NLL All Star Dan Dawson's Complex Training: Part 1 of 4


The off-season is the most valuable time you have to improve your lacrosse performance. It’s when you have the most time to spend in the gym training to get bigger, stronger, and more powerful. A good off-season training program will have different phases to it, each with their own objectives, all aimed towards making you peak at the start of the season. A great method to help you dramatically increase your power in the final weeks before the season starts is to use Complex Training.

Complex Training is a superset where the athlete performs a high-intensity strength exercise and follows it with a similar plyometric exercise. A simple example of this would be to perform a set of heavy Squats (3-5 reps) and then almost immediately follow it with a set of Squat Jumps. The basis behind this training revolves around something called Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP). The principle surrounding PAP is that muscle force will be enhanced as a result of its contractile history. So, in the example above, performing a Squat with heavy load would lead to an enhancement in muscle force, which would then increase the force output during the Squat Jump. Basically, your brain will recruit muscle to be more powerful than it would normally be due to the fact you just contracted your fast twitch muscle fibers during the strength exercise.

Due to the demands placed on the Central Nervous System though, Complex Training should only be used for a short period of time (3-4 weeks) directly before the season starts. The plyometric exercise should be performed approximately 30 seconds after completion of the heavy strength set to maximize PAP. A Complex Training superset would look like this and could be completed for up to 4 sets:

Heavy Strength Exercise: 3-5 reps
:30 Seconds Rest
Similar Plyometric Exercise: 6-8 reps

Here is the first of four examples of Complex Training supersets that I really like and have had great success with, and that I utilized with Dan Dawson (Team Canada, 2009 NLL MVP) as he prepared for the 2011 NLL Season. These supersets will cover training the entire body and will be multi-joint movements that directly affect your performance on the field.

The first pairing will be Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (RFESS) and Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat Jumps. These are great exercises for lacrosse as running is a single leg power activity, and this pairing is going to help you directly increase the power in each leg and take care of any imbalances you may have. Almost every cut or dodge you make on the field is done using the strength and power of a single leg (your plant leg). The amount of power you posses in that leg will determine how fast you can decelerate your body from moving in one direction, and how fast you can push off to move in a new direction. This is the key to gaining a step on your defender and why this exercise holds more value for your performance than a Squat does. A single yard is often the difference between scoring a goal or not even getting a shot on net.

The RFESS has many benefits. It will help improve balance and hip flexibility while simultaneously allowing you to gain size and strength. For more advanced and stronger athletes, it will allow you to add heavy loads to your legs while sparing you of the spinal compression that occurs with Back Squats. It is also a very challenging and grueling exercise that will require some mental toughness to complete.


The bar should rest on your shoulders the same as it would in a back squat. Place your back foot on a bench, although if you have a tough time balancing you can start with a shorter box to begin with and work up to a bench. Always keeping your head and chest up, initiate the movement by lowering your hips as if you were trying to touch your back (supported leg) knee to the ground. Do not lean forward as you move towards the ground, maintain an upright torso at all times with your front foot in full contact with the ground. The majority of the pressure should be placed through your front heel. Stopping just before your knee touches the ground, drive through your front heel back to the starting position. If you find you always end up on your toes at the bottom it means you are either leaning forward as you lower or you have not taken a big enough step. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (RFESS)

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (RFESS)


This is to be done with your bodyweight only as it is to be as explosive as possible. The set up is the exact same as the RFESS without the bar. Back foot on the bench, front foot is in full contact with the ground with the weight on your heel. Maintaining an upright torso, you initiate the jump with a quick lowering of the hips followed by an immediate and explosive drive through the front leg jumping as high as possible in the air. You want to land with your foot in the same spot on the ground as you originally started and you want to spend as little time on the ground as possible. The jumps should be performed in a continuous manner, trying to be as explosive as possible with each jump.

Complex Training is an advanced, high intensity method of training. It should not be used for long periods of time, but including it in your final phase of pre-season training will result in you being the most powerful lacrosse player you can be.