Supplemental Work & Accessories on a Conjugate Program

Decided to write this today as a follow up to my last article which was just kind of a loose and incomplete summary about the conjugate method, how and why to use it.  I hate calling things like this a “program” because then people start looking for the cook-book version where every set/rep/exercise is uniformly prescribed in explicit detail for everyone.  Unfortunately it generally doesn’t work that way in any program – there has to be some room for individual modifications.  And this is especially true for a conjugate routine.  This is an organization of training not a paint by numbers program.  We’re doing max effort work, speed work for volume, and accessory and supplemental work for hypertrophy, and possibly some conditioning work to maintain enough work capacity to do all of the former effectively.  Aside from that it’s really wide open to be individualized.

One thing we didn’t get into much on the last article was how to go about organizing your supplemental and accessory type work.  The way that most people tend to organize these terms in their head is that “Supplemental” work is the heavier (often barbell based) exercises that come as the second movement each day.  These lifts can generally be trained heavy and are similar in execution to the competitive lifts.  In the way I design the programs, the exercises we use for supplemental exercises are also exercises that can be used for max effort work (front squats, rack pulls, close grip benches, etc can be used as a supplemental lift or max effort lift depending on the week).

On max effort exercises the volume is fairly low and the intensity is very high.  I often have clients (after warm up) work up in singles until we hit a 1-rep max for the day (may or may not be an all time PR).  Then I may back them off to 85-90% and have them complete 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps as back off.   The volume and intensity of the back off work (or even if it gets done at all) depends on the lift and the lifter.  If we do a 3″ Deficit Deadlift that takes 6 seconds to lock out and has the lifter’s legs shaking and bursting blood vessels under their eyes…..then we probably drop the back off work entirely or drop the volume/intensity way down.  If the top set for the day is a quick smooth single on say a Front Squat….then we may do quite a bit more volume as back off.  And we tend to do more back off on exercises that are unfamiliar/new to a lifter just for the sake of technical practice.  As a lifter gets stronger and more skilled at a lift, we typically can create more stress with less work and thus the need or ability for tons of back off is less.

The supplemental exercise comes next.  Usually this is going to be an exercise in the medium-ish volume range (I like around 15 reps for barbell exercises for most intermediates) of like 3 x 5 or 4 x 4, etc.  Sometimes this may be higher volume on upper body days, especially if I use Dumbbell Flat/Incline Presses as the supplemental movement, which I often do.  Actually very often.  Here the volume is like 3-5 sets in the 6-12 rep range.  On upper day I often do descending sets (with 3-5 minute rests) as well on exercises like Incline Barbell Presses.  I may have them do a max set in the 4-6 range, then peel 10% off and do a set in the 6-10 range, peel another 10% off and finish with a set in the 10-12 range.  On the flip side, sometimes volume may also be pretty low on the supplemental exercise on max effort day depending on the lift and the lifter.  Especially on lower body day, after a max effort squat variant, I might have a lifter do a Stiff Leg Deadlift or Rack Pull for a 4-8 rep max and then we’re done with that movement.  On exercises like this you can often get the job done with one all out set.  And remember, on max effort days, it’s okay for the volume to be on the lower side.  We’re going to be using higher volumes later in the week on the speed day.

Here is a breakdown of where and when the supplemental lift is performed:

Monday – Max Effort Lower Body

• Max Effort Squat Variant or Max Effort Deadlift Variant – 1RM + 2-3 x 2-3 @ 85-90% (optional)
• Supplemental Squat or Deadlift Variant or Goodmornings  – work up to 4-8 rep max or medium load for medium volume (3×5, 4×4, etc)
• (On max effort squat days I usually use a supplemental deadlift or goodmorning.  On max effort deadlift days I usually use a supplemental squat movement)

Wednesday – Max Effort Bench Press

• Max Effort Bench Press Variation – 1RM + 2-3 x 2-3 @ 85-90%
• Bench Press Variation, DB Bench Press (any angle – flat, incline, or decline), or Weighted Dips 3-5 sets 5-12 rep range.  Usually focus here is full range of motion and building up the chest, hence my tendency to focus on DB pressing for volume

