Got Built?

It’s funny how these things come and go. Back in the day, many of us performed circuit-training in our collective and never-ending quest to drop bodyfat. Circuit training promised us the world: stronger muscles and a leaner body, all at once. The problem, of course, was that circuits were inappropriately used as a substitute for heavy, low-rep strength training. Because of this, over time, this practice fell out of favour among those of us who consider ourselves the lifting bourgeoisie: 

“WE don’t DO circuits!” <Sniff!>

We’ve seen many trends come and go over the years - ab rollers, boxercise, “Hello Kitty” backpacks. . . but the things that persist tend to do so for a very good reason: they work.

With the growing awareness that intense interval-work is far more effective than boring “stay at your target heart-rate, kiddies” steady-state sessions, many of us have added various HIIT modalities to our fat-loss arsenal.

Re-enter circuits. But there are two problems with the old-style circuits:

1. You have to dominate several pieces of equipment at once - not always practical in a busy gym.
2. Don’t you read? WE don’t DO circuits!!! Duh!

Enter complexes.

Complexes bypass both of these problems. Because the movements are designed to flow from one into the next - usually using just a barbell or a single set of dumbbells - you only have to dominate ONE spot in the gym. And because using “complex” as a noun sounds way, WAY cooler than “circuit training”, we’ve removed the stigma and shame so often associated with any notion of “iron cardio”.
<cough Curves™ cough>.

How to use them
While no substitute for strength-training, consider using complexes in place of sprinting the next time your training schedule has you doing HIIT – i.e. either right after you lift, or at least 6-8 hours before you lift. Plan to perform at least 10 minutes of steady-state cardio after your complexes to cool down and burn off FFAs mobilized by the intensity.

You may also choose to do complexes on their own day. In this case, you may follow them with a longer (30-40 minute) steady-state cardio session to take better advantage of their fat-burning potential.

How much weight to use
You want a weight that’s light enough that you can use it for the whole complex, but heavy enough that you can only barely get through it with good form. Start with something that you think may be a little too light. You’ll find the right amount of weight soon enough… <snicker>

How to feed them
If you’re carb-cycling, do your complexes on a medium or high-carb day, as you would for HIIT or weight-training.

Some examples:
Several respected authors have already written about these “full-body torture sessions masquerading as alternatives to HIIT”. Sadistic opportunist that I am, I offer you the following summary:

From “Complexes for Fat Loss”, by Alwyn Cosgrove
Cosgrove suggests the following four-day complex protocol, paced at roughly 1-2 reps per second. He further suggests an escalating plan of 4-6 sets of 5-6 reps of each exercise, with rest breaks starting at 90 seconds and ending at 45 seconds. Since very few of us (okay, and by “very few of us”, I mean “if you exist, I won’t be among you”) will be doing these movements four times a week for a month, my wishy-washy Canadian heart suggests a nice, middle-of-the-road baseline of 5 reps per movement with 60 seconds’ rest between each of the 5 complex-sequences.

Day 1 complex

• Bent Over Barbell Row
• Hang Clean
• Front Squat + Push Press Hybrid
• Jump Squat (bar on back)
• Good Morning

<That was one full complex, folks - lather, rinse, collapse, puke, repeat. . . until you’ve completed this sequence 4-6 times.>

Day 2 complex

• Romanian Deadlift
• Hang Clean + Front Squat + Push Press (combo lift — perform one rep of each in series)
• Reverse Lunge (alternate legs)

Day 3 complex

• Deadlift
• High Pull (onto toes)
• Squat Clean (clean the bar from the hang and then drop into a full squat on the catch)
• Military Press (strict)
• Jump Lunges (switch legs) — (Cosgrove suggests inserting his evil laugh here - I imagine this means it’s, um HORRID!)

Day 4 complex

• Jump Squat
• Squat
• Squat and hold for 10s
• Military Press
• Push Press
• Squat and Press (combo lift — perform one rep of each in series)

A few more complexes from Cosgrove:
Complex One - 6 reps of each

• Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Bent Over Row
• Power Clean
• Front Squat
• Push Press
• Back Squat
• Good Morning

Complex Two - 6 reps of each

• Snatch Grip Deadlift
• Snatch Pull
• Upright Row
• Power Snatch
• Reverse Lunge
• Push Jerk
• Jump Squat

Same 1-2 second pace as above, with 60-90 seconds’ rest between each of 4 completed complexes.

Istvan Javorek - the originator of these horrid things - offers his take on complexes.
Javorek’s suggestions include “all barbell”, “all dumbbell” and mixed-complex variations, as well as shoulder-conditioning complexes and a discussion on exercise specificity.

And finally, a bodyweight option from my friend Tyron Piteau who helped me with the pre-HIIT dynamic stretches I posted up earlier.

• Prisoner Squats (un-weighted goblet squats)
• Push-ups
• Split Squats
• Inverted Row (AKA “fat man pull-ups”)
• Step-ups
• Mountain Climbers (just like it sounds, pretend you’re climbing up a wall - except you’re horizontal on the floor)

Perform 10-rep sets of each movement (for split squats, it’s 10 PER LEG) sequentially, resting for 30-seconds after you finish the 6th movement. Complete 5 bodyweight complexes in total.

When it’s FINALLY over. . . don’t shoot the messenger, okay? I didn’t invent these abominations - I’ve already told you whom to blame!