So here's good way of improving metabolic power.

Complexes are performing two or more exercises in a sequence with the same load.

You complete all your reps with one movement first, then complete all your reps with the next movement.

Example: When combining a squat with an overhead press, perform 5 reps of squats first, then 5 reps of overhead press without dropping the bar.

Seriously - this type of exercise demands a ton of work from the body.

Here’s an example: (perform one of the following complexes)

Complex One

* Deadlift – 6 reps
* Romanian Deadlift – 6 reps
* Bent Over Row – 6 reps
* Power Clean – 6 reps
* Front Squat – 6 reps
* Push Press – 6 reps
* Back Squat – 6 reps
* Good Morning – 6 reps

Complex Two

* Snatch Grip Deadlift – 6 reps
* Snatch Pull – 6 reps
* Upright Row – 6 reps
* Power Snatch – 6 reps
* Reverse Lunge – 6 reps each leg
* Push Jerk – 6 reps
* Jump Squat – 6 reps

That’s 8 exercises at 6 reps each. Each rep is performed with good control and flows directly into the next exercise without rest.

At about 2 seconds per rep, this complex should only take about 96 seconds. The key is to just keep the bar moving.

After each complex we rest for 90 seconds and repeat for four complexes.

The entire “interval training” program as described will take about twelve minutes.

# Week one: 4 circuits x 6 reps 90s rest
# Week two: 4 circuits x 6 reps 75s rest
# Week three: 4 circuits x 6 reps 60s rest
# Week four: 4 circuits x 6 reps 45s rest
# Week five: 5 circuits x 6 reps 90s rest
# Week six: 5 circuits x 6 reps 75s rest, etc.

Don’t underestimate this type of training. Complexes can be grueling.

This eight-movement complex x 6 reps has a total volume of 48 reps per set! At only 100 pounds on the bar, that comes out to 4800 pounds of total work per set.

So in terms of density, we’re looking at over twenty thousand pounds of total work in, by week four, less than 10 minutes.

That will help melt the fat off the body without having to resort to lighter weights in the workouts ..even if are not using any type of strength program, this routine will really help to condition their bodies to handle the high levels or lactate that will be produced in an endurance event, and is an excellent fat loss tool for any athlete needing to preserve muscle and strength while dropping fat.

Exerpted from an EiteFTS e-zine article by Alwyn Cosgrove

www.alwyncosgrove.com

Great information Trouble.

Seems like a great all over body workout and falls into the training style that I like. How do I fit this into normal training? Is it to replace my cardio and weight training or just cardio?

Replaces cardio.

Can be used alongside regular training, on off days, or adjunct to regular workouts, when done at another time of day. I'd say, treat it like cardio. I rarely do a rigorous lifting workout on the same day I do cardio. When I do, I split it up cardio in the late afternoon or at night, lifting as early in the am as I can.

This way, you have some recovery time.

The nice thing about this workout is - you can do it at home. With a single bar and in a reasonable amount of space.

For me, it gets me close to being able to blow off going to the gym when I can't get it into my schedule - or when one isn't handy.

If all else fails, and I'm on travel and in my car, I can always throw a short bar and a couple of plates in the back, and I'm set for most of my routine for several days (when I include body work as well).

I'm hoping the PL crowd will notice this post - hells bells, it came from one of their fav ezine pubs.

A couple of those exercises I am going to have to look up and see how they are done again. I will probaby have to print out that post and put it up on the wall in my weightroom for easy reference for the first couple of times I do it until I get it down.

<ssssh...I snuck over to bbing.com and grabbed a nice description of Olympic Lifting and the variations on the two basic lifts>

OLYMPIC STYLE

Olympic weight lifting consists of two lifts. The two hand Snatch and the two hand Clean & Jerk. The Snatch is an overhead lift consisting of lifting the barbell from the floor to overhead in one motion, and the Clean & Jerk is done by lifting the barbell from the floor in two stages. The first stage is from the floor to the shoulders, called the clean, and then second stage is overhead in a split or lunge position.

BENEFITS

Using Olympic exercises in your bodybuilding training creates tremendous physique development. Here are just a few of the advantages derived from Olympic lifts. Coordination, balance, concentration, flexibility, speed development, and most importantly, for bodybuilders, great upper body thickness! That's right amigo's, I said "thick". If you want a thick upper back, and wide shoulders that will envy even Ronnie Coleman, then these exercises should be added into your bodybuilding regimen.

The four lifts described below are Olympic auxiliary lifts. These lifts usually start slowly and finish fast and dynamically. These lifts should be performed under control. So keep the bar off your thighs with no wild, jerking, or bouncing motions.

