039 : 002 Complexus IV

Session 4

‘The Bells Toll’

Breathing ramp up
Warm-up
Then...
Using dumbbells or kettlebells work to the heaviest possible complex of:

3 x Push press / 15-20m overhead carry 6 x Hang clean / 15-20m front rack carry 9 x Front Squat / 15-20m walking lunge 12 x Deadlift / 15-20m farmers carry

*eliminate movements from complex the round after you fail to hit prescribed reps

Then...

Using the final weight you were able to complete with all movements (heaviest push press), work EMOM and perform one round of the complex (without carries) until you can no longer fit the prescribed reps into 60 seconds, or you quit.

Immediately into...

Walking or seated down regulation Until you reach a comfortable nasal: 4-6-8-0 breathing cadence.

The Ramp Up

3 rounds of-
5 x Triangle breathing 7:7:7:0 20 x Power breathing 1:0:1:0 1 x Full inhale
1 x Max hold
1 x Full exhale
1 x Max hold

As with last week, it may be with your while experimenting with performing the triangle breathing whilst holding a light kettlebell or dumbbell in the goblet position, or even two light bells in the front rack position, to get a feel for your breathing mechanics with this extra pressure. The carries represent an ideal time to recover, and if you can get your breathing on board with that plan you will supercharge your recovery potential. Pay attention to— and practice that— here.

Inhale, focus on filling from the bottom up; use your nose and breathe deep into the bottom of your trunk and lower back, before working your way up into your chest and then your upper back. Your rib cage should expand in all directions. For power breathing execute a quick but full and powerful inhale through your nose, then simply open your mouth wide and ‘dump’ the air out on the exhale. Get into a quick rhythm. After 20 reps perform 1 final full inhale through the nose, filling your trunk, and then hold. Pay attention to air hunger cues— little tremors, swallowing, fidgeting. Before they get too strong, perform a long exhale under control through your nose, completely emptying the tank, then hold until you feel strong air hunger. Return to triangle breathing and repeat for 3 rounds.

The Complex

Use dumbbells or kettlebells, but don’t feel confined to one or the other. If you begin with KB’s, max out, but have access to heavier DB’s, don’t be shy in making the switch to keep climbing.

This principle of ‘lift, carry, repeat’ will be familiar to anyone who has completed ‘Vis in Motus’. Much like complexes in and of themselves, this is a great way to continue adding central fatigue, without overly compromising your ability to summon up more localised power to keep lifting. As ever, the trick is in getting the order of proceedings right and managing the reps/volume correctly to allow you 'fly close to the edge of the envelope’ throughout.

The complex itself, although long, is pretty intuitive. Mark out a 10m,15m or 20m length, or simply use what you have available. If you have no space to perform carries whatsoever, sub in marches and perform 20 deliberate and powerful high-knee marches between each movement, holding your bells in the relevant position.

Perform 3 presses, after the third press hold your dumbbells overhead, actively pushing them skyward, and cover 15-20m as quickly as possible. Immediately lower your bells to your shoulders, then into the hang, and perform 6 hang cleans, after the sixth rep hold your bells in a strong front rack position and perform another carry. If using dumbbells, do not rest the dumbbells atop your shoulders, they should be slightly in front of your body so as to force your trunk into anti-flexion to keep you from folding over. At the other end, if necessary, move the dumbbells into a more comfortable position to complete 9 squats. The emphasis we were placing on anti-flexion in the carries is less important here than actually performing the squats, so do what you need to in order to keep moving. After your squats keep your bells where they are and cover another length of your track by performing walking lunges. As you begin to go heavier, if maintaining a front rack position is going to keep you from performing the lunges unbroken, drop the bells to your side and continue on. Again, moving forward supersedes maintaining the previous position here. Once your lunges are complete, finish with 12 deadlifts followed by a final farmers carry. This is one round.

As in previous weeks, work up diligently and avoid making jumps that will cause you to drop out movements too early. You should be able to perform 2-3 rounds of the full complex before you have to drop presses, then 2-3 rounds again before you lose the cleans. Depending on the weights you have available (and their increments) it should take you around 8-12 rounds to find your final weight for heaviest deadlifts into farmers carry. I said this last week and I’ll say it again— this isn’t a race to the heaviest weight possible, this is a challenge to see how far you can drag those other movements, kicking and screaming, along with you.

Pay attention to your breathing and positioning throughout. Every carry is an opportunity to recover— use it. Focus on your inhale/exhale/concentric/eccentric synchronicity; one breath, one rep.

Keep a tight leash on your breath from the start and you won’t get caught trying to ‘catch it’ later.

Complex Conditioning

Once you’ve established your heaviest deadlift/farmers for the day— rest as necessary and fall back to the heaviest weight you managed a full complex with. Start a running clock and perform a single round of the complex without any carries, at the beginning of each minute.

3 x Push press 6 x Hang clean 9 x Front Squat 12 x Deadlift

This piece is over once you can no longer fit the prescribed reps, unbroken, into sixty seconds, or you give up. Whichever comes first.

Remember, this is a complex, not a chipper or a circuit, so once you begin a round keep those bells in your hands.

Stay with each rep from start to finish. Once you start, try not to pause; one breath; one rep; inhale down; exhale up. Any rest you attempt to accumulate mid complex will be far less efficient than that same amount of rest with no weights in your hands, so get through the complex and save those breaths for after, that’s when you can focus on maximising your recovery.

At the end of each round, stand tall or take a knee, bring your attention to the breath and begin to work down the breathing gears, aiming to get a hold of that long, nasal exhale as efficiently as possible. Don’t stomp around the gym, don’t keep taking trips to the water fountain, don’t pick up your phone and definitely don’t get lost in anxious fantasies about how hard the next round is going to be. Stay with what’s right here, right now, one breath at a time.

Recovery/ Down Regulation

Come into laying or seated position with your hips raised above your knees if you can. If not, simply move slowly and deliberately as you transition into whatever’s next in your day. Wrap your full attention around your breath, observe where it’s at and begin to slowly nudge it downwards with a gentle but deliberate inhale, creating a little bit of space at the top of the breath, before slowly letting it back out under full control. Aim to work towards a breathing cadence of 4-6-8-0 and spend as long here as you can spare.