If you've been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut in your muscle building or fat burning workouts, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, Complexes may be just what you've been looking for.
Doing complexes works a huge amount of muscle in a short amount of time, and takes your fat burning workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning benefits of doing complexes is amazing, as you'll find it will push your cardio capacity to the max. This type of workout releases natural growth hormone which is responsible for building muscle and burning fat.
A complex is made up of two or more exercises done one right after the other for a specific number of reps with minimal rest. As an example you do lets say 6 reps each of several exercises (usually anywhere from 2-8 exercises) one right after another and repeat the sequence several times.
You move through one exercise after the other, using the same number of reps for each. You can perform them with one or more barbells, dumbbells, body weight exercises, kettlebells or as a mixture of any combination (as I will show you in a minute).
Complexes can be done as total body workouts, or you can do a complex for the upper and lower body separately (all three are useful methods and should be cycled into your training, as fat loss and muscle building come faster by changing your workouts every 4-5 weeks).
Doing the exercises of your complex once would be considered 1 set. In the beginning you will have to judge for yourself (based on your fitness level) how many sets you can do. As you improve over the next few weeks, you’ll do more sets (I normally work up to 6). The total amount of sets should also be based on how many exercises you are doing.
Do not pick a weight that is too light where you can get a ton of reps and do not pick a weight that is too heavy where your form is horrible. Good exercise form is always important especially as you tire.
For a begginner I would suggest 2-3 exercises to start with.
You can also increase the intensity of a complex by reducing your rest time between sets or increasing the number of reps you perform on the exercises.
The following a short list of the many benefits of complex training:
SHORTER WORKOUTS
No workout should take more than 20 minutes(depending on your rest time).
Saying these workouts won’t take long is a big understament they may take only three and a half minutes! Lets check this out. We'll do 6 exercises 6 reps each in our complex we'll say 4 seconds per rep, 30 seconds rest(this is absolute max rest time) in between that's 54 seconds per exercise times 6 equals 5 minutes and 40 seconds to do one set. Run through the exercises once and go home.
However, don’t take this as a sign that complexes are easy they are anything but easy. You have to keep the pace of the workout, resting only as long as it takes to move to your next exercise, or else it won’t work. But whether you’re training half the body with a complex or the whole body at once, you’re going to work a ton of muscle very quickly and send your heart rate soaring. As you progress, you’ll do more sets and rest less between sets, making for extremely effective and intense workouts in a short time span.
FEWER WORKOUTS
Six weeks into the program, you’ll start doing complexes three days a week. Prior to that, we only ask that you hit them once or twice. For the rest of the days of the week, you can either continue with your current workout routine or, God forbid, do regular cardio (but it isn’t required).
We’re leaving it completely up to you. However, by Week 6, your body is going to need your undivided attention to perform these complexes and recover from them, and that means you must cease any other training. The last thing you want is to push yourself for eight weeks only to end up overtrained at the end, when you should be at your peak.
MORE CALORIES BURNED
You’ll be performing compound lifts (exercises that require the coordination of several muscle groups) without rest in between, and that can burn hundreds of calories. Not only that, but the recovery process your body will go through after each workout will raise your metabolism for a day or so afterward—yes, you keep burning calories at an higher rate long after your workout is over. Studies have shown that the calories burned in the hours after a workout come largely from stored fat, as opposed to muscle or carbohydrates.
MORE FUN
Hey, you’re lifting weights! Not only is that less monotonous than running in place for 45 minutes until you’ve ex-hausted your iPod, but it demands much more concentration. You have to support heavy loads and move quickly between exercises, so each run becomes more like a challenge to your resolve— rather than another run-of-the-mill workout you have to trudge through.
IMPROVED MUSCULAR BALANCE
Flip through the next few pages and look at the exercises in each complex workout. Think about how they work your body. You should notice that every time you’re asked to make a pushing motion (such as in a bench press), you follow it up at some point with a pulling motion. This isn’t by accident. Balancing the movement patterns in your workouts leads to balanced muscle development, and that results in better posture, more efficient movement, and more complete muscularity. We all have a tendency to favor one side or one exercise over another when we train— now you can even things out.
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.
Now I'm going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. I've been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that they've dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical capabilities. If you're not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years. Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious results.
I'd recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym, without any other equipment necessary. Or a kettlebell can just be a great alternative workout to incorporate into your routines once or twice a week. Either way, it opens up a whole new world of training for you.
Example Kettlebell Complex
1. one arm swing
2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;
3. one arm overhead squat;
4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;
5. 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
1. upright row with each arm separately then both together
2. front lunge with one leg, then the other
3. back lunge with one leg, then the other
4. curl to overhead press
5. 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!
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