posted on November 8, 2019
Some background before you begin reading this training log.
I began working as a strength coach in 1999 at University of Pittsburgh, at the time Buddy Morris was the strength coach at Pitt and he introduced me to Louie Simmons and the Westside Barbell style of training. Recently people have begun referring to this style of training as conjugate model of training. I can debate what it should be called yet I don’t want to bore anyone with these details. What I will do is break down how it is generally programmed.
Training in this style means that one day you train your big movement explosively (dynamic effort day), one day you train your big moment heavy (maximal effort day). All you do from here is rotate upper and lower dominate days. An example would look like this.
Sunday
Explosive Press, followed by accessories.
Monday
Heavy Lower, followed by accessories.
Wed
Heavy Press, followed by accessories.
Friday
Explosive Lower, followed by accessories.
Tues and Thur are recovery days. Drag a sled, throw a med ball or anything with little to no eccentric load.
This type of programming has led to many great lifts and I have followed similar patterns during most of my lifting career. So here is a sample day for me. This is Tuesdays lift which is my Max Effort Lower day.
Warm up 100 jump rope without messing up.
Blackburns 2×10
Band Rows 100 reps
1a Box Jumps 3×3 1b Med Ball Slams 3×8
Sumo Deadlifts 135 2×5, 225×3, 275×1,315×1,365×1,405×1, 405×1 +1chain,405×1+2chains, 405×1 +3chains, 405×1 +4 chains, 425 x1 +4chains.
RDL 3×5 315
Pit Shark Squats 5×10 a bunch of plates
100 reps 45 degree hyper
Finished with some abs.
This was just a small example of a heavier deadlift day. I have recently returned to sumo deadlifts and am now just getting some weight in my hands. With my Max Effort days my goal is to strain without missing any reps. So it is a tough balance I do not want to be soft yet I do not want technique to go out the window and I do not want to miss. So this is where I ended my pulls. At times I may add some singles or doubles at 80% of my best rep for that day.
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