BeWOW: Muscle-Burn Ladder Workout

Put your strength training to the test with our latest Be Well Workout of the Week.

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In this week’s workout, you’re going to start with five reps of everything—easy right? Well, don’t celebrate too much yet because it gets a little more difficult as you work your way up the ladder, doing 10 of everything next, then 15, 20, and 25 of each. Then, you are going to work your way back down from 20, 15, and 10, and then finish with five reps of everything once again.

Time yourself to see how long it takes you. Then, the next time you do this workout—there will be a next time, right?—you can test yourself to see how you’ve improved. Just remember not to sacrifice form for speed. Keeping proper form throughout this workout is the key to injury-free success.

BeWOW: Muscle-Burn Ladder

Here’s the ladder pattern to follow for the following conditioning circuit: 5-10-15-20-25-20-15-10-5

Double feet lateral hops

Bicep curls

Box jumps

Decline push-ups

Triceps dips

Bench abs

Deadlifts with dumbbells

Explanation of exercises

Double feet lateral hops: Pick a line, use a towel, or anything on the floor that you can jump over laterally with both feet. Jump over the object and landing with feet together and knees slightly bent. Over and back is one rep.

Bicep curls: Hold dumbbells at your side with palms facing forward. Pretend your elbows are glued to your midsection and curl the weights toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms still. Slowly return your weights to the starting position.

Box jumps: Pick a sturdy surface you can jump up on to safely (maybe a bench or a step). Land with both feet in a squat at the top and step back down.

Decline push-ups: With your body in push-up position, put your feet on the same surface you jumped up on to for box jumps, and put your hands on the ground. Keep your abs strong and don’t let your back sag.

Triceps dips: Sit on a chair or step, or the same surface you used for the previous two exercises. Scoot your rear off the edge and hold on with your hands, which are pointing forward. Bend your arms, dropping your rear, until your elbows are at 90 degrees. Push up to return to the starting position. Legs can be bent, as if you’re sitting in a chair, or out straight for more difficulty.

Bench abs: Sit on the surface you’ve been using throughout the workout. Place your hands by your sides, holding onto the bench. Leaning back slightly, pick your knees up and drive them in towards your chest. Extend your legs out without putting them on the floor, and then pull them back in.

Deadlifts with dumbbells: Hold dumbbells with arms extended down so they’re resting on your thighs, feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping shoulder back and abs tight (and without locking your knees), bend at the hips and let the weights lower towards the floor, going as far as you can without bending your knees too much. Drive your heels in to the floor and stand to return to the starting position.

>> Did you complete this week’s BeWOW? Tell us how you did in the comments! Or, feel free to tweet at us about it using the hashtag #BeWOW. Check out all the BeWOW workouts here.

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Audrey McKenna Hasse is the owner of A.M.Fit, a personal training and healthy consultation business on the Main Line. You’ll find her workouts every week right here on Be Well Philly.

Photo: Shutterstock