Barbell complexes, I love em, you love em, we all love em!!!  If I had a favorite ice cream flavor, it would be "Barbell Complexes and Sweaty Man Cream."  Wait, no, that's kinda gross, cream isn't paleo. Screw it, we would just call it "Barbell Scream" for short, it would catch on, I know it.

Anyway, here is a fun little video of some complexes we did on Christmas Eve. I love the barbell, I really do. But I also like to sleep around with other bells as well. I got this little crew of kettlebells that come out and dance once in a while, man are they sweet. Their bottoms are so round and perfect, I love putting my hands all over em. I also know this group of idiots, dumbbells really, they like to come out and get freaky in pairs a lot, sometimes they even bring their knucklehead friends, the damn sandbags. They can be real dicks sometimes. We didn't get a chance to see em this time, but soon enough, they will make an appearance.

Train hard, and please post some of your favorite complexes and equipment pairs you like to combine for a great session.

Here is some of the training I have been doing lately, just part of one day actually. My battery died in the camera, so this was all I got. I have a particular affinity for the Olympic lifts because I feel I can do them satisfactorily enough to get results without injury. I took the time to learn them and now reap the rewards. It did take years of training and diligence to get to this level. While my form is nowhere near perfect, it will continually get better because I work hard and seek the help of other coaches. You simply can not reach your maximal potential on your own. You need a quality support system of knowledgeable people around you. People that want the same things as you. Success that is goal driven is extremely important. A medium term goal of mine is a 350 clean and jerk. I have a plan and I will adjust it accordingly. But the short term goal right now is football preparation. While weightlifting isn't the only means to be completely prepared for a football season, it sure does play a big part for me. I'm throwing in tons of calisthenics and sprinting. Add in lots of mobility work and specialization work for the ankles, neck and grip, and you have yourself a pretty damn good training protocol. Check the video and post a comment about your goals for the coming year.

Coach Reeve discusses philosophy and training at Virginia High School Coaches clinic this past summer.  Here is the next installment.

Part 1 can be found here.

Part 2 can be found here.

Post your thoughts on what you think is the most important aspect to developing athleticism. When we get 15 comments I will post the next segment in this series. It gets better, more technical stuff.

As some of you already know, I am going to Poland in the spring to play football for the Warsaw Eagles in the Polish American Football Association (PAFA). This recent situation has put a major focus on my training and it is awesome. I know exactly what I am training for, beyond general fitness and the desire to be a badass manimal. Some of you have asked about my training and certain things I am doing to prepare for my upcoming season. I will be writing and posting video much more extensively about my current training and experiences, so please ask questions and post comments about why or how I am doing certain things or how this can help you, or anything else you need. Please have an incredible holiday and a very Merry Christmas.

P.S. I have some cool stuff coming, so stay tuned

Todays training

1. Power snatch + overhead squat
2. Deadlift
3. Hip thrust (bridge)
4. Reverse hypers
5. Swings

This is obviously intensive on the lower back, glutes and hamstrings. Developing this area to superhuman levels is something that any athlete will benefit from. Baby got back.

I frequently receive questions regarding fitness, strength and conditioning, which is a very good thing. I am happy to help when possible, and on occasion I will answer questions on the blog, sometimes privately, but always discreetly. Here is what someone has issues with and my response...

Q:
6'5" 285 36 yrs old. Need to lose weight. Been doing heavy compound movements and not too much in the way of conditioning. 255 is the goal. Health reasons and what not. Want to make weight loss the priority But I hate to sacrifice strength gains. Advice on the most efficient way to get there (255). I eat like crap and I'm now making more conscious food choices. Should I do complexes? Continue heavy with running 30 min a day? I want to continue heavy but don't know if that will be counterproductive to the weight I want to lose. I do know that once I get to 255 I will lift heavy again. Advice please.

