Conjugate Periodization?

[Jim Ouini]

So I've been skimming through some articles about linear vs conjugate periodization. Obviously most of them end up with an outline of WSB - which if I understand everything correctly is U/L body days incorporating max effort for strength, dynamic effort for speed strength and repetition on assistance exercises for whatever the individual's weakness is, all in the same training phase. I definitely want to run this at some point.

I love training the 5 x 5 way but my conditioning is down and I want the benefits of some of the higher rep/lower intensity stuff, like like for my joints and connective tissue. In the past I'd run 5 x 5's and then followed by about 6 weeks of db stuff for 2-3 sets of 12-15. When I got back my strength would be down for awhile.

So any suggestions or insight or links on how to set up a training cycle so I can work on my conditioning while still maintaining my strength?

e.g.

Monday:
Squat 5 x 5
RDL or GM 3 x 10
incline db press 2-3 x 12-15
db row 2-3 x 12-15
Dips 3 x 10

Wed:
Dead 5 x 5
split squat or lunge 2-3 x 12-15
Push Press 5 x 5
Pullup 3 x 8


Friday:
DB thruster 3 x 30sec
Front squat 5 x 5
Clean Pull or BB row 5 x 5
Bench Press 5 x 5


Run this for about 6 weeks and each week I'd just try to ramp the weights on my main lifts single factor style and maybe ramp the reps on my db stuff until I'm ready for another DF 5 x 5.

Or does this just look like a ridiculous mish mash? Maybe it'd be better just to run standard 5 x 5 and tack on the lighter stuff at the end? Or maybe better just to have separate days?

Ordinarily I'd go read Supertraining or Zatsiorsky but it's all packed up because we're moving

 

[coolcolj]

In an ideal world you would train everything you want to do, and make gains everywhere, but once your past the begineer stage that doesn't work. And the stronger you get the less so.

I think the best way to do it, is to have all the extra conditioning stuff in the base cyce. All that extra work will act as a sort of overload and work capacity build up

then you cut back on everything to deload/peak your trained attributes

that's eactly what conjugate block sequencing is about.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Just a semantic point, but I don't know that I'd refer to what you presented as conjugate periodization per se - my (limited) understaning of conjugate periodization is that you combine any combo of ME (heavily nueral), RE (repetition/hypertrophy) and DE (speed) work. To me it seems that everything you wrote falls under the RE definition, just at different ends of the spectrum.

So to me it seems that you're just running a '5x5' with a different rep emphasis - 'not that there's anything wrong with that' /Seinfeld but it's not conjugate periodization.

IMO you oughtta give DE stuff consderation. I think working in the higher rep range is great, and you could add som de stuff to gain nueral efficiency while not beating the shit out of yourseelf with ME singles.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Thanks coolcolj. Some clarification though. Conjugate means you train for different things in the same mesocycle - be it strength, speed, endurance, as opposed to linear where you'd have different cycles for each of the attributes. Correct?

So when you say:

I think the best way to do it, is to have all the extra conditioning stuff in the base cyce. All that extra work will act as a sort of overload and work capacity build up

then you cut back on everything to deload/peak your trained attributes
that's eactly what conjugate block sequencing is about.

Do you mean to train, say, strength + conditioning stuff in the base (kinda like I have laid out) and then deload by dropping the conditioning and start peaking on my main lifts? Or is the base a straight conditioning cycle, which makes it more like linear.

Just a semantic point, but I don't know that I'd refer to what you presented as conjugate periodization per se - my (limited) understaning of conjugate periodization is that you combine any combo of ME (heavily nueral), RE (repetition/hypertrophy) and DE (speed) work. To me it seems that everything you wrote falls under the RE definition, just at different ends of the spectrum.

So to me it seems that you're just running a '5x5' with a different rep emphasis - 'not that there's anything wrong with that' /Seinfeld but it's not conjugate periodization.

IMO you oughtta give DE stuff consderation. I think working in the higher rep range is great, and you could add som de stuff to gain nueral efficiency while not beating the shit out of yourseelf with ME singles.

Good suggestion, I have to read WSB stuff that AI sent me, I know it's something like 60% 1RM as fast as you can. How many reps, just a bunch of singles? If I do this will I maintain my strength while I get my high rep work in?

As far as ME, DE and RE I agree it's more semantics, I just want to bring my conditioning up and not lose my strength - if it's all in the 5-15 range so be it

 

[coolcolj]

Thanks coolcolj. Some clarification though. Conjugate means you train for different things in the same mesocycle - be it strength, speed, endurance, as opposed to linear where you'd have different cycles for each of the attributes. Correct?

