102522 Harvest Conjugate Methods

You’ve probably seen our announcements and advertising for a new specialty course called “Conjugate Methods”. Here’s what to expect: First off, the conjugate method was made popular by Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell in Ohio. Yes this is a world famous powerlifting gym and you might not be interested in powerlifting whatsoever, but the Westside program has been used for all types of athletes as well as people like us who just want to get stronger! Conveniently it aligns very well with CrossFit Methodology and checks the boxes of Constantly Varied, High intensity, Functional Movements, even though it is a Strength/Power/Speed program.

If we were to run a conjugate program to replace your CrossFit workouts, the class would be 4 or 5 times a week, but we aim to supplement CrossFit rather than replace it. We’ll have 2 sessions a week. Those two days alternate between Max Effort and dynamic effort workouts. Each workout also focuses on either your top half or bottom half as well. Here’s a 2 week example. Week 1: Tuesday- Max Effort Lower, Thursday-Dynamic effort Upper. Week 2: Tuesday- Dynamic effort Lower, Thursday- Max Effort Upper.

Max effort is just what it sounds like. We’ll work up to a 1-3 rep max. Lower- either squat or deadlift. Upper- a press of some sort. You all know how to squat, hinge and press, but one of the defining aspects- and why it aligns with CrossFit so well- is that we will be doing different versions of these lifts in a wide variety. Rather than just a back squat, we might do a box squat with the safety squat bar with bands attached.

Dynamic effort days are all about moving the bar FAST. While a max effort workout may only be 7-12 reps including the warmups, dynamic effort days are usually 14-24 reps. The lifts here too are also varied, and they will always feature some sort of accommodating resistance (you’ll learn all about, and experience accommodating resistance in class). Example, banded bench press to a 4 inch board on your chest 9x2.

On both the Max Effort and Dynamic effort days, the main lift is only part of the work. It’ll be followed by supplemental exercises to build that lift. Followed then by heavy abdominal work, and finishing with a restorative exercise.

In addition to the maximal and dynamic methods, we’ll sprinkle in some repeated effort method, which looks like marching, carrying, pushing, or pulling heavy objects.

Conjugate is a great way to get strong, powerful, and fast for a lot of the same reasons CrossFit is effective. Changing the lifts keeps things fresh and intriguing, and since you’re doing a new lift every session, you’re hitting pr’s every day! Westside barbell is a place too that leans into the community and accountability aspect of training. Rarely would someone be able to do such training without lifting partners… Properly pushing yourself alone in a CrossFit workout is hard enough to do once, it takes a team atmosphere to apply that intensity to an 8 week program!

When I took the Conjugate methods course, one thing that our instructor said more than anything else and at the end of each lecture, or demonstration is, “you’re only limited by your imagination.” So I’m excited to see what all I come up with in our course!