Exercise ladders

First blog in an age! Bone idle? not exactly, I means lets face it, pressing a few keys is not exactly hard work. Writing something interesting is though and I want to keep the content interesting otherwise whats the point.

Okay, today I am going to tell you about a workout format I have been using a lot lately. I will also give you three examples of how to incorporate a lower body biased circuit, an upper body biased one and also a circuit which hits the cardio system very hard and is upper and lower body.

Generally choose 4-8 exercises. 4 is relatively quick whilst choose 8 and you're looking at training times approaching an hour, so quite long.

So here were my most recent lower body exercises for the lower body biased circuit.

EX 1:Goblet squat
EX 2:TRX Pistol left side
EX 3:TRX Pistol right side
EX 4:Double lunge on the left side
EX 5:Double lunge on the right side
EX 6:TRX Hamstring curls.

Perform EX 1 for a predetermined period. I usually opt for 30-40 seconds
Rest the same amount of time as your work period.
Transitional rest time only between exercises.

Perform EX 1 and 2. rest again.
Perform EX 1,2,3. rest again

Continue up to set 6. Now you will be performing quite a long set. 3 minutes if you opt for 30 second work periods.

Once you reach 6 exercises, have a double rest and then continue but now start from the back end, so EX 6 then 5,4,3,2,1 rest again then repeat but this time knock one off the back end so EX 6,5,4,3 and then 2
Continue like this until you have just the one exercise left.

So basically, it looks like this.

Goblet squat--1--1--1--1--1--1--6
Pistol L/H-----------2--2--2--2--2--5--5
Pistol R/H--------------3--3--3--3--4--4--4
Double lunge L/H--------4--4--4--3--3--3--3
Double lunge R/H------------5--5--2--2--2--2--2
TRX Hamstrings------------------6--1--1--1--1--1--1

Blogger may not be too kind to this table so I hope it's clear enough!

In a 6 exercise ladder, every body part gets worked 7 times.

Notes on exercises.

Goblet squat: go as deep as you can whist maintaining lower back integrity.
Bring your elbows down to the inside of your knees to help maintain the correct positioning.


TRX pistol: TRX works well here as opposed to a body weight or weighted pistol. As you get fatigued it's easier to keep form with a TRX unless of course you're a pistol master!

Double lunge: A terrific exercise. Rack a kettelbell as per normal. Take a forward lunge, push back but don't centre feet. Simply step back into a reverse lunge.
It takes a bit of practise getting the balance but once mastered, it's a real burner.
To make it even more intense, keep the hips low as you move from forward to reverse lunge.


TRX hamstring curls. These can be performed as in a bicycle motion or both legs at once.

Here is a format for upper body:

EX 1: TRX chest press
EX 2: TRX row
EX 3: Kettlebell clean and press L/H
EX 4: Kettlebell clean and press R/H
EX 5: Kettlebell upright row
EX 6: Kettlebell renegade row
EX 7: Bulgarian bag spins.

7 exercises here so longer than 6 by a significant margin.


Notes on exercises.
TRX chest press: Go as steeps as you can and maintain the same degree of angle throughout your workout.

TRX high row, Pull in strongly to chest, retracting your shoulder blades as you do so.

Kettlebell clean and press, Keep a high cadence by not going too heavy. Same size bell to be used throughout.

Kettlebell upright row. Start with kettlebell held in both hands in front of you. Pull up and over your head to arms length above you. Then bring back down, watching you don't bump yourself in the process.

Kettlebell renegade row. Very tough this one, especially in a circuit.
Really drive down on the non-working kettlebell as if you're trying to drive it into the ground. Then lift strongly with the other arm. Try to minimise rotation of the torso.

BuBulgarian bag spins, Half the work period in one direction and then reverse.

Combined upper/lower body cardio circuit

EX 1: Swing
EX 2: Clean, squat and press L/H
EX 3: Clean, squat and press R/H
EX 4: Snatch L/H
EX 5: Snatch R/H
EX 6: Burpee to high row

Use the same scheme as above, one size of kettlebell throughout and be prepared for a sustained high heart rate throughout. With one size bell throughout, you will only be as strong as your weakest link, usually pressing.

Notes on exercise.

Swing. Maintain a good cadence and aim for the same rep count every set.

Clean, squat and press.Squat as deep as your flexibility will allow.

Snatch, Heart rate will be severely elevated at this point so really focus on maintaining good form.

Burpee to row, Start with kettlebell at arms length in front of you. Drop it down to floor, maintain your upper body weight directly over the handle to prevent tipping. Jump back as in a burpee. Jump forward again, stand up with kettlebell and lift straight up over your head, repeat.

So there you have it. 3 very intense workouts that will, if appropriate weights are used, push you to your limits.
Of course, any exercise combos can be used and there are lots of variations you can use such as longer work sets, shorter or longer rest periods, more or less exercises etc.

Don't be fooled by the easy nature of it at the start. Once it ramps up to 3-4 exercises, your heart rate will be up and then stay up even when you start to come back down the other side.

Enjoy.