Do you mean to train, say, strength + conditioning stuff in the base (kinda like I have laid out) and then deload by dropping the conditioning and start peaking on my main lifts? Or is the base a straight conditioning cycle, which makes it more like linear.

conjugate - means to join

what you describe is actually more like concurrent periodisation, when you train everything equally.
Conjugate is where you train one quality, and maintain the rest, and then rotate which ones you emphasis and maintain

A conjugate sequence block for a power sport would involve -

Block 1 - lots of strength and hyperophy work, ie concentrated loading like 5x5. While doing skill and speed maintenance. And conditioning work
during this time, your power and speed will nose dive due top all the fatigue rom the strength work.

Block 2- peak/deload phase. Here you taper back the frequency and volume of strength and conditioning work, just to maintain and then specialise on power and speed work. Due to the delayed training effect from Block 1, your strength continues to rise as your rebound and recover. While you peak your speed, power and strength and get PRs every week etc

 

[silver_shadow]

Thanks coolcolj. Some clarification though. Conjugate means you train for different things in the same mesocycle - be it strength, speed, endurance, as opposed to linear where you'd have different cycles for each of the attributes. Correct?

So when you say:



Do you mean to train, say, strength + conditioning stuff in the base (kinda like I have laid out) and then deload by dropping the conditioning and start peaking on my main lifts? Or is the base a straight conditioning cycle, which makes it more like linear.



Good suggestion, I have to read WSB stuff that AI sent me, I know it's something like 60% 1RM as fast as you can. How many reps, just a bunch of singles? If I do this will I maintain my strength while I get my high rep work in?

As far as ME, DE and RE I agree it's more semantics, I just want to bring my conditioning up and not lose my strength - if it's all in the 5-15 range so be it

it's actually something like ramp up from 50% 1RM to 60% over 4 weeks (for squats). then go back down to 50% over another 4 wks. repeat. this will be done for 8-9 doubles. for bench, it's 50% of 1 RM for 8-9 triples. the idea is that you imagine that your maxing out although the weight is signigicantly less than your max and hence you will attempt to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible even for a sub maximal weight. and yes, you will maintain strength because every week you will not only have max effort days, but also hypertrophy promoting assistance exercises. the typical layout is something like:
Monday: lower body ME
Wed: upper body ME
Fri: lower body DE
Sun: upper body DE
on all these days you will finish with assistance exercises. generally, on upper body days, your advised to do tri assistance exercises before shoulder assistance exercises.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Conjugate is where you train one quality, and maintain the rest, and then rotate which ones you emphasis and maintain

So is WSB more like concurrent periodization, I understand from SS and G5.0's post you train strength, speed and hypertrophy together.

Or are WSB'ers training in blocks where they emphasize one attribute (say, speed) while maintaining others (strength)?

Thanks for the answers guys. I need to study up on this stuff, obviously

 

[coolcolj]

technically WSB is not Conjugate - it's Concurrent, because they train strength, speed and hypertrophy equally in a week

it's only conjugate if you plan out blocks of training over time to sequence things
see Supertraining
Conjugate means to join, so the delayed training effect from block one joins into block 2 to give you a 2 for one deal.

I guess they think that the way it's laid out in a week is like a compressed conjugate scheme

when you get advanced, a single session of each quality isn't enough to create gains, and if you crank up the volume of each you will go nowhere and kill yourself. So you have to specialise and rotate emphasis

 

[BiggT]

I've personally always been a fan of the loading/peaking methods that CCJ was talking about , but to answer your original question, Jim, you can TRY back squatting 3 days a week, with 5's on Mon and 10's on Wed and 3's on Fri. The 10's build a great reserve of strength and conditioning, while the 5's and 3's are your basic, old strength formula.

OR you can do a 5x5 pyramid on Mon and keep all weights constant throughout the cycle, and do 10's or 12's on Friday......or you can do your basic 5x5-type setup, but instead of pushing your top-end sets, you push, say a backoff set of 12-20 on the heavy days.

Again, I am a fan of the 'conjugate' method, but people have done this and gotten results with it, so I wanted to throw it out there for you.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Thanks a million guys. Great info and suggestions.

The confusing thing for me (not having Supertraining handy - not that I read it cover to cover anyway but now I think I will ) is that when I'd search for conjugate method it usually ended up with WSB, or vice versa. Hence the confusion.

 

[coolcolj]

there was a big thread on this on tmag, I'll see if i can dig a link up

 

[redguru]

Subscribed for that link, coolcolj

 

[coolcolj]

here are a few

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=847343

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=862643

 

[Jim Ouini]

Thanks for the links. Wow I really need to bust out Supertraining. Kind of glad to hear it's not so straightforward with all these terms flying around - complex, conjugated, unidirectional, etc