Thrive Personal Fitness Springfield, MO Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez is your guide on the journey to health and fitness. Personal training for weight loss in Springfield, MO.

The Ladder Workout – As Seen in Oxygen Magazine!

Post by Pamela Hernandez

Are you an Oxygen girl?

I have articles from Oxygen Magazine back to 2007 and whole issues back to 2011. I used to keep all my issues but I ran out of room. I had to start clipping articles and putting them in binders to save space.

However the March 2013 issues will stay intact and hold a place of honor because….

It’s my Oxygen Magazine debut!!!!

I am honored and excited to have been chosen for the reader workout of the month. I’ve known that I was selected since September but I didn’t want to say anything in case something went wrong and it wasn’t published. When the issue hit my mailbox it was like my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. There are few things in this world that have made me more proud than being included in the pages of one of my favorite publications.

I would love for you to pick up the March issue of Oxygen Magazine to check out everything the magazine has to offer. But if you can’t find it on newsstands at this late date I at least want you to have access to my workout. It’s one that I use, both for my clients and myself.

Let me introduce you to The Ladder.

Your workout is going to include 4 exercises – 2 for upper body and 2 for lower body.

• Upper: Push ups and Supine Grip (palms up) Bent Over Rows (barbell if you have it, dumbbells if you don't).

• Lower: Dumbbell Sissy Squats (the dumbbells are to elevate your heels and transfer emphasis to the front of the leg. You can hold a dumbbell in each hand as well if you want to make it more challenging) and Stability Ball Hamstring Curls.

Start with your upper body. You’ll be performing alternating sets starting with 1 rep of each exercise. That’s right – 1 push up and 1 row. Next set perform 2 push ups and then 2 rows. Follow with 3 push ups and then 3 rows. Get the idea? Now climb the ladder to 10 push ups and 10 rows. Rest when you need to but not for longer than 30 seconds.

After reaching the 10 rep mark on your upper body exercises you can rest a minute or two before moving on to the lower body. It’s the same pattern. Start with 1 squat and 1 hamstring curl, then 2, then 3, once again climbing the ladder to 10 squats and 10 curls.

Finish it off with one plank as long as you can hold it. Ideally this should be at least a minute.

And then you’re done. I love this workout when I am short on time. I try not to rest between sets, allowing me to work my whole body in a very short amount of time. Trust me, it starts easy enough but by the 5^th or 6^th set you will be feeling it!

Try it out and tell me what you think.

If you're an Oxygen Girl make sure you tell them too how much you loved it!

Posted on March 11th, 2013