Friday – Dynamic Effort Squat/Deads

• Squat 10 x 2
• Deadlift 10 x 1
• Since we normally squat and deadlift here for up to 10 sets each then we don’t use another barbell based supplemental movement.  We move into lower stress accessories

Saturday or Sunday – Dynamic Effort Bench Press

• Bench Press 10 x 3
• Shoulder Press or Partial Bench Press Variants (rack press, floor press, board press) or Close Grip Bench Press

So on the Dynamic Effort Bench Press days I usually have clients go in one of 3 directions.  First, this can be a really good spot to do some heavy and/or high volume overhead work because fatigue levels are only moderate at this point after the speed sets.  A good strategy can be to perform one heavy all out set in the 4-6 rep range on the Press, and then back off with 2-4 back off sets in the 8-12 range to really build up the delts.  Or skip the heavier set and just focus on building up volume.  Or if the lifter has a weak point in their triceps and misses a lot of heavier Bench Presses halfway up…then we can use today to overload the triceps with partial variations.  On the Max Effort Day I do use some partial range of motion movements but for raw lifters I like to bias things heavily towards full range of motion exercises.  For partials, we normally work for 3-5 sets in the 3-5 rep range with as much weight as you can handle to build up strength in the triceps.  It’s okay to maybe work up to a heavier single on these on occasion, but you don’t want to necessarily make a habit of maxing out on Bench Press variations twice per week every week.  The third option, which is pretty quick and easy in terms of just being efficient (or lazy if you want to define it that way) in the gym is to just use whatever weight you used for the speed sets and perform like 3 sets of close grip bench presses.  Or you can more finely tune the load on the bar by adding subtracting weight so you hit some smooth volume for like 3 sets of 5.

So that is kind of the supplemental strategy in a nutshell and as you can see there is almost an infinite amount of ways to organize it.  The idea here is arrange things that line up with your individual weaknesses as a lifter and then tailor the volume and intensity to your work capacity, ability to recover, and to match the exercise selection you are using.

The accessory work comes next.

Accessories, we often call these “assistance exercises”, are going to be lower stress exercises that build muscle mass but minimize systemic fatigue.  In my opinion, 1-2 barbell exercises per day is about maximal.  Assistance movements generally use dumbbells, cables, machines, or your own body weight.  We work with higher repetitions, shorter rest periods, etc.  At this point, it’s basically a body building program with an emphasis on building up the muscles that contribute to the big lifts, and there is room even for purely cosmetic work for muscles like biceps and calves if that is something you are interested in.

Quads, hamstrings, low back, upper back, and triceps tend to be the areas of emphasis here.  How you arrange the assistance work is less important than the fact that you actually do the assistance work and that you are working week to week and month to month to make improvements on all of the exercises in your arsenal.

On the upper body days I almost always place a Lat / Upper back exercise as the third exercise of the day while still somewhat fresh.  And I usually prescribe a pretty high volume here.  4-6 sets in the 8-12 range is a common recommendation.  Rows of all types, chins, pull ups, pulldowns, etc.  Along with Deadlift and Deadlift variants on lower body days that hits the back about 4 times per week.  With the rows, I often prescribe a lot of chest supported rows or at least variants of rows that don’t fatigue the lower back too much.  Since we may be deadlifting up to 2x/week then we have to watch for the fatigue build up in the lower back.  Chest supported T-Bar Rows, seal rows, DB rows, chest supported machine rows, Hammer Strength rows, cable rows, etc are all fine.  I usually prescribe rows 1x/week and the other day of the week we do something like chin ups/ pull ups or pulldowns.

After the rows, then our chest/shoulders/triceps have had a chance to recover a little bit within the workout and so for the fourth exercise of the day I generally prescribe a tricep movement.  There are dozens of isolated extension type of movements to choose from and I also like to use a lot of Dips here.  I find that doing the tricep movements after all the lat / upper back movement allows the lifter to handle a much more substantial load than if we move right into the extensions after doing say max effort bench presses and dumbbell bench presses.

If there is a fifth exercise of the day it is generally lifters choice.  We often do stuff here like biceps, rear delts, side delts, shrugs, or whatever.  Usually the gas tank is starting to run low here so we’re doing easier stuff.

