040 : 013 Complexus IX

Session 9

‘Do Not Pass Go’

Breathing ramp up
Warm-up
Then...
Work to the heaviest weight possible for the following dumbbell complex:

Push-up on dumbbells Renegade row (each side) Push press/ jerk
Bent over row

Then...

@ 50-60% of finishing weight complete perform an ascending ladder of the complex, beginning with 1 rep of each movement and adding and additional rep each round. Continue in this fashion reaching the highest round possible in 15 minutes.

If you break the complex at any point, rest and repeat that round again from push-ups (ie. if you are on round 10 and break at 6 push presses, rest and begin again from 10 push-ups on DB’s) only unbroken rounds earn the right to proceed.

Perform renegade rows as alternating reps, but the rep target is for each side ie. if you are on round five you will alternate left/right but aim for five reps on each side/ ten total reps.

Then...
At the 15 minute mark half the load again by grabbing lighter dumbbells and continue up the

ladder for a further 5 minutes. Again only count unbroken rounds before you move up the ladder. 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

Your ability to quickly recover after a failed complex will determine how far up the ladder you can get just as much as your total strength. Use the breathing ramp up to get a feel for what it’s like to be truly present with your body, and not distracted by your thoughts, and use this feeling as a way-finder to help you come back here after every failed complex. The quicker you can let your body steer itself back into calmer waters, the more expediently you will recover. Don’t get in it’s way.

Inhale, focus on filling from the bottom up; use your nose an 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

This complex may not feel as though it ‘flows’ as nicely as others in this series. It might feel as though it makes sense for the bent over row to occur ‘on the way up’ to the push press. However this structure keeps the movements push/pull alternating, whilst also not making the push press— which is likely to be the limiting factor— the final movement in the sequence, tampering down the central fatigue you’ll have accumulated before you get there. The rows are a movement that you’re more likely to be able to handle a heavier load with, therefore better positioned to handle under more fatigue. They’re also a movement that you can ‘muscle through’ more so than push presses, making them ideal for a fight at the end of the sequence, when you’re desperate not to fail the complex.

On the work-to-heavy portion of this session, the single push-up may feel like a bit of a ‘non- thing’, but slow the tempo down on the eccentric, dip right below the dumbbells to the ground for a deep stretch in your chest and explode back up. Make it ‘a thing’.

Alternate arms on the row, bring the dumbbell right up into your hip and control it back down. On the initial, lighter rounds, try to fight rotation and keep your torso square on to the ground. As the weight gets heavier though— do what you need to do to get from A-to-B.

Strict press for as long as you can on the presses, switch to push press when you need to and then jerks BUT... ensure you’re controlling the negative portion back down to your shoulders whatever variation you’re using. You’re stronger through the eccentric, leverage that to build more strength.

As with the renegade rows, take the bent over rows right up into your pockets then control them back down. Finish with straight arms, the dumbbells hanging slightly in front of your shoulders, stretching your lats. Squeeze everything as tight as you can in the top position as your dumbbells reach your hips, but allow your back to open and stretch at the bottom; let your scaps do their own thing, they’re better at it than you are.

The Ladder

After you’ve established your 1rm for the complex, pick a pair of bells at around half your finishing weight, or the nearest convenient integer. Round up if you have to. Some people are much, much better at lifting for reps than they are at lifting for maxes, and their 10rm is much closer to their 1rm than any intensity % table might predict. If you are one of these people, don’t rob yourself by going lighter than you think you’re capable of. Your 10rm push press would be a good guideline here.

Begin with one rep of each movement and add an additional rep to each, every round. Rest for as long as necessary between completed complexes, but remember this is an AMRAP. If you fail to reach the end of the complex on any given round, rest and restart that round from the beginning. Only move on to the next rung of the ladder if you complete all reps. This ‘do-not-pass-go penalty’ should incentivise you to recover skilfully, so that you’re not just bouncing off of the same 6 reps of push presses for 10 minutes straight. The work is what earns you the right to proceed, but the rest is what enables you to do the work. Find the still point.

At the fifteen minute mark, drop to a much lighter set of dumbbell (around 50% again) and continue up the ladder from wherever you left of for a further five minutes. The weight is lighter, it

will require less recovery— keep the reps tight but treat this final five minutes as a speed round. Make it burn.

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.