Circuits, Combos, and Complexes - Part 1

Introduction

Circuits represent a method of exercise organization, in which multiple exercises are performed one after another with little or no rest in-between. Exercises can be compound, isolated, ballistic, and involve only upper or lower body exercises or combinations (Table 1).

Upper Body	Lower Body	Total Body	Ballistic
Push-Ups x10	Goblet Squat x10	Back Squat x10	Step-up Jump x5
Pull-Ups x5	SLRDL x10	Bench Press x10	Explosive MB Throw x5
DB Press x10	Lateral Split Squat x10	SLRDL x10	KB Swing with band x10
Inverted Row x10	Glute Bridges x10	Inverted Row x10	Rotational MB Throw x5
High/Vertical Pulls x10	Step-Ups x10	Step-up x10
Delt flys x10	Calves Rises x10	DB Press x10
Reverse delt flys x10	Sumo deadlift x10	Hip Thrust x10
		Pull-ups x10
		Abs Roll-out x10

Table 1: Example of Upper Body, Lower Body, Total Body, and Ballistic Circuits

When working with strength-generalists, I am leaning towards organizing strength training sessions using mini-circuits (or mini-block; or should I call them organizational circuits?), and I am especially fond of using the explosive circuit for combat athletes (Table 2). The explosive circuit is a quality circuit with ample rest time between ballistic exercises. This rest time can be created by adding fillers or by alternating upper vs. lower body explosive movements. This type of organization is very modular and it also allows for organizing the gym flow when working with large(er) groups under equipment constraints. For example, athletes can share the main movements, but the fillers can be done individually depending on a specific need to address a problematic region that the athlete has.

Block	Exercise
Warm-Up	Foam Roll
	Ground Mobility
	Plate Complex
Explosive Block	A1. Step-Up Jump
	A2. Kneeling MB Throw
	A3. KB Swing w/band
	A4. Rotational MB Throw
Strength Block I	B1. Hex bar deadlift
	B2. Hip stretch (filler)
	B3. Ring push-ups
	B4. External shoulder rotation (filler)
Strength Block II	C1. Pull-Ups
	C2. Neck isoHold (filler)
	C3. Speed skater
	C4. Calves (filler)
Endurance Block	D1. Battle Ropes 15sec
	D2. Bike 15sec
	D3. Ski erg 15sec
	D4. Sled push 15sec
	Work to Rest 15:15sec. Repeat 2×3 with 3min break
Recovery Block	Stretch
	Protein shake
	Shower

Table 2: Session organization using mini-circuit (mini-block)

Circuits represent very broad and loose category of exercise organization. Various sub-types of circuits can be created by applying different constraints (e.g., Upper, Lower, Total, or Ballistic circuits in Table 1, or even the aforementioned organizational circuits). For example, super-sets are a special type of circuits where only two exercises are performed (please refer to the Volume One and Two of the Strength Training Manual ⁵) for more information about different types of super-sets). Besides super-sets, another special types of circuits are (1) complexes, (2) combos, and (3) combined exercises (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Simplistic Venn diagram of different special types of circuits

Complexes

Complexes are very constrained types of circuits in which (1) a single piece of equipment is being used (e.g., barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, kettlebell), (2) exercises are performed in the same area or will little movement around, (3) there is no rest between exercises, (4) there is no changing of the weights or letting go of the equipment, (5) exercises are performed with the same number of repetitions, (6) all repetitions of one exercise are performed before moving to another exercise, (7) one pass through all exercises is done before a designated break.

The weight of the implement used in the complex should be under 70% of the weakest exercises ¹ ² (this again depends on the objectives of the complex, as well as the number of repetitions performed; but it does represent useful rule of thumb).

Table 3 contains an example of a kettlebell complex performed with a single kettlebell.