Basic Three-Day Conjugate Training Schedule
One of the most significant benefits of the Conjugate Method is the ability to manipulate the methodology to fit each athlete best. Whether this means adjusting training intensity, volume, or the training schedule, there are numerous ways we can change things up to ensure training remains optimal for all athletes. Ultimately, training needs to meet the athlete's demands, so we adjust to provide training that is as productive as possible.
Converting to a three-day-per-week training plan is one of the most common adjustments we make for athletes with busy lives and training schedules. The three-day training week allows an athlete to make meaningful gains in strength, power, muscle mass, and work capacity, all while leaving plenty of time to focus on sports practice and competition preparation throughout the week.
The three-day training week calls for an athlete to train the lower body twice and the upper body once. If you are familiar with our four-day training schedule, you will know we train max effort lower and upper, along with dynamic effort lower and upper every week. With the three-day plan, we will modify the training week to include both a max and dynamic effort lower training day and an upper body training day that will alternate between max and dynamic effort week to week.
Below, we will discuss programming strategies for designing an effective three-day-per-week training schedule.
The Training Schedule
When following a three-day per week training schedule, we will designate each week of training as an "A" week or a "B" week. During these training weeks, the lower body training schedule will remain the same, while the upper body training schedule will alternate between max and dynamic effort-focused training. During an "A" week, we will focus on max effort upper, while during a "B" week, we will focus on dynamic effort upper.
This training schedule allows athletes to avoid extensive recovery times and keeps the shoulders and upper torso from experiencing fatigue that could affect practice or competition performance. Most athletes can tolerate higher levels of lower body volume and intensity, while upper body training volume and intensity can cause excess fatigue if not adequately regulated.
Why is this the case? It's simple. Most athletes have spent much of their lives running, sprinting, jumping, and moving explosively with the lower body. However, this is often different for the upper body. It can take time to build upper body training capacity in athletes.
Following this training split, we can provide adequate training to the upper and lower body without worrying about excess fatigue or soreness affecting practice or competition performance.
To ensure our upper body training volume is optimal week to week, we will add a few upper body accessory exercises to our lower body training days as well. These exercises will typically be back-focused accessory exercises providing carryover to the upper body training lifts such as the bench or overhead press.
Training Week "A"
The first training week will, of course, be training week "A." During this week, we will train max and dynamic effort lower, along with max effort upper. Here is an example of the main exercise selection for training week "A."
Max Effort Lower:
Deadlift, work up to a top set of three reps.
Max Effort Upper:
Floor Press, work up to a top set single.
Dynamic Effort Lower:
Box Squat, 5 x 5 @70% (45% bar + 25% accommodating resistance)
It is important to remember that the dynamic effort lower waves will follow the same pattern as they would with a four-day training week, taking three weeks to complete. However, our upper body dynamic effort waves will take six weeks to complete due to alternating between max and dynamic effort upper training week to week.
Our accessory exercise selection strategy will remain similar to the selection process when following a four-day per week training schedule. We want to address weaknesses while improving the strength and capacity of all lower and upper-body muscle groups.
Here is an example of appropriate accessory exercise selection and volume regulation during a three-day training week.
Max Effort Lower:
Romanian Deadlift - 4 x 5-8
Goblet Squat- 3 x 12-15
Chest-Supported Row - 3 x 10-12
Reverse Hyper - 4 x 15-20
Standing Abs - 4 x 15-20
Max Effort Upper:
Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 x 8-10
Barbell Rows - 4 x 5-8
Rolling DB Tricep Extension - 4 x 10-12
Hammer Curl - 3 x 12-15
Banded Pressdowns - 3 x AMRAP
Lateral Raises - 3 x 15
Dynamic Effort Lower:
Speed Deadlift - 6 x 2 @70% (45% bar + 25% accommodating resistance)
Belt Squat - 3 x 10-12
Pendlay Row - 3 x 8-10
KB Swings - 3 x 12-15
Reverse Hyper - 4 x 15-20
GHR Sit-Ups - 4 x AMRAP
As you can see, our training volume is increased a bit each training day to make up for the training day lost when converting to a three-day training schedule. The goal is to get as much training in during each training day without throwing recovery off or leaving the athlete feeling tired during practice or competitions.
Remember, each athlete will have different tolerance levels regarding training volume and intensity, so it may be necessary to increase or decrease training volume depending on the athlete.
