It’s 5:30 p.m. You’ve had a long day at work, but are finally done. You’re out of the office and heading to the gym to get a workout in before the day is over.
You get there only to discover that everyone had the same idea as you. The gym is packed and overrun with people using every piece of equipment you’re supposed to use.
Your 30-45 minute workout now just became 2 hours long. When you’re done, you head home and have just enough time to eat and shower before going to sleep for another full day.
Sound familiar?
I’m sure if you’ve ever been to a gym, you’ve seen this exact situation play out. It’s never fun because it ends up wasting a lot of your valuable time.
The good news is you don’t have to be locked into this nightmare day in and day out. There’s a solution to this problem. And that solution is complexes.
Alwyn Cosgrove, a gym owner in California, was the one of the first people to shed light on the simplicity of the complex. He defined it as “a circuit using one piece of equipment, one load, and one space.”
Basically, a complex uses a single piece of equipment like dumbbells and performs multiple exercises with those dumbbells in one seamless transition. Each exercise flows out of the previous exercise so you never rest until each round is complete. It’s a quick, convenient method to burn maximum fat with minimal equipment.
Now, while a complex is a simple solution to an overcrowded gym, they’re not easy. But that’s the reason they are so effective at burning fat.
Because they require constant work and little rest, they ramp up your metabolism unlike anything else. And this metabolic spike is what burns massive amounts of calories. That makes them the perfect tool to use if you want to melt body fat but lack equipment or space.
To set up a complex, you’ll need to select 4-8 exercises that flow well together. For example, a Romanian Deadlift and a Bent-Over Row pair well because they follow a similar movement pattern. It should be an easy transition from one exercise to the next.
Perform 4-5 sets of 5-6 reps of each exercise. An easy way to set this up is to start out low and work your way up. A sample set and rep scheme for the month would look like this:
Week 1- 4 sets of 5 reps of each exercise
Week 2- 4 sets of 6 reps of each exercise
Week 3- 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise
Week 4- 5 sets of 6 reps of each exercise
As far as rest is concerned, shoot for 90-120 seconds after each round. This should give you plenty of time to recover so you can go hard again in the next round.
Before I show you a couple of complexes to use next time you hit the gym, I want to cover several “rules” to follow.
- Choose exercises you are familiar with: Complexes are incredibly fatiguing. Because of this you want to make sure you pick exercises you can maintain good form with. If you’ve never done an exercise before, it’s not a good idea to place it in a complex.
- Let your weakest exercise determine the weight you use: The limiting factor in each complex will be your weakest exercise. That’s the exercise where it will be easiest to lose technique. Be sure to choose a weight that is manageable with that specific exercise.
- Choose less weight than normal: Again, this comes back to the fatiguing nature of complexes. Because these require tremendous effort and energy for multiple sets with little rest, you will not be able to handle the same load as if you were performing the same exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps with rest between each set. Err on the light side when starting out, but be sure the weight you’ve chosen makes you work.
Now, let’s get to the complexes!
Dumbbell Complex
- Reverse Lunge x 5/side
- Romanian Deadlift x 5
- Bent-Over Row x 5
- Front Squat x 5
- Push Press x 5
This one is simple. Grab a pair of dumbbells and you’re good to go. The limiting factor for most people is going to be the Push Press. Use it to determine the weight you use.
Landmine Complex
- Deadlift x 5
- Squat x 5
- 2 Handed Press x 5
- Reverse Lunge Right x 5
- Reverse Lunge Left x 5
- 1 Arm Row Left x 5
- 1 Arm Row Right x 5
The Landmine Complex is a little bit different. All you need to do is set a bar up in a corner. The limiting factor here mostly likely will be the Reverse Lunge or 1 Arm Row. You may need to do a couple of rounds first to see what exercise challenges you most. This will give you a better gauge.
Wrapping Up
Complexes are a fun way to add a challenge and variety to your workouts. They burn mounds of fat, need little space, and require only one piece of equipment.
Don’t get stuck in the gym for two hours wasting time. Add these routines into your training program and you should notice better results in no time.