Snatch High Pull

Start position: Place the barbell on the floor, then place your feet under the bar. Bend over and grab the bar, both hands about 6-8 inches wider then your shoulders with an over hand grip. Now flatten your back, chest out, head up with eyes looking straight ahead. Lock your arms. Your hips should be higher than your knees but lower then your shoulders.

Finish position: Start to squeeze the bar off the floor, make sure to keep the hips higher than the knees and lower than the shoulders and back flat while moving the bar. As the bar gets above the knees start accelerating the bar speed, and as it gets closer to your upper thigh, explode with as much force as you can pulling the bar up to your rib cage, extending up on your toes and at the same time shrugging your shoulders. Recover and repeat.

Clean High Pull

Start and finish position: Same as the above. The only difference is hand placement on the bar. Bend over and grab the bar in an over-hand grip wider than shoulder width--almost to the end of the bar.

Push Press

Start and finish position: Stand erect, grab the bar slightly wider than your shoulders with the bar resting on your shoulders and clavicles. Begin by bending your knees. Now, very quickly, drive your legs up, pushing the bar off your shoulders with your arms and your leg drive. The bar should be directly over your head. Try these three words to help you, DIP. DRIVE. PUSH.

Jerk or Split Jerk (I think this is the same as the push jerk).

Start and finish position: Grab the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and rest the bar on your shoulders and clavicles. Bend your knees and drive your legs pushing the bar up with your arms. This will explode you up on your toes. As the bar passes your head one leg goes forward, the other leg goes back immediately into a lunge. As your feet hit the ground your arms lockout the weight over head. To recover, push back with your front foot and step up with the back foot with the bar still overhead. Then lower the bar to the shoulders. Remember, the first initial dip of the legs is done slowly, and then the splitting with the legs is done extremely fast.

Photos of push jerk, motion in sequence: http://www.biofitness.com/demo40.html

Snatch grip deadlift.

Use a weight that's about a third of what you'd ordinarily use on a max-effort deadlift. (If you have no idea how much you can deadlift, start with the bar and a couple of 5- or 10-potmd plates and build up from there.) Now stand on a sturdy platform--an aerobic step or a couple of 25-pound weight plates, for instance--so that your feet are a few inches off the floor. From the starting position (grab the bar with a wide, overhand grip and keep your lower back flat, not rounded) [1], stand straight up, pulling the bar to your upper thighs [2]. Lower the bar, reset your grip, and repeat.


Snatch grip - what is it?

Snatch-grip: By widening the grip to where you would hold the bar in an Olympic snatch, you make the exercise harder on the muscles in your shoulders, back, and midsection, which control your posture.

Power Snatch

Power Snatch (Excerpted from Chapter 5 - Assistance Exercises for the Snatch and Clean and Jerk)

Purpose(s): The power snatch is used primarily to develop pulling power for the snatch. Since the lifter does not have to lower his or her body significantly after the pull, the movement is simpler than a full squat snatch. The power snatch therefore places less stress on the nervous system than full snatches, and therefore maximums can typically be achieved more frequently in the power snatch than in the classical snatch. Stress on the knees and hips that arises out of assuming a low squat position in an explosive manner is less than in the squat snatch, as is stress on the shoulders, wrists and elbows. The exercise is also useful for the beginner because it is simpler than the squat snatch and because it is a motion that can be practiced by a lifter who is too stiff to assume a low squat position while the lifter is building the flexibility to execute the full squat.

Description: The bar is pulled in the same way as in the classical snatch. The legs are bent somewhat to catch the bar overhead. There is some controversy over how much a lifter can bend his or her legs and still be performing a power snatch (as opposed to a full or squat snatch). Some feel that anything deeper than a quarter squat position is too low, others term a snatch to that position as a "flip" snatch. However, most lifters agree that when the lowest part of the thigh (the underside) is above an imaginary line drawn at the level of the athlete’s knee and parallel with the platform, the lift is a power snatch.

Effectiveness: The power snatch can be a very effective means of improving a lifter's pulling power. As indicated above, it can be a useful exercise for the beginner. It can reduce the stress on the nervous system of the more advanced lifter and can provide variety. In addition, some research suggests that practicing movements at a faster than normal tempo carries over well to movements at a somewhat slower tempo, and the power snatch fits that description admirably (because lighter weights are used in the power snatch than the full snatch, and they can be moved faster).