Below is a breakdown of how two upper body days might look in a given week:

Wednesday – Max Effort Bench Press

1. Max Effort Bench Press Variant – 1RM + 2-3 x 2-3 @ 85-90%
2. Incline DB Bench Press 3-5 x 8-12
3. Chest Supported T-Bar Rows 4-6 x 8-12
4. Lying Tricep Extension 3 x 8-12
5. Side Delt Raises 3-5 x 15

Saturday / Sunday – Dynamic Effort Bench Press

1. Bench Press 10 x 3 @ 60-70%
2. Standing Overhead Press 4-6 RM + 3 x 8-12
3. Chins – 50 reps in as many sets as it takes or Pulldowns 5 x 8-12
4.  Dips – 3 sets max reps with body weight
5. Bicep Curls 2-3 x 10-12

 

If you read a lot of the traditional material from Westside Barbell, there is going to be a very heavy emphasis on hamstring and lower back work on lower body days.  This is important for raw lifters, but raw lifters also benefit from training the quads as well.  For many of my clients the extra Quad work also satisfies some of their physique / aesthetic goals as well.  I’ve written before about the “Turnip Look” that can be the result of heavy emphasis on low bar squatting and deadlifts.  Genetics / structure play a big role in this as well, but many of my clients don’t like the look of having small quads and a big ass.  I’ve found that for many (including me) the quads grow a lot better with traditional body building exercises such as leg presses, hack squats, and leg extensions in the 10-20 rep range (high bar squats as a supplemental movement after max effort deadlifts are also useful for growing the quads).  I usually put one exercise for the quads on both lower body days.

Hamstrings and lower back are already getting a lot of work on the max effort day and for this reason I train the hamstrings on this day with a knee flexion exercise such as a leg curl or glute ham raise and avoid more hip extension work.   On the Dynamic Effort lower body day I have my clients do lower stress hip extension movements such as 45 degree back raises and reverse hypers for higher reps.  I have found this to be extremely beneficial for building up work capacity in the lower back so that lower back fatigue does not become a limiting factor for the max effort, supplemental, and speed work.

Sessions are often rounded out with optional calf and ab work.

One note for older lifters, athletes, or just lifters that struggle with recovery for whatever reason…….

Lifters often avoid assistance exercises for the lower body.  My clients tend to LOVE LOVE LOVE doing lots of “bro work” for the chest, arms, shoulders, etc because (1) it’s not as hard (2) they like the “look” that it creates.  People are less enthusiastic about high reps and volume for the legs.  Mainly because (1) it’s hard (2) recovery is more difficult (3) they aren’t as into the aesthetics of their lower body vs upper body as long as they don’t have stick legs.  And if you squat / pull twice per week you aren’t going to have stick legs.

For this reason, many lifters forgo the bodybuilding type approach for training the lower body and may just focus on things like pushing a Prowler or dragging a sled as a substitute for lower body assistance.  This can be an effective method and recovery will likely be easier.  Sleds/Prowlers don’t have the same eccentric stress that say Hack Squats do and thus soreness through the week is less.  So you might experiment with something like that.  On max effort day….hit a max effort and supplemental exercise and then go drag the sled.  On speed day…hit 10 sets of squats and speed pulls and then go push the prowler.  I might still suggest some dedicated low back work on the 45 degree bench or reverse hyper though since sleds/prowlers are mostly quads, hams, glutes, calves.

Here is a breakdown of how the lower body can be trained using the conjugate method:

Monday – Max Effort Lower

1. Squat or Deadlift Variant – 1RM + 2-3 x 2-3 @ 85-90% (optional)
2. Squat or Deadlift Variant or Goodmorning 3 x 5
3. Leg Extensions 3 x 15
4. Leg Curls 3 x 10
5. Calf Raises – 50 reps broken up

Friday – Dynamic Effort Lower

1. Squat 10 x 2
2. Deadlift 10 x 1
3. Leg Press, Hack Squat, or Belt Squat 3 x 10-20
4. 45 Degree Back Extension or Reverse Hyper 3 x 15-20
5. Abs

Hopefully this clarifies some questions that lifters have about organizing assistance and supplemental work as part of a conjugate routine.