Training Week "B"
Once training week "A" is complete, we will then move on to training week "B." This week, we will perform max effort lower, dynamic effort upper, and dynamic effort lower. Here is an example of the main exercise selection for training week "B."
Max Effort Lower:
Squat, work up to a top set single.
Dynamic Effort Upper:
Close Grip Bench Press, 9 x 3 @70% (45% bar + 25% accommodating resistance)
Dynamic Effort Lower:
Box Squat, 5 x 5 @75% (50% bar + 25% accommodating resistance)
Our lower body training carries on as usual while our upper body training changes to a dynamic focus with the start of a dynamic effort upper training wave. As mentioned, lower body dynamic effort waves will take three weeks to complete. In comparison, upper body dynamic effort waves will take six weeks to complete due to the week-to-week change between max and dynamic effort upper.
As for accessory exercise programming, we will follow the same strategy as during week "A" while changing the exercise selections. Here is an example of appropriate accessory exercise selections for week "B."
Max Effort Lower:
Front Squat - 3 x 5-8
Inverse Curl - 4 x AMRAP
Seal Row - 3 x 10-12
Reverse Hyper - 4 x 15-20
Standing Abs - 4 x 15-20
Dynamic Effort Upper:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 x 10-12
Lat Pulldown - 4 x 10-12
Skullcrusher - 4 x 10-12
DB Bicep Curl - 4 x 12-15
Williams Extension - 3 x 12-15
Front Raises - 3 x 15
Dynamic Effort Lower:
Speed Deadlift - 5 x 2 @75% (50% bar + 25% accommodating resistance)
Inverse Curl - 4 x AMRAP
Leg Press - 3 x 10-12
Reverse Hyper - 4 x 15-20
GHR Sit-Ups - 4 x AMRAP
Face Pulls - 4 x AMRAP
During training week "B," we focus on changing up the focus of accessory exercises a bit to avoid accommodation while keeping the overall volume as high as tolerable to allow for as much improvement as possible while following a limited training schedule.
The Big Picture
Now that we have broken down the three-day training schedule to explain how athletes should approach programming each training day, it is time to look at the big picture and see how the plan continues over time. Here is how the three-day training schedule breaks down over six training weeks,
Week 1 (A)
ME Lower
ME Upper
DE Lower (first week of the first wave)
Week 2 (B)
ME Lower
DE Upper (first week of the first wave)
DE Lower (second week of the first wave)
Week 3 (A)
ME Lower
ME Upper
DE Lower (third week of the first wave)
Week 4 (B)
ME Lower
DE Upper (second week of the first wave)
DE Lower (first week of the second wave)
Week 5 (A)
ME Lower
ME Upper
DE Lower (second week of the second wave)
Week 6 (B)
ME Lower
DE Upper (third week of the first wave)
DE Lower (third week of the second wave)
As you can see, due to upper body training days alternating between max and dynamic effort, it will take us six total weeks to complete an upper body dynamic effort training wave. This training schedule allows for absolute strength and explosive power to be enhanced in the upper and lower body while avoiding issues with excess fatigue or pain in the upper torso, shoulders, and arms.
There is Always a Way
The Conjugate Method is the most diverse and easy-to-manipulate training method and can be applied to any athlete, no matter the training situation or schedule. With Conjugate, we can make adjustments on the fly to both main and accessory exercises to ensure our training volume, intensity, and exercise selection best fits the athlete each training day.
The conversion to a three-day training schedule can benefit athletes with a demanding practice and competition schedule and limited recovery time. Additionally, this training schedule can be used by individuals focused on powerlifting who may be dealing with a busy work schedule that limits training time.
By making a few adjustments in terms of exercise selection and training schedule, we can create Conjugate Method programming that is capable of delivering four-day training results on a limited training schedule. While following our typical four-day schedule would be best, an athlete can still make significant gains and improve performance by following our three-day programming strategies.
The Conjugate Method is like clay and can be molded to meet the demands of any sport, schedule, or situation. No other training method can reach the levels of efficiency and optimization of a well-designed Conjugate Method program. No matter the life or sports demands, there is always a way to apply the Conjugate Method to help improve athletic performance.
Sources:
Simmons, L. (2007). Westside Barbell Book of Methods. Westside Barbell.
Verkhoshansky, Y., & Siff, M. C. (2009). Supertraining. Verkhoshansky.
Zatsiorsky, V. M., & Kraemer, W. J. (2006). Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics
