to train.  The reason for this is probably too long to discuss here, but mainly it is for an athlete looking for balance in all of the biomotor abilities, something that Louie Simmons addresses in his Westside stuff.  Also, I theorize that it is a way to optimize hormonal output post-exercise.  It seems that alot of researchers are putting a ton of weight behind what happens hormonally post-exercise.  The attributes of a program that lead to a better hormonal environment post-exercise are that they are done with a high intensity (Load), compound movements, and high lactate concetrations.  Lactate concentrations are very closely linked to GH output, the problem is, to get high lactate concentrations, you can't use the required heavy loads, you need to use a much lighter load for higher reps and less rest between sets.  So, here is what I did with the assistance work.  Take Muscular Endurance and train it with strength, and take hypertrophy and train it with Power.  For hypertrophy, I trained with 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 seconds of rest between sets amd for muscular endurance I trained with 3 sets of 15 reps with 30 second rest intervals.  I would do mostly single joint assistance work, making sure to hit pushing and pulling movements equally in as many planes as possible.  I threw in some cpompound movements that i thought were necessary, and this goal *could* be accomplished with all compound movements.  So, this is what it looked like:

Monday-Upper Power/Hypertrophy
Tuesday-Lower Strength/Muscular Endurance
Wednesday-Off
Thursday-Upper Strength/Muscular Endurance
Friday-Lower Power/Hypertrophy

So, a typical Monday would look like this:

Power-Full Rest
Bench Throws-4 sets of 3 reps
Power Cleans-4 sets of 3 reps

Hyprertrophy-60 second rest 
Chest Flyes-3x10
Rear Delt raises-3x10
Lat Pulldown-3x10
Dips-3x10
Bicep curls-3x10
Tricep pushdown-3x10

So, I tried this and had a couple of clients try this.  Strength gains were very good, I started my 4x4 on flat bench with 265 and got to 295 within a 6 week period before unloading, although I have been able to get 315 for 4x4 with the help of M1T when it was legal, but I was also 25 lbs heavier.  The 2 guys I had try it also saw really good strength gains, but like me, didn't gain much weight on it.  I did lean out a bit on it with weight staying the same, but I wouldn't say it was siginficant, maybe a couple of pounds.  I imagine that if I stuck with it longer I may have seen some hypertrophy, but for right now it seems more appropriate as a strength gaining program.  So, there it is, do with it what you will.


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## P-funk (Mar 17, 2006)

dude.....I wouldn't post that here.  Mr. biceps will steal this.

good post.


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## Yanick (Mar 17, 2006)

good post, i'm gonna do this as soon as my work capacity is back to an acceptable level.


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## DOMS (Mar 17, 2006)

I'm sure that your post was informative and helpful, but I couldn't make it past 'journbals'.  I really tried...


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## Dale Mabry (Mar 17, 2006)

DOMS said:
			
		

> I'm sure that your post was informative and helpful, but I couldn't make it past 'journbals'.  I really tried...



There, I fixed it, you may continue if you wish.

Yan, the endurance shit is all mental, but yeah, it sucks.


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## CowPimp (Mar 17, 2006)

Interesting stuff.  I may give something like this a shot in the future.  I already have something else planned after my comp in April as a means of getting conditioned like none other.


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## mike456 (May 14, 2006)

im gonna try this cause i want to be more athletic and gain size at the same time- are bench throws benching and throwing the bar in the air- isn't that very dangerous?


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## CowPimp (May 14, 2006)

mike456 said:
			
		

> im gonna try this cause i want to be more athletic and gain size at the same time- are bench throws benching and throwing the bar in the air- isn't that very dangerous?



I think he did those on a smith machine, though I have done them with just the bar before for fun.


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## mike456 (May 14, 2006)

oh damn i dont got a smith machine- lift at home.


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## Bakerboy (May 14, 2006)

Great post Dale  


mike456 explosive pushups, done quickly, where your hands leave the ground (with or without a clap) can be used instead of traditional bench throws if you train at home and are concerned with safety. I don't know how long you have been training but I would consider bench throws to be a very advanced exercise, to do it without two skilled spotters, is just asking for trouble... 

If explosive clapping pushups are too easy for you you can always modify the movement to make the load (your BW) heavier, thus more challenging.
Here are some ideas:
1. Change your hand position to a (mixed position) so that one hand is closer in and the other one is wider, explode off the ground, then switch your hand position when you land; go back and forth like this until you can't do it any more (do three sets like that)
2. Wear a backpack loaded with added weight (a sandbag, or weight plate wrapped with a large towel or towels). Explode from the down position getting as much "air" as you can.
3. You can also do explosive pushups from the ground to two implements (like stacked phone books) that are placed outside your hand position.


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## P-funk (May 14, 2006)

you could use a med. ball to substitute for bench throws.


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## fUnc17 (May 15, 2006)

Looks good, thanks for sharing dale


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## Seanp156 (Dec 15, 2006)

Interesting... I might have to give something like this a try... However, it doesn't really seem any/much different than Westside to me, except the 4x4 rep scheme. Power work seems like the same thing that a dynamic effort day is for Westside, and strength work seems like the max effort day.


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## fufu (Dec 15, 2006)

I saw Bakerboy posted and I thought he was back...then I saw the dates. Thanks Sean!!!


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## Seanp156 (Dec 15, 2006)

fufu said:


> I saw Bakerboy posted and I thought he was back...then I saw the dates. Thanks Sean!!!



No problem!


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