BURN FAT AND BUILD MUSCLE WITH TRAINING COMPLEXES

Written By Team T-rex Training

Regardless of what your goals may be, we’d all like to make the most of our time in the gym. So, if I told you that there was a way for you to burn fat and build muscle all during the same 30-45 minute workoout, that would produce similar results to an hour an a half of weights plus cardio – would you want to try it? Of course you would! Nobody truly wants to spend hours in the gym each day. It’s just a means to an end. I’m about to explain an innovative way to structure your workouts to reap the benefits of both cardio and weight training, simultaneously. It’s called Training Complexes and if you’ve only got about 30-45 minutes to train every day, this is what you want to be doing.

What is a Training Complex?

A training complex is a group of 5-8 exercises completed back-to-back with very little rest between each exercise, all performed using the same resistance load – typically a barbell, dumbbells, weight plate or landmine bar. It’s cardio, it’s weight training, it’s conditioning, it’s strengthening, it boosts endurance capacity, it burns a ton of calories and helps to melt away the fat.. There’s no changing weights, waiting for machines or time to text between sets. You’re maximizing every second of your time in the gym and it’s truly an all-in-one training method designed for efficient results.

While I do not in any way take credit for Training Complexes, I will share some examples of a few Training Complex workouts below developed with the help of fellow T-Rex Training Strength & Conditioning Coach PK Mills, followed by some general guidelines for keeping in mind when performing the workouts.

Training Complexes – General Guidelines / Things to Remember

  1. Don’t get sloppy on form! Keep your technique strict to reduce chances of injury.

  2. Perform the most challenging exercises early in the training complex.

  3. Training complexes should ‘flow’ and not be one repetitive movement after another.

  4. Try to alternate between upper body and lower body exercises to give muscles a chance to recover.

  5. Select exercises that do not require that you change the resistance / load. Try to keep the weight the same on all exercises.

  6. Too many pulling exercises in a row will zap your grip strength. Try alternating between pushing and pulling movements and upper/lower movements.

  7. Perform complex lifts (such as Olympic lifts) earlier in the complex

  8. Rest for 2 minutes after each round is complete and re-starting the complex.

  9. Perform 3 rounds for beginner, 5 rounds for advanced and 7 for elite.

  10. Reps can be increased up to 12-15 if desired.

  11. It’s not a race, don’t train to beat a time – this is how injuries happen.

  12. Use combo exercises (i.e. curl to press) when possible.

Complex 1

COMPLEX 1 (Dumbbells) REPS (50 Total/Round)
Squat 8
Romanian Deadlift 8
Reverse Lunge 8
Curl to Press 8
Renegade Row 8
Push Up 10

Complex 2

COMPLEX 2 (Barbell) REPS (50 Total/Round)
Deadlift 10
Barbell Row 8
Military Press 8
Squat 8
Good Morning 8
Reverse Lunge 8

Complex 3

COMPLEX 3 (Dumbbells) REPS (50 Total/Round)
Dumbbell Squat 10
Push Press 8
Dumbbell Row (Two-Arm) 8
Romanian Deadlift 8
Push Up 8
Rollout OR Renegade Row 8

Complex 4

COMPLEX 4 (Barbell) REPS (60 Total/Round)
Romanian Deadlift 10
Hang Clean 10
Overhead Press 10
Squat 10
Good Morning 10
Reverse Lunge 10

Complex 5

COMPLEX 5 (Dumbbells) REPS (50 Total/Round)
Renegade Row 10
Mountain Climber 10
Push Up 10
Burpee 10
Curl to Press 10
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