I'm a huge fan of complexes for metabolic conditioning and got educated on their benefits years ago when I was regularly doing CrossFit. I've added them to my weekly regimen as bonus workouts to help with fat loss and have collected a bunch here for everyone's ease of use.

Barbell Complexes

Cosgrove's Evil 8
• Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Bent-over Row
• Power Clean
• Front Squat
• Push Press
• Back Squat
• Good Morning
Round #1 - 6 reps of each exercise, 90 seconds rest
Round #2 - 5 reps of each exercise, 90 seconds rest
Round #3 - 4 reps of each exercise, 90 seconds rest
Round #4 - 3 reps of each exercise, 90 seconds rest
Round #5 - 2 reps of each exercise, 90 seconds rest
Round #6 - 1 reps of each exercise, cry on the floor

Tumminello's Weight Plate Metabolic Circuit
• Overhead Squat: 6-8 reps
• Swings (like kb swings): 6-8 reps
• Bent-over Row: 8-10 reps
• Reverse Lunge & Twist: 8-10 reps
• Diagonal Chops: 6-8 reps each side
5 sets, 90 seconds rest

Ferruggia’s Timed Complex
• Deadlift
• Hang Clean
• Front Squat
• Hang Snatch
• Overhead Squat
• Front Press
• Bent-over Row
• Romanian Deadlift
6 reps each exercise for time
Attempt to beat your previous time
Once the time no longer improves, add weight

Dumbbell Complexes

Fat loss
• Dumbbell burpee
• Dumbbell Sumo Deadlift
• Dumbbell Bilateral Row
3-8 reps x 3-5 sets

Athleticism
• Unilateral Suitcase Deadlift to Military Press
• Unilateral Dumbbell Row
• Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
3-8 reps x 3-5 sets

Waterbury's Dumbbell Submission Complex
• Reverse Lunges: 6 reps each leg
• Romanian Deadlift: 12 reps
• Good Morning: 12 reps
• Front Squat: 6 reps
• Military Press: 6 reps
• Bent-over Row: 6 reps
• Floor Press: 12 reps
3-5 sets, 90 seconds rest

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drv12021 5y ago

Lol, isn't CrossFit a cult?

TheRedPillRipper 5y ago

Thanks for this. Definitely have to work it in and run it.

Godspeed and good luck!

d_abducted_one 5y ago

This is some excellent material, will add it to my current HIIT training, thanks Man!!

SKRedPill 5y ago

Never do good mornings. Unless you are in a hurry to get back surgery.

Redpill_Sniper 5y ago

It’s a great exercise if you do it with perfect form though, what would you suggest as a substitute?

rmovny_schnr98 5y ago

Stiff legged deadlifts maybe? Not sure. I think it's the same exercise, just with safer loading.

Zech4riah 5y ago

You could also say that never do deadlifts. Risk-to-benefit ratio is just awful (pro athletes rarely deadlift without even mentioning deadlifting heavy). Only deadlift heavy if you are a powerlifter and train to deadlift more. BUT... it's quite ok with light weights - as are good mornings. You can't really use too much weight when doing complexes.

If get yourself to a back surgery when you do these complexes with 30-40kg weight, the problem isn't good mornings.

Things are rarely binary.

RealJoeDee 5y ago

Good point, complexes preclude you from going too heavy due to their very nature.

Fukdyobish 5y ago

Fuckin a that's a lotta exercises. I do back squats and deadlifts for my lower. Done.

Andgelyo 5y ago

This. Deadlifts hits the entire posterior chain. Squats for glutes. Lower body done.

RealJoeDee 5y ago

These are intended to be METCONs you do between heavy days, or as a fat burner at the end of your workout. Think of them as accessory work to boost your fat loss and/or improve cardiovascular conditioning. Sprints via HIIT are another great option, but outside the scope of this thread. Similar benefits though.

rmovny_schnr98 5y ago

fat burner

or you could try this top secret, incredibly efficient fat burner...

burn more calories than you take in

KanDeMan2 5y ago

Confusing strength training with conditioning is a mistake.