A:
I would take a 30 day period and prioritize fat loss exclusively. You will not lose much if any strength, if you do, it must not have been very hard earned. Real man strength sticks around for more than a few weeks, brother. I would consider doing one heavy day of deadlifts and presses, another heavy day of squats and pull ups or rows. Those days could have assistance work done as a circuit, or a few supersets. Throw in a quick finisher on those days and you'll be good. On three or even four other days, you could do kettlebell circuits with body weight training. Use a moderate weight and flow from exercise to exercise for a good half hour or so. Full body movements will get the calories burning and the fat stripped off your body. Especially at your advanced body weight, just moving around is like weightlifting. I would advise against too much running, it is boring as hell and if you're not running with great mechanics you will be putting an unnecessary amount of stress on those joints. If you want to run, i recommend you find a hill, or pull a sled, it will help tremendously. Run up the hill with some intensity, then walk down. Repeat several times, it will shrink you in no time. If no hill, find stairs or drag a sled or prowler, or push the car around. you will need a partner, but hopefully you have at least one person that supports you and will gladly steer the wheel. I would consider going for a walk first thing in the morning or some other form of light exercise before breakfast. The bigger issue is the crappy diet. Tighten up, dude. Don't eat crap and complain about being fat. It's great that you are making more conscious choices, but you could be consciously eating crap. I would consider carb cycling, with 1 or 2 days a week of intermittent fasting. This is a touchy subject and others will disagree. Some will say never skip a meal, eat 6 times a day. Well, I'm saying it isn't the end of the world if you skip a few meals. And if you can get to the point of skipping a whole day of food, you will be quite impressed with your freedom and fortitude that ensues. I would coincide 2 high carb days with your 2 heavy days, follow those with a moderate carb day, follow that with a no carb day or possibly a total fast day. If you won't fast, at least eat no carbs except greens. All days will have the same amount of protein and fat, but you will manipulate the carbs. You can get more information about carbohydrate cycling online. You can also find lots of info about intermittent fasting as well.

Example:

Monday: High carb day
200-250 grams protein, including

Chicken (white meat)

Turkey (white meat)

Tuna Fish (can)

Fish (flounder, tuna (fatty or not), salmon, shark, etc.)

Shellfish (all types)

Protein (preferably whey post workout, and casein before bed; MRPs must be low-carb)

Lean beef (including lean cuts of steak)

Cottage Cheese (0 or 1% fat)

Egg whites (egg beaters)

80-90 grams fat, including about 25-30 grams of fish oil a day, I know its a lot, but try it out, also olive and coconut oil, nuts and seeds, and avocado

400-500 grams carbs from:

Brown rice

Oats (Slow Cooked Preferred)

Sweet potatoes or Yams

Fiber One (All Bran) Cereal

Beans/Legumes 

add some berries to you meals as well

of course, tons of vegetables

Training:

Jump rope 5 minutes

1a. deadlift 5x5
1b. press 5x5

2a. Step ups 3x16
2b. push ups 3 x submax (put yourself at an angle that allows for at least 15 reps)

3a. Kettlebell swings 5x15
3b. Jumping jacks, high knees or burpees 5 x15

4. Sled drag x5 minutes

Tuesday:

Moderate to low carb day
same protein, same fat, just cut the carbs in half

Training:

Complexes, any tool, lots of movement

Consideration:
Barbell complex

6 rounds
muscle snatch x6
press x6
good morning x6
reverse lunge x6/6
push press x6
bent over row x6
rdl x6

Wednesday:

No carb or fast

Training:

walk, swim, ride a bike, hike, light to moderate exercise

Thursday:

first thing in morning hit a 10-15 minute high intensity circuit
-mountain climbers, shadow boxing, push ups, recline rows, lunges, swings...

High carb day

Training:

1a. Squats 5x5
1b. Chest supported barbell rows 5x8-10

2a. RDL 3x10
2b. Recline rows 3 x submax
 
3a. Lying leg raises 3x15
3b. Back raises 3x15

4. Sled drag x 5-10 minutes

Friday:

low to moderate carbs

Light weight circuits, use kettlebells, sandbags, dumbbells, etc. and perform a nice romantic flow of exercises, trying to move nonstop for 30 minutes. Don't count if you don't want to, unless you're a slacker, just move, man. Get romantic with those bells and make love to those sweet little puppies.

try a bunch of each, then move to next one...

sandbag cleans
push ups
kettlebell or dumbbell get ups
renegade rows
toe touches or sit outs
bridges
supine scorpions
hindu pushups
body weight squats
 
do 5-10 reps of each exercise and repeat for 30-45 minutes

Saturday:

Low carb or fast

Training:

grab 2 light dumbbells, about 25 -35 lbs, attach a tire sled to you, drag the sled and carry the bells in your hands for a mile

Sunday:

Moderate carb day

Training:

Rest

I probably forgot some things, but that's a decent plan to burn some fat, retain strength and feel a hell of a lot better in a month or so. Of course this is way more than what a lot of people could handle, but it would be very easy to scale this up or down to accommodate anyone. Yes, anyone.

The following is how i perform recline rows at the house with "no equipment"...