The Law of Accommodation .....break the law

This is a biological law that basically explains that over time the body will adapt to specific movements as well as loads/rep/set schemes.  This will ultimately cause a plateau in performance as this will no longer be a strong enough stimulus to continue progressing.  Perhaps the most famous training cycle used to defeat this Law is that of Louie Simmons' "Westside Conjugate" programming.  Common features of conjugate style programming include a Max effort day, a speed/dynamic day, as well as a hypertrophy day. The combination of these 3 different methods of strength training will allow for varying %'s of loads, rep schemes and movements that will regularly alter the stimulus that is being delivered to the muscles.  On top of the changes in methods, the primary movements are generally altered weekly by changing the stance/grip, type of bar used or the usage of boxes, pins, bands and chains.  These are not only used for your big 3 powerlift movements(bench, squat, deadlift) but also for your Olympic movements (clean, jerk and snatch) as well as your assistance movements( those aiding in hypertrophy and speed).  Example would be using a football bar with a neutral grip to bench, rather than using a traditional barbell, or a cambered squat bar for back squat rather than a traditional barbell for back squats.

This style of training is great for those looking to take their powerlifting, strongman, oly, and crossfit to a next level.  Especially those who find yourselves easily bored with a static program, conjugate style training calls for a different movement on your max effort lifts each week thus allowing the lifter to turn old weaknesses into new strengths while still focusing on the same major muscle groups.  I will soon be posting some sample weekly templates for the program that I have created and now been following for 7 weeks.  After having not touched a conventional deadlift or squat in 6 weeks I was able to PR on both lifts by between 25-35 lbs. Going from 485-501 on deadlift and from 330-365 on back squat.  Get excited sharks, fins up!!