Ladder Push-Up Exercises

Push-ups are one of the top exercises for conditioning your chest, arms and core. Since no weights are required and they can be done in almost any location, push-ups are a highly portable and functional upper-body exercise. One method of increasing the number of push-ups you can do is to use variable rep strategies, often referred to as ladders.

  1. What is a Ladder?

    • When used to describe exercise repetitions, ladders refer to multiple sets of an exercise with each set, or rung of the ladder, requiring a different number of repetitions. Ladders are frequently used to help athletes move past sticking points by dramatically increasing the number of total reps they can complete in a training session. For example, you can complete 100 total reps using 10 sets of 10 repetitions and be guaranteed to have a hard time completing your last set of repetitions. If you use a ladder technique, you can start with two repetitions as your first rung and add two repetitions for each following set, or rung, until you get to 14 repetitions. Once you've hit that top rung, descend by two repetitions back to the first rung. When you're done, you will have completed 98 repetitions in 14 sets.

    Basic Ladder

    • The basic ladder starts with one push-up and adds one repetition for each set, with the recovery time equaling the time it took you to complete the previous set. For example, start with one push-up and then rest in the up position for 1 second. Immediately do two push-ups and rest in the up position for 2 seconds. Continue adding one push-up and 1 second of rest until you complete five push-ups and 5 seconds of rest. Descend the ladder by removing one push-up from each set and cutting your rest by 1 second. Using this ladder, you will have completed 24 push-ups in less than 5 minutes.

    Time Ladder

    • The time ladder uses rungs that are defined by time, with a new set starting at the top of each minute. Complete one push-up when you start the clock. Rest until you've hit the 1-minute mark and then complete two push-ups. Add one push-up for each minute. If you can do more than 20 push-ups in one set, start with a higher number in your first minute. You can stop once you've reached a predetermined time or once you can no longer complete the required number of push-ups within the 60-second set. You also have the option of stopping once you've reached your time limit and then reducing the number of push-ups you complete for each rung until you are back at your starting point.

    Competitive Ladder

    • A competitive ladder requires a training partner. One of you starts the ladder with two push-ups. As soon as your partner completes the second push-up, you do two push-ups while your partner rests. As soon as you finish the second rep, your partner starts the next rung and completes four push-ups. Add two push-ups for each rung of the ladder and make sure you only rest as long as it takes your partner to complete the required number of repetitions. To make this ladder more challenging, rest in the up, or plank, position of the push-up.