Barbell Complexes For Warmups/Cool-downs

Looking for a better warmup or cashout for your lifts that will benefit your strength gains, keep your joints healthy, and improve your lifting positions? Look no further than a simple complex with an empty barbell. Activities like biking, rowing, or running are amazing tools and should always be utilized to get the body warm and stimulate the nervous system and adding a simple barbell complex before your strength session can help prepare your joints and muscles for some heavy lifting.

Combining simple movements that will affect the primary and secondary joints in your lifts will help warm up muscles more specifically than a monostructural cardio movement. Using one barbell for a few sets of a complex eliminates other warmup equipment, saving time and energy for your training session. A classic empty barbell complex is the Burgener warmup, one of the best ways to prepare for snatching or any olympic lifting. Complexes can be performed with a barbell or just a PVC pipe to help warmup the joints without taxing the muscles too much prior to lifting.

Another benefit of empty barbell or PVC complexes is mobility and positional strength. Athletes and coaches often spend excessive time bending their body in all sorts of ways in an attempt to benefit their lifts. This is great for stretching, but one of the best ways to improve positional strength is time under tension. Think your overhead squat is lacking? Grab a PVC and try some paused overhead squats to play around with how your hips and ankles are feeling. Is your chest dropping too much on any sort of push press or push jerk? Take a barbell and try some jerk dips to help improve your footwork and front rack! Below are four great complexes that can be done with a barbell or PVC pipe in order to help you warmup for your lifts or get a nice pump at the end of a training session!

Squatting Movements:

3 Sets (rest 1min between sets)

• 3 Deadlifts
• 3 Good Mornings
• 3 Front Squats (pause for 3 sec on last rep)
• 3 Back Squats (pause for 3 sec on last rep)
• 3 Behind the neck push press

Overhead Movements:

2 Sets (perform 1st set with a PVC pipe, 2nd with a barbell)

• 3 Jerk dips
• 3 Strict press
• 3 Push press
• 3 Push jerk (pause in catch of each rep for 3 sec)
• 3 Split jerk (right leg forward)
• 3 Split jerk (left leg forward)

Snatch:

2 sets (rest 1min between sets)

• 3 Snatch grip deadlift
• 3 Hang snatch pull
• 3 Low-hang snatch high pull
• 3 Muscle snatch
• 2 Overhead squats
• 2 Snatch balance

Cleans:

3 sets (rest as needed)

• 3 Deadlifts
• 3 Bent over row
• 3 Clean pulls
• 3 Front Squat
• 3 Power clean
• 3 Squat clean

Deadlifts:

4 Sets (4 reps on set 1, 3 reps on set 2, 2 reps on set 3, 1 rep on set 4)

• 4 segmented deadlifts (shin to knee)
• 4 segmented deadlifts (knee to hips)
• 4 full deadlifts
• 4 bent over row
• 4 good morning