148 / Australian Iron Man www.ironmanmag.com.

au

I
f youre a hardcore bodybuilder
and live and die by the barbell,
Im sure you believe that the
wave of CrossFit (and other forms
of high-intensity exercise) sweeping
the nation is just another fad and
will soon fade away. To be honest,
Im just like the rest of you lifters
who are sick of seeing fitness fads
come and go that make hard-to-
keep promises. Nowadays, people
shy away from hard work and
dedication to hitting their goals. It
pisses me off, and Im sick of it.
Want results? Eat food from
the earth, take the necessary
supplements, and work your ass off
in the gym. Its quite simple, except
too many people are looking for the
next quick fix. With all the scientific
and practical research out there, we
have by now figured out what works
and what doesnt. We know how to get
strong and how to gain muscle mass,
but with so many experts saying their
way works, confusion arises and
rightfully so.
I tend to flip the page every time I
read about some new fitness gimmick
promising extraordinary results, but I
tend to stay on the page when I read
about high-intensity exercising and
CrossFit. Why? Well, as luck would
have it, that type of training produces
results and produces them fast.
Here are some of the researchers
comments regarding body
composition improvements in a 10-
week study of men and women who
participated in CrossFit workouts
coupled with a strict diet:
Researchers reported that there
were significant decreases in body
fat percentage for both males and
females. The researchers noted that
WANT RESULTS? EAT FOOD FROM THE EARTH,
TAKE THE NECESSARY SUPPLEMENTS, AND WORK
YOUR ASS OFF IN THE GYM. ITS QUITE SIMPLE.
THE BARBELL
COMPLEX
Spike your muscle size and
short-circuit a body fat rise
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THE BARBELL COMPLEX
body fat across the board dropped
around 3.7 per cent over the 10-week
period. The men lost 3.46 kg of body
weight, dropping from 90.71 to 87.25
kg, which corresponded to 4.2 per
cent body fat (from 22.2 to 18.0 kg).
The men also gained 0.98 kg of muscle
(from 70.25 to 71.23 kg).
Females lost 1.79 kg of body
weight (from 68.02 to 66.23 kg),
dropped 3.4 per cent body fat (from
26.6 to 23.2 kg) and gained 1.06 kg of
muscle (from 49.0 to 50.06 kg).Also,
when broken down into five quintiles
[ranging from well below average to
well above average], it was shown that
every single group reduced their body
fat percentage.
So, basically, the research shows
that high-intensity training works
especially well for people who want
to improve the way they look in a
bathing suit. There are limitations
to every study and everything must
be read carefully to discern results,
but its safe to say that when youre
looking to drop body fat, high-
intensity training makes a great case.
Typical hardcore lifters usually
spend the majority of their training
sessions lifting, with some treadmill
cardio thrown in at the end. Now,
Im sure that works because so many
people have been doing it for so long
and getting results. For me, though,
and maybe for you, my ADD keeps
me away from the treadmill, so I
look for more exciting ways to get my
cardio in.
THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT HIGH-
INTENSITY TRAINING WORKS ESPECIALLY
WELL FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO IMPROVE THE
WAY THEY LOOK IN A BATHING SUIT.
150 / Australian Iron Man www.ironmanmag.com.au

THE BARBELL COMPLEX
One of the most exciting and time-
efficient workouts that you can do is
barbell complexes . A barbell complex
allows you to perform different
exercises with just the barbell,
transitioning from one exercise to
the next with minimal rest. Its a great
way to spike your heart rate and burn
through your fat stores, especially
when youre done with your heavy-
lifting session and glycogen storage
is scarce. The beauty of the barbell
complex is that you can control how
difficult you want it to be just by
varying the reps or the time that you
want to perform each exercise.
Heres one of my favourite
complexes, which uses five common
barbell exercises. Respect it, because
it has earned that right!
Perform a ladder, doing every
exercise for 10 reps, then nine reps
and so on, working your way down
to one repetition for each exercise.
Be sure to pick a weight you can use
for all five exercises, and try not to
put the barbell down in the middle
of the complex.
CORNELLS BARBELL
COMPLEX
Hang cleans. Grab the barbell and
hold it about a thumb width away
from your thighs. Moving your hips
A BARBELL COMPLEX
ALLOWS YOU TO
PERFORM DIFFERENT
EXERCISES WITH
JUST THE BARBELL,
TRANSITIONING
FROM ONE EXERCISE
TO THE NEXT WITH
MINIMAL REST. ITS A
GREAT WAY TO SPIKE
YOUR HEART RATE
AND BURN THROUGH
YOUR FAT STORES.
152 / Australian Iron Man www.ironmanmag.com.au

THE BARBELL COMPLEX
back, lower the bar to your knees.
Immediately explode upward and
extend your hips forward, letting the
bar travel upward by bending your
arms at the same time. Catch the bar
on your shoulders with your elbows
up, and then lower and repeat.
Shoulder presses. Stand erect and
hold the bar on your shoulders with a
moderately wide grip. Press the bar up
over your head, making sure to keep
it directly overhead. Lower under
control, and repeat. Dont cheat
avoid any jerking as you press.
Squat jumps. Put the bar across
the top of your deltoids and below
your traps, holding it in place with
a wide grip. Squeeze your shoulder
blades back to create the shelf so the
bar can sit comfortably on your upper
back. Drop into a deep squat, and
then explode back upward, letting
your feet leave the ground as you fully
extend your knees and hips. Once you
land back on the floor, immediately
drop back into your squat and jump
again, repeating for the required reps.
Bent-over rows. Keeping your
knees slightly bent and your back
arched, push your hips backward
until your torso is close to parallel
to the ground. Hold a barbell below
your chest with a moderately wide,
overhand grip. Without jerking your
torso to assist, pull the barbell up
to your sternum, squeezing your
shoulder blades together at the top.
Lower under control and repeat.
Cheat curls. You can perform
these strictly, but as they are the last
exercise and biceps are a smaller
PERFORM A LADDER, DOING EVERY EXERCISE FOR 10
REPS, THEN NINE REPS AND SO ON, WORKING YOUR
WAY DOWN TO ONE REPETITION FOR EACH EXERCISE.
154 / Australian Iron Man www.ironmanmag.com.au

THE BARBELL COMPLEX
muscle group, you may not be able to
handle the same amount of weight as
you did on the other exercises. Hence,
the call for cheat curls . When doing
a cheat curl, bring the bar down to
the middle of your thighs, and then
use your legs to help assist you in
performing the curl. Squeeze your
arms briefly at the top, and then lower
the weight quickly but under control.
Repeat for the desired reps.
Note: You can make this workout
harder by adding a little twist
employ a five-burpee penalty for
every time you have to put the bar
down. That will work mental strength
and grip strength as well!
This conditioning workout is
great for burning fat, increasing your
metabolism and torching calories in a
short amount of time. The research is
out there and supports high-intensity
training as a great means of improving
your body composition. Im not here
to say that the old way of training
doesnt work, but show a little respect
to the new methods of training, as
they can help you get to your goals
and get there a little faster.
BE SURE TO PICK A WEIGHT YOU CAN USE FOR ALL
FIVE EXERCISES, AND TRY NOT TO PUT THE BARBELL
DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COMPLEX.
156 / Australian Iron Man www.ironmanmag.com.au