Training Complex

If you're getting bored with your current workout routine, complexes may be just what is necessary in order for you to break out of the rut and to get in shape.

Many people have never even heard about complexes before, but they are one of the more interesting and intensive ways for you to exercise. The basic concept of this type of exercise is that instead of repeating multiple sets of the same exercise, you would do several different exercises, one right after the other that would comprise the set. In other words, you will be doing a small routine for each set instead of doing one individual exercise, over and over again.

One of the reasons why this type of training is such a good idea is because it helps you to work out an entire range of musculature in the short period of time. Doing this type of exercise can really kick up your intensity quite a bit and it can get you in condition very quickly. After all, you will find yourself winded after just doing a few of these mini circuits.

Another thing that this type of exercise may give to you is additional growth hormone response. The reason why this is the case is because you will be working out the maximum amount of muscles on your body at any given time. Of course, this is just conjecture on my part, but it does make sense.

What I like to do, is to include about five different types of exercise into my complexes. If you do more than that, it's possible that you might begin to forget what is next in the sequence. Here is an excellent barbell complex that I enjoy doing:

Example Barbell Complex

Explosive dead lift into an upright row
Bring the barbell back to the thigh level and then do a hang clean
Put the barbell back on the floor and then do a clean and jerk
Bring the barbell back to the thigh level, bend over and do a bent over row
With the barbell back at the thigh level, finish with a Romanian dead lift

You will want to make sure that you are using a weight which can easily be handled throughout the entire range of exercise, yet one that will challenge you effectively. Try to go through this range of exercises anywhere from two to three times without taking a rest and that would be considered one set. You can increase the intensity after some time of doing this exercise by adding additional rounds in each set or increasing the weight.

To bring it into a real world example, let's assume that you've just done the above exercises with 155 pounds on the barbell for three sequences and you've repeated it an additional three times for four sets. Once you are able to successfully get through five sets with the same amount of weight, increase the weight 5 or 10 pounds and drop the amount of sets that you do back to three. This helps you to make improvements over time by cycling your training volume.

Another complex that I really enjoy doing is working out with the Kettlebell. If you don't have a Kettlebell, you can simply use a dumbbell but I would highly recommend picking up a set of kettle bells as they are an excellent workout tool to have. They can really improve your home workouts and save you the time of going to the gym.

After training with kettle bells for a little over one year, I can say without a doubt that they have improved my body in a number of different ways. Not only am I stronger, they have also improved my body composition and I feel that my physical capabilities have increased as well. These are an old European training secret which is really just taking hold in the United States within the past few years. A number of competitive athletes are now taking up the use of kettle bells in order to pick up their results considerably.

It would probably be best if you started off a little bit slower and used a single kettlebell until you were used to using them. If you use one of these along with doing some bodyweight exercises, you really have enough to make up your own home gym without having to have any other expensive equipment lying around. It can also assist you in getting more out of your workouts whenever you do them using kettlebell's once or twice a week. Either way, it can give you more options.

Example Kettlebell Complex

one arm swing

one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;

one arm overhead squat;

kettlebell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;

kettlebell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press

Repeat this sequence anywhere from 2 to 3 times with each arm and that will be one set. Believe me, this is an awesome workout that will get your blood pumping quickly. Over time, continue to increase the number of sets that you are doing and slowly increase the weights to give you a better workout. If you aren't drenched in sweat with a rapid heart beat, you aren't exercising hard enough.

Here is an excellent dumbbell complex that can be done for those of you that you not have kettlebells available to you.

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

You should shoot for an increasing number of sets, much the same way that you did in the other exercises that we discussed. If you have the availability, you could alternate days of doing dumbbell and kettlebell workouts in order to really get the most out of your home workouts.

An example exercise strategy would be to workout with dumbbells on Monday and Friday of one week, with kettlebells on Wednesday, and then switch it the next week by doing your kettlebells on Monday and Friday. Continue to cycle your way through this weekly process to get the best results. If you do this for a month, you will be able to see some real differences in the way that you look, along with your overall strength.

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