🦍 The JH Variant of the Conjugate Method
 
The JH Variant of the Westside Barbell Conjugate Method is my personal evolution of Louie Simmons’ legendary system — a program I’ve lived under the bar with for years. At its core, it stays true to Louie’s roots: the relentless pursuit of maximal strength, explosive speed, and constant progression through variation. But after many years of running conjugate myself and coaching others, I’ve made minor but meaningful adjustments to refine the system for long-term progression, recovery, and real-world application.
 
🔹 Core Principles Preserved
Max Effort (ME): Weekly 1–3 rep max strain to build absolute strength.
Dynamic Effort (DE): Three-week speed-strength waves for bar velocity and explosiveness.
Repetition Effort (RE): Targeted accessory work to build muscle mass and eliminate weak points.
Rotation & Variation: Constantly changing stimuli to prevent stagnation and develop total athletic strength.
 
🔹 My Key Adjustments
Reverse Band Integration: I emphasize the lightened method (reverse bands) more frequently on the three core lifts. This allows overload at the top end while protecting joints and preserving confidence under heavy weights.
Streamlined Accessory Rotation: Instead of overcomplicating accessory work, I keep a tighter pool of proven movements for hamstrings, triceps, lats, and shoulders — rotating them every 3–4 weeks for recovery and growth.
Volume Balancing on DE Waves: True to Louie’s 3-week waves, but I taper volume more aggressively across the wave (12×2 → 10×2 → 8×2) to avoid CNS burnout while keeping bar speed razor sharp.
GPP with Intent: Instead of “junk volume” conditioning, I program sled work, carries, and incline walking with specific recovery and hypertrophy goals in mind.
Competition Specificity: In the final 6–8 weeks before a peak, I bias ME days toward straight-bar comp lifts with overload (reverse bands, slight box height changes) rather than broad variations, keeping strength transferable to the platform.
 
🔹 Why the JH Variant Works
This approach keeps the DNA of Westside alive — strain, speed, repetition — while smoothing the rough edges that lifters often struggle with (joint wear, over-variation, fatigue). The result is a conjugate system that remains brutal, effective, and endlessly adaptable, but with a sharper focus on sustainability, overload confidence, and competition transfer.
 
 
 
🔥 In short: The JH Variant is still Conjugate at its core — but it’s Conjugate refined through years under the bar, battle-tested in real training, and built for lifters who want to be strong for decades, not just a few PR cycles.