Ladders, ascending, descending make for great workout structures. I like to use a descending ladder when going a little on the heavy side, so that each rep is super high quality every round. The following ladder workout is a little different since each round is has some unchanging “bookends”. Each round begins with 20 kettlebell swings, and each round ends with one handstand practice attempt and hold (thanks again for those awesome handstand blocks, Kirsty Grosart!)
The fun thing about this full body combo is how much it can be altered – I chose a “medium heavy” kettlebell for the 20 swings (a 26kg I happened to have indoors already) and a medium weight for the presses and thrusters (a 16kg). Decided to use the 26kg for the goblet squats though – and that was fun. I could go heavier on both kettlebells, but allow for more rest between rounds, OR I could go lighter on both and challenge myself to complete the ladder with the best possible form–but in the least amount of time! Let me know if you decide to try it, and if you make a cool modification of your own!
I warmed up with some floor mobility exercises – ankle circles, shinbox, bretzel, plow, light kettlebell armbar, and a few kettlebell halos from half kneeling. For fun I did a couple of kettlebell getups with the 16kg then… the ladder fun began.
In the case that there’s any confusion with the image version of the workout above, here’s the whole thing painstakingly written out for you!
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 6 kettlebell presses each side
- 6 pullups (you pick the grip, or switch it up each round Zach Even-Esh style!)
- 6 goblet squats (I went heavy for these)
- 6 kettlebell thrusters each side
- 1 handstand practice
- rest
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 5 kettlebell presses each side
- 5 pullups
- 5 goblet squats
- 5 kettlebell thrusters each side
- 1 handstand practice
- rest
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 4 kettlebell presses each side
- 4 pullups
- 4 goblet squats
- 4 kettlebell thrusters each side
- 1 handstand practice
- rest
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 3 kettlebell presses each side
- 3 pullups
- 3 goblet squats
- 3 kettlebell thrusters each side
- 1 handstand practice
- rest
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 2 kettlebell presses each side
- 2 pullups
- 2 goblet squats
- 2 kettlebell thrusters each side
- 1 handstand practice
- rest
- 20 kettlebell swings
- 1 kettlebell press each side
- 1 pullup
- 1 goblet squat
- 1 kettlebell thruster each side
- 1 handstand practice
Cooled down with a little more mobilty work, and that was enough for one day!
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