Bodyweight Press-up ladders - where to go from here?

[Pauli]

Exercising from home I have been doing bodyweight squats and press-up ladders. For the ladders I'm using a timer and it goes like this:

start timer

1 min - 1 rep

2 mins - 2 reps

3 mins - 3 reps

4 mins - 4 reps

5 mins - 5 reps

I continue for an hour so 12 ladders so 180 reps in total.

I can't do one arm (not strong enough) or elevated press-ups (lower back issues, being dealt with) at the moment.

I guess that like everyone my goals are more strength, muscle and GPP.

How would you progress?

Options for progression are:

1. Cutting the timing period so the rungs of the ladder are done every 50 seconds for the hour, with this timing period decreasing as I progress

2. Add a rung of 6 reps and keep the rests at a minute (then a rung of 7, 8 etc as I progress)

Am I overthinking?!

PS - I know bodyweight squats areless than ideal for leg strength, I am doing them more forcardio than anything else.

 

[Ian V]

You could also keep the amount of rungs the same but increase the reps on each rung - so 2-3-4-5-6 would give you 240 reps in the hour.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[CraigW]

Try Dive-Bomber Push-Up's or Dips and Hack Squats or Kneeling Jump Squats.
You can as @Ian V stated; increase the reps, in his book Beyond Bodybuilding Pavel suggest's 3-6-9-12-15 if you can do 25 reps.

 

[Pauli]

Great ideas, thanks guys!

 

[Mark Limbaga]

Close grip pushups..

Even a low elevation irritates your lower back??

 

[Steve Freides]

How would you progress?

I wouldn't think "progress" so much as how to "cycle."

E.g. if you've found what a comfortable maximum is, back off from that so that you hit it at around the 2-week mark, then push forward for the 3rd week, then cut everything in half for the 4th week, and start over again at a slightly "progressed" level of difficulty. I have, over the years, found program that make slow steady progress like that to be wonderful for months at a time. E.g. by the week: 10, 11, 12, 6, 11, 12, 13, 6, 12, 13, 14, 7, etc.

-S-