Today my coach had me doing a pretty wild complex at around 80% or 85%. I found myself questioning why in the world I would do so many different movements inside of one complex this close to a national competition. So I asked her.
In her very succinct and to the point manner, Ursula said because she wanted me to grow a pair and she thought it would be awesome for us to work on jerk technical work while extremely fatigued. The complex was a clean pull plus a clean plus a front squat plus a jerk plus a jerk from behind the neck. I did four sets at 130 kg and the hardest part was trying to breathe before the first and second jerk. Her mission was accomplished. By the time I got to the last jerk specifically, the the bar felt closer to 155 then 130. Below is a video of my fourth and final set and as you can see by this point I was getting very tired and beginning to fatigue to the point that my technique was beginning to break down.
The point in showing this complex and talking specifically about why I do complexes this close to a National meet is to remind you that complexes are designed to fatigue you. The fatigue your experience will often allow you to mimic 95% plus percentages as far as fatigue and heart rate are concerned without actually loading 95% on the bar.
If you ever question why I program crazy complexes, take a lesson from my coach. They help make you a more mentally tough lifter and work on technical proficiency while fatigued.
Clean Pull + Clean + FS + Jerk + BN Jerk from Power And Grace Performance on Vimeo.