The push-up ladder is a classic upper body drill that will cook your pecs and triceps.
With all of the gyms in the world being shut down due to COVID-19 the push-up ladder is more valuable now than ever before.
Unless you have your own private gym or you have built a home gym, the iron is inaccessible for you at this time. You are not alone because that describes 99.9 percent of the lifters, bodybuilders, and athletes in the world.
But just because the gym is closed does not mean your pecs need to deflate and get flabby.
I love the iron and I know the value of the iron. But I also know that their are multiple ways to build muscle that do not rely purely on the iron.
Saying you can’t workout because the is gym closed is pure fake hustle!
The cold truth is that most people who go to the gym are not really training hard anyway.
Sleepwalking your way through the “cardio” section and following it up by doing a few lame machines or an IG Phit Vixen circuit does not constitute a true workout.
These home ladder workouts I have designed for you below will absolutely challenge you. Remember without a challenge there is no change for your body.
How To Do A Push-Up Ladder Workout At Home
Push-ups have never gone out of style and are still effective for adding more muscle to your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
The push-up ladder is a drill I typically use as a finisher after an upper body workout.
But without access to a gym the push-up ladder will serve as a major component of your home workout.
The push-up ladder workout that you will do at home works like this:
• You will do 1 push-up and after the push up is completed, you will rest 5-15 seconds. You will then do 2 push-ups and after they are completed, you will rest another 5-15 seconds.
• You will continue to add 1 rep to each set until you complete the final round. I recommend doing between 8-15 rounds.
• As fatigue starts to become your ally you will need to increase your rest time in between sets. Aim to rest between 20-90 seconds per round as the push-ups become more difficult.
Home Ladder Workouts
So there are three versions of my home ladder workouts.
Every workout features push-ups and the workouts can be done with minimal equipment. The only required piece of equipment is a home, doorway pull-up bar.
If you do not currently have a doorway pull-up bar you can order one.
If you are currently too weak to do a pull-up, order yourself some resistance bands to assist you in the pull-up until you get stronger.
You can complete the workout without the pull-up bar. But in that scenario you are not effectively training your back so order the bar!
The monkey jumps, dynamic lunges, push-ups, and burpees can all be done without weight.
But if you have access to dumbbells you can add weight to the monkey jump, the dynamic lunges, and to the burpees.
Before you get into any of these home ladder workouts check out my video below on how to do push-ups, chin-ups, monkey jumps, and dynamic lunge jumps.
The relevant exercises are at the time stamps below.
• Monkey Jumps (1:06)
• Dynamic Lunge Jumps (2:33)
1) Push-Up and Chin-Up Ladder (The Upper Ladder)
• Do 1 push-up and then do 1 chin-up (pull-ups and neutral grip pull-ups can be used too)
• Add 1 rep to each successive round. Aim to complete 8-12 rounds.
• Aim to rest 5-45 seconds between moves. Your rest will increase in between moves as you get deeper into the rounds.
• Aim to rest 15-90 seconds between rounds. Your rest will increase in between rounds as you get deeper into the ladder.
2) Monkey Jumps, Push-Ups, and Chin-Ups Ladder (Total Body Ladder)
• Do 1 monkey jump, 1 push-up, and 1 chin-up (pull-ups and neutral grip pull-ups can be used too)
• Add 1 rep for each move on each successive round. Aim to complete 8-12 rounds.
• Aim to rest 5-45 seconds between moves. Your rest will increase in between moves as you get deeper into the rounds.
• Aim to rest 15-90 seconds between rounds. Your rest will increase in between rounds as you get deeper into the ladder.
3) Dynamic Lunge Jumps, Push-Ups, Chin-Up, and Burpee Ladder (The Beast Ladder)
• Do 1 dynamic lunge jump, 1 push-up, 1 chin-up, and 1 burpee (pull-ups and neutral grip pull-ups can be used too)
• For a dynamic lunge jump 1 rep on each leg counts as 1 total rep. So set 1 would be 2 jumps, set 2 would be 4 jumps, etc.
• Add 1 rep to each successive round. Aim to complete 8-12 rounds.
• Aim to rest 15-45 seconds between moves. Your rest will increase in between moves as you get deeper into the rounds.
• Aim to rest 30-120 seconds between rounds. Your rest will increase in between rounds as you get deeper into the ladder.
• The Beast Ladder will kick your arse!
Notes:
• If the push-ups become easy, you should make them harder by doing pause reps (pause right above the ground at the bottom of the push-up) or 1 and 1/4 reps.
• The chin-ups will become incredibly difficult. It is not uncommon to be able to reach the required number of reps in the push-ups and then fall short in the chin-ups.
• If you fade in the chin-ups and you can no longer increase the number of reps, you will just continue do as many reps as you can per set.
• If the monkey jumps and dynamic lunge jumps become easy you should make them harder by doing pause reps (pause right above the ground at the bottom of the monkey jumps or lunge jumps).
Conclusion
So this coronavirus pandemic has upended our normal way of life.
But that does not mean you need to sit around watching Netflix and surfing Facebook ALL day.
It is your job to protect and fortify your health.
Your health is your wealth. And one way to make your investment worth more is to train hard even if you are at home.
We will beat this. Be smart and stay safe.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
