Can You Finish This Bodyweight Workout?
Many of you have asked for more workout ideas, so I'm starting a series of routines you can use at the gym or at home. Let's kick things off with a big challenge: The Juarez Valley workout! This intense bodyweight routine was created by prisoners in the Juarez Valley prison in Mexico. Are you up for it?
While most of us will thankfully never end up behind bars, we can all take a lesson from convicts on how to not let your circumstances be an excuse for your fitness goals though.
This method involves performing a series of bodyweight exercises, such as squats or push-ups, in a specific pattern and within a limited space. I recently did it with pushups and I can tell you that it was extremely challenging.
The core principle behind this training is basically a descending ladder superset, coupled with an ascending ladder. You can use the approach with one exercise alone, or two exercises combined, with one on each end of the ladder. Don’t worry if confused, I’ll explain this clearly.
I finished my set in about 12 minutes and by the time I was done, I did 110 pushups. That’s roughly 9 per minute, including walking. That doesn’t sound like much but as fatigue sets in and the exercises become increasingly challenging, a slower pace allows for additional recovery and helps alleviate the burning sensation caused by lactic acid buildup.
While the initial intensity might seem daunting, don't be discouraged. The beauty of this routine is adapting it to your current abilities. Begin by just focusing on completing the workout with proper form, even if you can't execute every repetition for every body part as outlined. Over time, as you gain strength and endurance, you'll gradually progress towards the full routine, making each workout a stepping stone towards your ultimate fitness goal.
Workout Breakdown
Here's a detailed breakdown of how the Juarez Valley method works:
Objective: The goal is to perform your total number of sets of whatever exercise you choose. This really challenges different muscle groups and gets you tired fast.
Execution: Choose any bodyweight exercise like push-ups, squats, or burpees, decide on the total number of sets you want to perform (typically from 10 to 20 reps). I would recommend 10 to start as this is already tough. Then perform descending and ascending reps.
Example: Juarez Valley 10 with Push-ups
Set 1: do 10 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 2: do 1 rep, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 3: do 9 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 4: do 2 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 5: do 8 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 6: do 3 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 7: do 7 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 8: do 4 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 9: do 6 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 10: do 5 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 11: do 5 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 12: do 6 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 13: do 4 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 14: do 7 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 15: do 3 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 16: do 8 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 17: do 2 reps, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 18: do 9 reps, then walk back to your original position and turn around.
Set 19: do 1 rep, walk ten feet, turn around.
Set 20: do 10 reps, take a deep breath and drink in the fact that you’ve just completed a very tough workout.
There you go, that’s 110 tough repetitions in 20 sets. If you don’t have space to walk ten feet, simply count to 10 and do the next set, but stick to time.
You’ll be red faced and cranky when done, and if you actually need more work, do 15 or 20 counts. I would think only the toughest among you could do that with pushups, but squats or dumbbell rows, I can see that being done. However, you’ll be sore for about 4-5 days.
Variations: You can modify the Juarez Valley method by:
Using different exercises for ascending and descending sets.
Pairing a bodyweight exercise with a weighted exercise.
Adjusting the number of sets to match your fitness level.
Two different exercises looks like this:
Double Dumbbell Clean + Press with Squat work. With two exercises, you start with 10 clean and presses on the first set, followed by 1 goblet squat on the second set, then 19 squats on the third set, and so on, until you reach the final set where you perform 10 squats. This pattern continues, alternating between ascending and descending repetitions, until you complete all 20 sets. Here’s two video examples of the exercises
DB Clean + Press - 20 reps to 1 rep descending
Goblet Squat - 1 rep to 20 reps ascending
This is an incredibly fun but effective workout session, no matter the exercise you pick. It won’t take too much time and incorporates a balanced volume of sub maximal weights and manipulated number of reps instead of heavy loads.
Also, here’s a detailed workout plan for different body parts:
Upper Body Workout
Push-Ups
- Set 1: 20 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Continue alternating until reaching the middle, then reverse the pattern.
Dumbbell Rows
- Set 1: 10 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Alternate until meeting in the middle, then reverse.
Lower Body Workout
Squats
- Set 1: 20 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Continue alternating until reaching the middle, then reverse the pattern.
Lunges
- Set 1: 20 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Continue alternating until reaching the middle, then reverse the pattern.
Core Workout
Burpees
- Set 1: 20 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Continue alternating until reaching the middle, then reverse the pattern.
Lying Leg Raises
- Set 1: 20 reps (Descending)
- Set 2: 1 rep (Ascending)
- Continue alternating until reaching the middle, then reverse the pattern.
Total Body Workout
Squats and Pushups
Start with 10 squats in descending order to 1 squat, as well as doing pushups from 1 to 10 reps on the other end.
Additional Exercises For Total Body Workout:
Side lunges and skaters
This is not an exhaustive list of exercises, but as you can see, a total body workout can be had with quite a few combinations of exercises. The great thing is that you can do these when short of time. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this workout and I’ll post more to come frequently. Here is a video showing a push-up version.
Please come back and leave a comment, telling me how you did with this workout. I am intensely curious to hear about your results!
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