038 : 023 Complexus III
Session 3
‘Leveraging Strength’ Breathing ramp up Warm-up
Then...
Using a barbell in a landmine configuration work to the heaviest possible complex of:
2 x landmine push press
4 x landmine thruster
6 x landmine squat
8 x landmine sumo deadlift
*eliminate movements from complex the round after you fail to hit prescribed reps Then...
Complete 8 rounds of the complex @ final weight you were able to complete with all movements. You may move into next round unbroken if you clean the weight up immediately after you final deadlift. Each time you break from the complex by dropping the weight to the ground (excluding deadlifts) perform 20 calories on machine of choice, 200m run or 20 burpees over bar.
Immediately into...
Perform as many sumo deadlifts as possible, subtract total from 50 and perform this many cals/ burpee over bars, as fast as possible, immediately, (the last 8 in final complex count towards total: ie. a total of 27 would leave 23 cals to complete).
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
If you’re so inclined, experiment with performing the triangle breathing whilst holding a light kettlebell or dumbbell in the goblet position, get a feel for how you can maximise your breathing mechanics with this constraint, pay attention to how it may help you in maximising the number of unbroken complex rounds you’re able to perform later. Each breath is an opportunity to recover, capitalise on it.
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
All reps are to be performed with both hands on the bar. Once you begin a round, don’t let go of the bar. If cleaning the bar to the middle of your chest for presses becomes the limiting factor (but you suspect you could still perform the push presses), then lift the bar onto a box or bench before you begin (I generally load the bar here, too), then simply get underneath the bar and squat it up to your starting position. When you fail to reach the target reps of any given movement, eliminate that movement from the preceding rounds and continue on. Make a note of the final round you were able to perform in totality.
As with last week, be diligent with your loading. You don’t want to blow your load on the push presses too soon. This isn’t a race to reach the heaviest sumo deadlift; it’s an exploration of how far you can push the other movement patterns before you get there. Take as wide a stance as possible on the sumos and focus on driving up and forwards following the arc of the bar. This is may feel foreign in contrast to regular deadlifting, cleaning etc. but we want to leverage the mechanics of the landmine, so don’t be afraid to put your weight into the front of your feet and explode forward. If we use the image of an explosive overhead/ behind our head throw to illustrate how we’re expressing power in cleans and snatches, this would be more analogous to a broad jump.
You may run out of room on the bar for loading with squats and deadlifts, especially if you’re using bumper plates. If so, well... congratulations, there are worse problems to have.
Complex Conditioning
Rest as necessary and strip the bar down to the final weight you were able to perform as written, including all movements. Your goal now is to perform 8 rounds; 160 total reps as quickly as possible— within the constraints of good form, controlled tempo and attention to inhales/exhales on eccentrics/ concentric. Any time you have to ‘break’ from performing the complex, perform 20 calories on a machine of your choice; 20 burpees over the bar; or a 200m run. Choose the option which reflects your equipment constraints, or your broader training aims. If you have access to everything, and nothing jumps out at you as ‘more important’, choose the one that you would do the most mental gymnastics to excuse yourself from doing. There’s probably some gold to be found in that particular hill. A ‘break’ is defined as any time you drop the bar to the ground, or in the case of the deadlifts, removing your hands from the bar or resting on the ground for an undue amount of time. Keep yourself honest here.
After you complete your eighth and final deadlift of any given round, you may immediately clean the weight back up ready for your push press, this constitutes ‘unbroken’. You may ‘rest’ with the bar in the front rack position. If you position yourself correctly, leaning into the weight and using your body and the bar to create a rigid ‘A-frame’ you may find some reprieve here. Focus on your breath; maximise it. Focus on recovery, recognise any other stories that are being told in your head for what they are and let them burn themselves away.
On your eighth round, perform as many sumo deadlifts as possible without removing your hands from the bar, or resting for longer than 2-3 seconds on the ground. Take this number and subtract it from 50: immediately perform this many cals or burpees over the bar as a maximum effort. If you’re running, multiply this number by 10 and sprint that many metres.
Keep yourself accountable, or else this test falls apart. Make a pact with yourself that you’re going to make those final calories/ burpees hurt, then aim to keep yourself out of those flames with every rep you perform on the bar.
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.
