If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs
If you’ve been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, “complexes” may be just what you’ve been looking for.
If you’ve never heard of “complexes” before, the basic concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete a “set”, you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another and repeat the sequence several times to complete a “set”. It’s basically like performing a routine, instead of just mindlessly performing a typical “set”.
This type of training is excellent to work a huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of training is amazing, as you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a sequence a mere two or three times.
If I had to venture a guess, I’d have to say that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well, due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But that’s just my guess.
I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and you might start to forget what’s next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer barbell complex that really gets me fired up:
Example Kettlebell Complex
- one arm swing
- one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;
- one arm overhead squat;
- bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;
- bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press
As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with each arm. That’s one set…and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3 to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your sequence reps. If you’re not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!
Since dumbbells are more accessible to most people than kettlebells, now I’ll show you how to put together a good dumbbell complex.
Example Dumbbell Complex
- upright row with each arm separately then both together
- front lunge with one leg, then the other
- back lunge with one leg, then the other
- curl to overhead press
- keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat
Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions explained with the barbell complexes work great with the dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days.
For example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, K-bell or D-bell complexes Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and bodyweight drills on Saturday; then Monday would be K-bell or D-bell complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!
For more killer full body training routines and a fully comprehensive nutritional analysis for developing the lean chiseled body that you’ve always wanted, don’t miss out on my internationally best selling program with over 250,000 users in over 155 countries –