Tip Deadlift Star Complexes Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness TrainingVideos Tip Deadlift Star Complexes Star complexes build strength and muscle like nothing else Here' s how to do them by Christian Thibaudeau April 27, 2017April 5, 2021 Tags Deadlift, Exercise Coaching, Tips Complexes are blocks of exercises. The Soviets used only two exercises in their complexes – one strength-exercise and one power/explosive exercise to work both extremes of the strength curve. With my version of complexes, instead of training only two points on the force-velocity curve, I train five points, hence the name: star complexes. (This is part of my 6 Weeks to Superhero program.) Each complex uses five exercises of the same movement pattern. The exercises are performed back to back, starting with a heavy/slow movement as the first exercise. Each subsequent exercise will be lighter in resistance than the previous exercise, allowing for progressively faster rep speeds. Here's an example using the deadlift: Top-Half Deadlift, Overload, 3-5 Reps: This first exercise is your heaviest. The top-half movement will allow you to use more than your limit strength in the standard deadlift. Start with the bar just above the knees. Good for activation and building your traps and upper back. Deadlift From Floor, Strength, 3-5 Reps: Moving up a notch in the force-velocity curve, this is a heavy deadlift, but not super maximal. The speed of movement should be faster than the previous exercise. Power Clean From Hang or Blocks, Strength-Speed, 2-3 Reps: Now we're moving into the strength-speed portion of the curve. Focus on explosion, not on the load used. If you start from blocks it's better for starting explosive strength (e.g. sprint start) and if you start from the hang it's better for movements where you have to quickly switch from eccentric to concentric (e.g. running and jumping) Jump Good Morning, Speed-Strength, 8-10 Reps: This exercise is a speed-strength movement, so it should be loaded but light enough so that you can accelerate. A load of 20% of your max good morning is adequate. Broad Jump Series, Explosive, 8-10 Reps: This is a reactive or plyometric movement. Each rep should be a high quality jump and very explosive. Start off by doing each rep individually. As you become better at it you can do them as a series with minimal transition between the jumps. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip For Strength Simplify Your Workout To get strong, take the minimalist approach. Here's why. Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Paul Carter November 6 Training My Five Ah-Ha Moments Tim's "Ah-Ha" moments have to do with the superiority of supersets over combination exercises, working abs first, the proper way to gain weight, debunking the stability ball myth, and a nifty little trick to make sure you're squatting low enough. Training Tim Henriques June 4 Training Heavy Lessons A long-time strength coach finally enters a powerlifting meet. Here's what you can learn from his experiments. Powerlifting & Strength, Training Charles Staley June 4 Training Tip Do Front-Squat 21 s Build your legs and your work ethic with this grueling combo. Here's how. Tips, Training Ben Bruno January 18