Weightlifting Complexes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
I believe most complexes are used too often and are prescribed willy-nilly. There are essentially three types of complexes, and only two with any real value. The first type is a skill complex, the second is a quality complex, and the third is a bullshit complex.
Technique Complexes
Technique Complexes are designed to use one simple element that precedes many other complicated elements of the lift, often a partial range of movement before a full range of movement. In my experience, these lifts should be fairly low rep and no more than three to four reps. But if you want higher reps and more than three… be my guest.
Here are some of my favorite skill complexes:
Snatch Pull + Snatch: Snatch pulls teach proper pull technique, and that, in turn, can help make the snatch better.
Hip Clean + Clean: Hip cleans reinforce driving the bar up with the legs and not losing contact on the full rep.
Pause Jerk + Jerk: Pause jerks reinforce vertical dip and drive, especially when the lifter tends to lean forward in the dip.
Quality Complexes
Quality Complexes are designed to help ingrain a specific quality that would be a challenge to train outside of the complex. Quality complexes vary from lifter to lifter, as athletes perform differently and get different qualities out of it.
Here are some examples of my favorite quality complexes:
2 Cleans + 1 Jerk: Two cleans before the jerk will improve the ability to make jerks under fatigue, especially if you are more limited by your clean.
1 Clean + 2 Jerk: Similar to the 2 Cleans + 1 Jerk, this will improve your ability to make jerks under fatigue, but will also work on your speed under the bar which is great for athletes limited by their jerks.
Snatch + Hang Snatch: A snatch followed by a hang snatch is a great way to work on speed under the bar, especially in the second hang snatch.
Bullshit Complexes
And finally, bullshit complexes. Bullshit complexes are bullshit because they seem to have no purpose other than to stroke your ego or build *mental toughness*.
Yet for some reason, they are still often performed in many “functional” fitness gyms. These complexes often have no discernible pattern to them, and have an excessive amount of reps for random exercises. If you are training to improve your weightlifting, then these kinds of complexes will not help you achieve your goals. It would serve you better to do any of the skill or quality complexes listed above.
Some ridiculous complexes I’ve seen include:
Bear Complex: Power Clean + Front Squat + Push Press + Back Squat + BTN Push Press
Bella Complex: Clean + Jerk + Front Squat + Jerk
Big Clean Complex: Hip Clean + Hang Clean + Clean + Push Press + Hip Clean + Hang Clean + Clean + Push Jerk + Hip Clean + Hang Clean + Clean + Split Jerk
Exceptions to the Rule
As always, there are a few exceptions. First, is for the athlete who has trained weightlifting for a long time, then took time off for a while, and is thinking about getting back into it. These lifters are special cases because they often need to follow a training plan that they cannot set expectations for. This will allow them to remain interested and can even spark their interest to get back into competing.
Another exception to this is extremely advanced athletes, especially advanced athletes who are so advanced that they regularly burn themselves out. “Bullshit” complexes can be a way for athletes to discover some weaknesses they did not know they had as well as provide a challenge devoid of performance expectations. Often, when the athlete doesn’t have expectations, they can push extra hard in training to yield greater results.
Have any complexes that we didn’t talk about? Leave them in the comments!
Hopefully, this clarified some things for you and maybe even gave you a lightbulb moment with your training. If you ever need a free form check on your videos, you’re always welcome to join my free discord here and drop your video in the #form-checks channel.
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