RealJoeDee 5y ago

For those who skimmed, these are intended for metabolic conditioning, namely to activate the EPOC "afterburn" effect for a fat loss boost. These aren't intended as "strength training" per se.

I suppose you could use them as supplemental strength work, but they're no replacement for Starting Strength or Wendler's 5/3/1 system.

KanDeMan2 5y ago

EPOC is vastly overrated....

Compound Heavy Lifts focusing on progression for Building Muscle...

Conditioning work and Skill Acquisition specific to sport/activity...

Abs are made in the kitchen.

Crossfit and it's derivatives are masterbation

Batman_MGTOW 5y ago

There is no such thing as a "fat burn" effect or a specific thing that can make you lose fat faster. Losing fat, just like gaining it, is a simple matter of calories in vs calories out, if you need 2500 calories to maintain your weight when you are sedentary, then you will need to consume 20% less calories to lose weight and 10-20% more calories to gain weight. As for the exercises, you are better off doing strength training because you can recomp when you first start out lifting or if you haven't finished your linear progression gains yet. Most people can recomp if you put them on a good strength training program and put them in a reasonable calorie deficit.

Metabolic Conditioning is not used to accelerate fat loss, it's used to enhance your cardiovascular endurance while you are on a good strength training program in order to enhance your overall health and perform better on your strength training program. Starting Strength is a very low frequency low volume program made for older people who can't handle as much volume and frequency. A healthy young man (or even middle aged) can do 3 sets of 5 on squats, bench press, and overhead press 3 times per week, while doing 3 sets of 5 on barbell rows and 1 set of 5 on deadlifts 1.5 times per week (once every other workout), then you can add in some accessory lifts like the barbell curl, the face pull and the cable crunch and you get the perfect novice program for building muscle. 5/3/1 is best for intermediate or advanced lifters who are trying to improve their 1RM on specific lifts, but to build overall strength, there are programs out there that are much better.

Balea2019 5y ago

False, is not as simple as calories in vs out. The type of food, the time when you eat it, the way you combine them affects how much you absorb, your microbiome, and wether you exercise or not also affects! Many studies have shown you can eat the same amount of calories and because of these factors some gain or lose weight. I recommend the book "how not to diet" lot of interesting research

Batman_MGTOW 5y ago

If you don't believe that "calories in vs calories out" is all there is to weight management, then you are an idiot. If you gain strength while gaining weight, some of it will be muscle obviously, but if you do any other sport that doesn't involve strength gain, you won't gain muscle when gaining weight so you will just get fat. And if you try to lose weight while strength training, you will build muscle while losing fat but if you do any other sport, as long as your calories are good, you will lose fat but wont gain any muscle. There is a reason why programs like ICF 2.0, Stronglifts 5x5, and Starting Strength work to build muscle, it is because a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle. And I actually have experience in this because I have been lifting weights since 2016, and it was only when I started to gain strength on the main compound movements that I got bigger, and the only way that I could progress was by eating more than what I normally needed in order to get bigger (more muscular) and get stronger.

KanDeMan2 5y ago

False.

When Protein and Fiber are equated....it is as simple as calories in vs. calories out.

MAureliusTRP 5y ago

Explain more on equating protein and fiber, please

KanDeMan2 5y ago

When Protein and Fiber are eaten at the same rate, gram for gram, on a Low Carb or Low Fat Diet regimen.....fat is lost at the same rate as long as a caloric deficit is sustained.

Protein and Fiber effect the calories out part of the equation...they are more "expensive" for your body to process...

That's why a lot of people that switch to a Low Carb diet think it's magical.....Their protein and fiber go up by default and it does in fact increase the calorie out part of the equation in a positive fashion.

There is also more water lost on a Low Carb diet but that is another story and not related to fat loss....Fat loss is always the same on a low carb or low fat diet when run at the same calorie, protein and fiber number.

MAureliusTRP 5y ago

Hey, just trying to understand. So youre suggesting that protein doesn't have any net calories, due to the metabolic effort required to digest it?

KanDeMan2 5y ago

No....But it probably only has around 3 calories per gram instead of 4 due to the extra energy required for digestion....same with Fiber. As opposed to carbs and fats that always have 4 and 9 Calories.