North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
The Nuckols' article about powerlifters refers to the idea that there are primarily two factors to train in a bigger total; skill and muscle mass. In a sport with weight classes body composition plays a huge role.
The Nuckol's article recommends using a variety of rep and loading ranges to get the best performance from a muscle.
He has another article/study about "sarcoplasmic hypertrophy" where he demonstrates adding muscle as a major driver of increasing limit strength, even if that added muscle is of low relative strength output.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy: The Bros Were Probably Right
But a lot of this discussion is drifting from complexes to sport specific prep. The peak of general fitness is not going to be training like a competitive Oly or powerlifter, though elements common to those training regimens would be fine to cycle through. For someone involved in combat sports or some other sport where strength is one factor and low rep limit strength not really a concern, complexes become increasingly valid.
Another thing to consider in terms of complexes done to a high level of fatigue is they are a proven timesaver. You will improve cardio, you will improve strength. You will do so in a short amount of time and with loads that are easy on the joints. Again, I don't think they are the be all end all, but they are a great tool to use in conjunction with other more limit oriented strength work if muscular endurance is part of the demand.