However, despite the benefits of power snatches, there are a number of cautions to be observed when prescribing them. First, the lifter must be sure to place the feet in a position identical to that used for a squat snatch when the bar is caught in the partial squat position. One technical error that must be guarded against in the power snatch (and any other "power style" lift) is jumping the feet under than the position that is used in the full lift. A wide stance is artificial and places unusual stress on the knee joints. The simplest way to avoid this error is for the lifter to think of vigorously replacing the feet in the same position as they would be placed for the squat lift. Too many lifters "float" under the bar in the power style exercises. The issue here is not simply a matter of replicating the classical lift in every way possible (an important consideration), but enabling the lifter to comfortably lower his or her body into a full squat position when the bar has not been pulled to sufficient height for a power snatch.

Second, when doing power snatches, the lifter has a tendency to stop the downward motion of the body as quickly as possible in order to be "credited" with a power snatch. Such stopping short can place significant strain on the knee joints, particularly the muscle-tendon unit of the quadriceps. Over time this can lead to tendinitis or even to more serious tendon damage in some lifters. Therefore, the lifter should be encouraged to gradually reduce the speed of bar when it is caught in a position lower than a quarter squat, even if this means "riding" the bar down into a position that is lower than an acceptable power snatch. This does not mean that the lifter goes under the bar slowly, but, rather, that he or she does not attempt to stop very short once he or she has locked it out. It also means that if the power snatch causes discomfort, its use should be limited.

Third, the lifter must make every effort to pull the bar in a way that is similar to what is done when squat snatching. That is, the lifter must not get into the habit of delaying the explosion phase of the pull or remaining in the extended position too long, lest an artificial pulling style, relative to the pull timing that is used for the squat snatch, be cultivated.

Source: http://www.wlinfo.com/power_snatch.htm

Found the whole shebang, GD

Power jerk and split jerk are not the same. Stance position.


For details on these power / olympic lifts see:

http://www.biofitness.com/demo40.html



<wonder how long it'll be before the PL gang gets wind of this thread>

Thanks. For some reason I think I am going to regret doing those the first couple of times until the soreness goes away. I also forsee myself puking or getting dizzy. When I do PowerCleans I normally have to sit down on the floor before I pass out.

I can't wait to get started. Too bad today is an offday. LOL

I'm having flashbacks of high school football hot summer 2 a days.

Good post.

Brutal workout. Found that link on elitefts a few weeks ago and Ive got to recommend starting out lights. Did the complex with 135 lbs and almost puked. NUTS!

Good post, trouble. I did 4 sets of Complex 1 lastnight after a little cardio and i had to fight my way to the last rep on every set.

Trouble, can you put in any exercises to these complexes or are their guidelines as to which kinds to start out with, in an order, etc.?

The method of complexes for training has been around for over a decade.

See:

http://www.humankinetics.com/products/show...excerpt_id=3762

According to this article, you can substitute any weight training movements into your routine. But there is a trick to building a complexes set.

Building Strength and Power with Complex Training
Kenny Croxdale, BA, CSCS and Tom Morris MS, CSCS
http://www.strengthcats.com/complextraining.htm



"Dr. Donald Chu defines complex training a bit differently. "Complex training matches pairs of exercises from two sources: a resistance training pool and a plyometric [power/speed] pool." According to Chu, "by itself, strength training will produce results, but not to the same level" as training simultaneously with a similar, explosive plyometric movement.

William Ebben and Dr. Phillip Watts, in their article entitled "A Review of Combined Weight Training and Plyometric Training Modes: Complex Training", which appeared in the October 1998 Journal of Strength and Conditioning, define complex training as "alternating biomechanically comparable high-load weight training and plyometric exercises in the same workout".

Additional data presented in the 1998 Journal of Strength and Conditioning article "Acute Enhancement of Power Performance from Heavy Loaded Squats" reveals that "performing a heavy half-squat prior to loaded countermovement jump testing can enhance jumping performance".

Therefore, for the purpose of this article, complex training will be defined as utilizing a strength movement followed by a similar, explosive plyometric movement or utilizing a plyometric movement followed by a related strength movement. In either case, it appears that the power and/or strength movement will be increased, i.e., greater than if the two different movements were not performed consecutively.

Although the mechanisms by which complex training works are not well understood, a number of possible factors have been identified. Ebben and Watts identify these factors as follows: neuromuscular, hormonal, metabolic, myogenic and/or psychomotor. These authors do suggest that neuromuscular adaptations seem to best account for the increased performance associated with complex training.

"High-load weight training increases motorneuron excitability and reflex potentiation, which may create optimal training conditions for subsequent plyometric exercise. Also, the fatigue associated with high-load weight training may force more motor units to be recruited during the plyometric phase, possibly enhancing the training state." "