Find out in our article how to achieve maximum relief and mass gain with the help of exercises with your body. The famous film "Rocky Balboa" fell in love with many viewers of different age categories. The protagonist won the boxing match thanks to his willpower and aspirations. The film features the Philadelphia Ladder, which the hero Stallone used for his training. This method perfectly helps to build and tighten muscles, make the thighs, hamstrings and calves stronger and stronger. For many years, climbing stairs has been used in training and has a good effect. Not only boxers are satisfied with the result, but athletes and bodybuilders.
Features of the technique of strength exercises "Ladder"
An ordinary ladder provides the opportunity to perform effective exercises that are quite simple in technique, but have excellent properties. This type of exercise allows you to qualitatively train the muscles of the legs. I am pleased with the possibility of an affordable lesson, since there are plenty of stairs in the courtyards, in the house, stadiums, parks or streets. The main thing is endurance and desire.
Staircase workout is ideal for warming up the body before main activities, and is also used as a main exercise. The ladder helps to train the heart, develop endurance, improve health, lose weight, and strengthen the lower muscle group.
Muscle groups in the exercise "Ladder"
Let's consider in detail the muscles that activate the exercise on the stairs.
Quadriceps
The lateral and anterior thigh plane is created by quadriceps muscle fibers, consisting of 4 bundles - the quadriceps, which determines both the lateral view of the thigh and the front view. The muscles are divided into three broad ones: external, internal and middle.
Muscle tendons are formed by tendons from the quadriceps, joining the calyx above the knee, from there descending lower, already called the patellar ligament. The tibia has an outgrowth to which this ligament is attached.
The rectus femoris is considered the longest of the four heads, located on the anterior plane of the thigh. Its beginning is a thin tendon. It is located downward with a transition into a narrow tendon that is part of the quadriceps structure. Upon reaching the medial tibial bone, the muscle tendon is attached to the interosseous sacroiliac ligament.
The quadriceps muscles perform the following functions:
- Extend the legs at the knee joints;
- Keep legs straight;
- Turns the legs in and out;
- Bend the legs at the knee joints;
- Participate in the bending of the legs in the joints of the pelvic thigh.
Each muscle of the quadriceps has an essential function: raising the legs when walking on stairs.
Gluteus maximus muscle
This muscle is a whole group of muscles, the functions of which are similar to the deltoids on the shoulders. Moreover, this group is responsible for keeping the human body in an upright position. The gluteus muscle is the most powerful muscle in the human body.
The muscle is considered one of the most important when a person climbs stairs. Functions of the gluteus muscle: keeping the body upright, helping to straighten the hip joint while walking.
Leg biceps
Four muscles form the biceps of the leg: hamstrings, semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and short. Functions of the leg biceps muscles: participation in the work of the hip and knee joints (actions in running, jumping, walking), control of some body movements.
The semimembranosus and semitendinosus are the back of the thigh. The muscles in the back of the thigh originate from the back of the thigh and cross downwards into the knee joint or connect to the thighbone. Their task is to help perform the gluteal functions: straightening the hip while walking up the stairs and moving the legs during each step.
Calf muscle
The calf muscle is a biceps muscle that is located at the back of the lower leg. The soleus muscle is located under the calf muscle, from where they both attach to the heel using the Achilles tendon.
The fleshy heads, medial and lateral, form a strong biceps (gastrocnemius) muscle. The medial head starts from the popliteal region and extends towards the heel, and the outer head of the gastrocnemius muscle originates above the knee towards the heel.
Functions of the calf muscles:
- Stabilization of the body during movement;
- Mobility of the foot in an imaginary vertical plane (sagittal).
Using dumbbells for the Ladder exercise
The film about Rocky Balboa tells how an athlete, without additional loads on his arms, achieved excellent results and muscle growth, but in real life it is better to use dumbbells with a small weight of 5-7 kg each. Only then will the result become obvious.
Each lesson with such a seemingly insignificant load on the arms - and at the end of the training, the athletes are overcome by fatigue and a great desire to get rid of the dumbbells as soon as possible. Over the course of several weeks, the weight of the dumbbells can be gradually increased. Running on a regular ladder plus weight in your hands is irreplaceable with any exercise equipment.
Training rules:
- Comfortable shoes. When choosing shoes, you should make sure that the sole is not slippery and will not lead to possible falls and injury. Also, the outsole should absorb, cushion impacts on concrete.
- When choosing a staircase, you should give preference to its location in the open air with good lighting. The steps should be straight and smooth.
- Warming up the knees well is a must. Stretching, an exercise bike in a couple of minutes will prepare and tune quite sensitive joints to work.
- The minimum number of steps should be 10 pieces per opening (three openings in total), to begin with. Further, the number of steps gradually increases.
- Purchase dumbbells weighing at least 5 kg in both hands. If at the end of the workout, tension in the hips is not felt, then the weight of the dumbbell should be increased.
- The beginning of the ascent is carried out with the hands down.
- It is important to keep your back straight, to monitor your posture, and not to tilt your back.
- Even a second rest is not allowed. The descent is carried out at an average pace without haste.
- Let’s rest for a few minutes after each descent.
Important Aspects of the Ladder Exercise
Each ascent and descent should be accompanied by tension in the hips. If during the third ascent up the stairs there is a feeling of difficulty in controlling the hips, you must stop the lesson. Leg pain will be present for several days.
Muscle fibers grow if they have microdamages. And descending stairs is a harder task for the muscles. There is no need to be afraid of such injuries, they only help in the activation of new cell nuclei. The thighs not only thicken and loom, but also grow.
Climbing stairs should be left at the end of the entire training process. Then the task will become more difficult and the result more effective.
Climbing the stairs will help draw the hamstrings, glute separations and quadriceps muscle fibers. The result after a three-month systematic lesson will be more than expected.
How to perform the exercise "Ladder" - see the video:
If the athlete is a bodybuilder, then two weeks before the competition, these classes should be stopped. If you have conditions such as varicose veins, problems with the spine, a tendency to increase pressure, or too much weight, exercise on the stairs is contraindicated.
