Monday, May 11, 2009

More barbell complex workouts

These little gems were created by Alwyn Cosgrove, so you know they're good!

Complex A
Bent over barbell row
Hang clean
Front squat and push press hybrid
Jump squat (bar on back)
Good morning

Complex B
Romanian deadlift
Hang clean and front squat and push press (combination lift, perform one rep of each in series)
Reverse lunge (alternate legs)

Complex C
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)

Complex D
Jump squat
Squat
Squat and hold for 10 seconds
Military press
Push press
Squat and press (combination lift, perform one rep of each in series)

Alwyn's suggested progression is as follows:

Week one: 4 sets of 5 reps of each, 90 seconds rest
Week two: 5 sets of 5 reps of each, 75 seconds rest
Week three: 5 sets of 6 reps of each, 60 seconds rest
Week four: 6 sets of 6 reps of each, 45 seconds rest.

Another option would be an undulating periodization thing:

Do three complexes a week. On Day 1 do Complex A, 6 sets of 4 reps, with 90 sec. rest. On Day 2, do Complex B, 3 sets of 15 reps, with 60 sec. rest. On Day 3 do Complex C, 4 sets of 10 reps with 75 sec. rest. Then on Day 1 of the following week start in with Complex D, 6 sets of 4, yadda yadda yadda. Note that even on Day 1 you're not going to be able to use nearly as much weight as if you were doing straight sets. And that's okay, because this is meant to be a metabolic stimulus, not a hypertrophy stimulus. You'll get tremendous benefits in terms of general conditioning and muscular endurance, but if you're looking to maximize size and/or absolute strength you should do something else.