​Complex training for efficiency

I have been training Selina for 7 months now. Selina’s goals were to lose weight and tone up which after an initial discussion to figure out how best to structure her sessions, we decided they should consist of a full body resistance workout, core circuit and some kickboxing to end each session. A usual session would consist of around 10 minutes of warming up and mobility work, followed by a 30-35 minute full body routine, 10 minutes of core and the remainder would be spent on kickboxing pad drills.

The sessions ran well and Selina was happy with her progress. At Elemental Fitness, we like to ensure our clients are happy with their sessions and that the programs we have created for them are progressing them towards their goals. We make sure we sit down with clients every six weeks and run a review to make sure they are still getting what they want out of their sessions, and to see if their goals have changed at all. In Selina’s most recent review she mentioned she was enjoying the sessions and felt she was making progress, but really loved the kickboxing element and wanted to dedicate more time too it. However she still wanted to get her full body workout and core section in too!

Selina’s current full body workout would normally take around 30-35 mins which with a warm up to start and core session as well, only really left us about 10 minutes to get the kickboxing in. We agreed that moving forward we would introduce a barbell complex into Selina’s routine. The complex involves stringing a number of exercises back to back without putting the weight down. In Selina’s complex we used the deadlift, bent row, standing row, clean & press and back squat, which she would perform back to back resting once all exercises were complete and repeating for 3-4 sets. The efficiency of the complex shaved 10 minutes off her resistance training routine enabling us to commit that extra time to the kickboxing that Selina enjoys so much.

We are now seeing great progress in Selina’s complex, she started out with a 15kg bar which she at first found challenging and over 6 weeks is now performing it with a 20kg bar! She is also happy to be getting more kickboxing bag and pad drills into her sessions!