Bear Complex CrossFit®: what it is and how to manage it

The "complexes" - even if it sounds better in the English "complex" - are combinations of movements to be performed seamlessly and, possibly, without pauses between one series and another.

Fundamental: the outrigger (or dumbbells, or whatever implement you use to make them) must never be supported.

Why make them?

Simple: why complexes give you all the benefits you can want from a concentrated workout.

The benefits of complexes

We actually speak of the benefit, in the singular: complexes train everything. That is:

• force
• endurance
• muscle hypertrophy
• conditioning

Do not miss one, to complex. The very fact of forcing yourself to always hold the bar in your hands generates muscle tension practically in all areas of the body: both to perform movements and to stabilize the body and the core.

Furthermore, complexes allow you to maximize what you can achieve with training if you have limited time. Not that it's a problem if you already practice CrossFit®, but they can be a resource if you're cornered.

The breath, at the end of a complex, is still insured.

The Bear Complex CrossFit®

It is a classic of CrossFit®. Indeed, it is practically the archetype of the “barbell only” WODs.

Like all complexes, also the Bear involves a series of movements that blend into each other, without the barbell ever resting on the ground or on the rack.

The movements:

• power clean
• front squat
• push press
• back squats
• push press

Il Bear Complex WOD expect you to do one rep for each exercise, for a total of seven sets, for a total of 5 rounds. Weight should be increased after each series, e your score will be the weight you used last.

Between rounds you can rest as long as you need. This detail differentiates the Bear Complex from the complexes that bodybuilders and powerlifters use to "close" a training session, and which are generally performed without pauses between rounds (or with very few pauses).

The bar is placed on the ground between rounds. If you are forced to leave earlier, you have to start the round again.

Bear can also be followed early. In this case the most comfortable athletes with the movement technique use a lighter weight and a smoother sequence.

Some tricks to deal with the Bear Complex CrossFit®

1. Learn the sequence of movements practicing it with an unloaded rocker. It is useless to tell you that the technique is fundamental: not to hurt yourself.
2. Focus on how the exercises integrate with each other. Even if the weight will seem light at first, remember that the more the complex progresses, the more tired you get.
3. Use the break between rounds efficiently.
4. Take on the complex after adequate heating.
5. You can use the Bear on unloading days, with light weight, to work on the conditioning.