Our Process
What Is Conjugate Periodization?
The Soviets first developed Conjugate in the late 60’s early 70’s to help improve performance in Olympic lifting. With this system, they experienced far less injury yet still had massive strength improvement. Fast forward 60 years, along with many advancements, conjugate has proven to be the most efficient way to produce injury-free athletes.
Conjugate Periodization typically utilizes 4 training days split into 2 upper body days and 2 lower body days with similar days spread apart by a 72-hour time frame. One day we focus on building strength and the other on dynamic speed effort by applying maximal force to submaximal weights.
Conjugate Periodization calls for a mass variation of exercises to strengthen the body from all angles. It will focus 2x the amount of work on the posterior chain (back of the body) to improve joint health and longevity as well as remove compression from the body and pain associated with it.
Why We Continue To Use It
Through mass variation, conjugate doesn’t leave any weak points in the body. Not only does this make us a more complete athlete but it removes pain in joints and adds traction to the body to keep you competing longer.
True athletic strength training is about getting as strong as possible with as little work and mileage on the body. With our ability to manipulate Conjugate Periodization, we can build a training protocol for any athlete.
This is NOT a one size fits all program and must be created by someone who understands the sport as well as the effects of chosen exercises.
Let’s Take A Deep Look Into The Program
There are three categories of reps that can be utilized in this program. If used improperly, they can hinder an individual instead of helping them. Here is a look at what we believe is the best application of these methods how our program will utilize them.
THE EQUATION
Repetition Method
Typically defined by 8 or more reps or time intervals that last at least 40 seconds.
We will use this method sparingly and mostly to attack and improve conditioning.
We only utilize this on “Go muscles” never “Show muscles”. This method improves the health and strength of our tendons and ligaments due to longer time under tension.
This can be a great tool for athletes but needs to be planned properly as it will add unnecessary mass if used incorrectly.
This method would be cycled in more for a person who is too light and needs some quality size.
Max Effort
Mass Part Of The Equation
This method calls for 5 reps or less and reaches 80 to 90 percent of an individual’s one rep maximum. This is where we teach the body and central nervous system (CNS) how to strain, how to be under pressure, stay calm, and continue to function with proper form.
This method is great for producing strength in the body due to the short time under tension and low rep count.
This attribute is a great choice for endurance athletes as we don’t want excess mass on the body.
Dynamic Effort
Acceleration Part Of The Equation
This is where we apply maximal force to submaximal weight. It allows the body to create more force production but less wear and tear on the body due to using lighter weight.
Using dynamic speed effort, we will teach the CNS to deliver messages to the body to learn and react faster.
This method will help peak strength and force while adding little mass to the body.
Other Variations
Accommodating Resistance
This refers to the use of chains and bands to develop maximal tension through a full range of motion. The bands and chains become lighter at the bottom portion of the exercise and become tougher towards the lockout portion.
The bands accelerate the rate of gravity due to elastic tension. This will teach the athlete how to better absorb force and eliminate sticking points in movements.
We will use bands fairly often and you will see them typically applied to the Max Effort and Dynamic Effort rep methods.
Chaotic Exercise
This will add instability and unpredictability to an exercise. We will focus on strengthening stabilizer systems in the body instead of taxing singular muscles. This increases the body’s ability to stabilize in unpredictable circumstances.
Unilateral Training
This is a type of training involves using one limb to complete an exercise instead of both at the same time.
In most sports, our center of gravity is constantly changing during the activity. Meaning our body weight tends to be supported by one side or the other. This method allows the body to be prepared to handle this.
Once you put it all together, it’s actually not too bad.
The bottom line is this, The Complete Trainer is the best bang for the buck when it comes to customized programming. We guarantee we will get you feeling better, performing at a higher level, all while training in the safest way possible.
Book a Free 15 minute Consult
email Zack Chestnut at zack.completetrainer@gmail.com to schedule an appointment.
Alternatively, contact support@zack-chestnut.com for any other issues