Descending Ladder Fartlek Workout + Burpee and Drop Squat Challenge!

What is a fartlek workout?

Yeah, I know. Funny word. Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning “speed play.” Fartleks are among my favourite speed running workouts because the emphasis is not on pace or distance, but rather on running fast for as long or as short as you want. You can incorporate fartleks into any run, or you can try this loosely structured descending pyramid fartlek workout where you’ll run alternate between intervals of fast running and recovery jogging, with each interval becoming faster and shorter as the workout progresses.

What is a descending ladder workout?

A descending ladder workout is any workout where you start at a certain amount of time or reps, and decrease the time or reps with every set while simultaneously increasing the intensity.

how to do this workout

Start by making sure that you are warmed up! The first interval is five minutes of fast running, so warm up with ten minutes of light jogging before launching into the workout. Your body will thank you! Once you’ve warmed up, you’ll do 5 minutes of fast running / 5 minutes of jogging, 4 minutes fast / 4 minutes slow, 3 minutes fast / 3 minutes slow, 2 minutes fast / 2 minutes slow, 1 minute fast / 1 minute slow, for a total of 30 minutes. As the intervals shorten, your speed should increase until you are almost in an all-out sprint for the final minute of fast running.

Right after you finish the running part of the workout, find some grass and complete the burpee and drop squat challenge, if you dare. 😀

Finish with 5-10 minutes of light jogging and stretching.

In total, this workout should take you 50-60 minutes, including the warm-up and cool-down.

descending ladder fartlek workout

0:00-5:00

• Run at a pace that feels comfortably hard, but one that you are able to maintain for five minutes.

5:00-10:00

• Recovery jog

10:00-14:00

• Run at a pace that is slightly faster than the first interval.

14:00-18:00

• Recovery jog

18:00-21:00

• Run at 800m race pace (the pace you would race 2 laps around the track–this should feel really hard!)

21:00-24:00

• Recovery jog

24:00-26:00

• Pick up the pace even more- imagine that you are in the final half kilometre of a race and you’re about to set that PR you’ve trained for!

26:00-28:00

• Recovery jog

28:00-29:00

• Sprint!

29:00-30:00

• Recovery jog

Now, if that was enough of a workout for you, great! It’s a tough one. But if you want a bit more of a challenge, end your workout with this burpee and drop squat finsher.

burpee and drop squat challenge

This is another descending ladder-style challenge. Do 20 burpees, followed immediately by 20 drop squats, 19 burpees followed by 19 drop squats, and so on, all the way down to 1.

I hope you enjoy this workout! I love how it gets your heart rate up and works on speed, strength, core, and power all at the same time. If you try it, let me know how you do! You can comment below, or you can tag me @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen on Instagram if you share a mid-workout or post-workout pic! 🙂