The row ladder 11 steps
Rows without a bar, then the front lever
No bar? Start at a door frame. The first 8 steps need a doorframe, a table or a towel in a door. Then the ladder goes on with a bar or rings, up to the front lever.
Fig.No bar needed
8 steps without a bar
A solid doorframe, a heavy table and a towel over a door take you through these steps. With no towel, table or rings, the ladder stops at step 5.
Step 1 Starter
Doorframe row
10-35 reps
- Gear
- None
- Setup
- Grip a solid doorframe at chest height, feet close to it.
- Stop
- Stop when your shoulders shrug or your hips sag.
- Watch for
- Hips sag toward the floor
To open step 2
- Doorframe row: 35 reps on 2 days.
Also on this step
- Band pull-apart
- Doorframe isometric row
Step 2 Starter
One-arm row
10-20 reps each side
- Gear
- None
- Setup
- One hand on the desk, a weight of 5-15 kg in the other: a bag, a jug.
- Stop
- Stop when your back rounds or twists. Count the weaker side.
- Watch for
- Back rounds
To open step 3
- One-arm row: 20 reps each side with 15 kg or more on 2 days.
- Table row lowering, knees bent (Sturdy table): 12 reps, on 2 days.
- Then Table row, knees bent (Sturdy table): 30 reps, on 2 days.
Also on this step
- Band curl
- Band row
- Doorframe shoulder-blade pull
- Hammer curl
- Towel door shoulder-blade pull
- Y-T-W raises
Step 3 Common
Inverted row under a table
5-30 reps
- Gear
- Sturdy table
- Setup
- A heavy table on four legs; never glass, folding, a standing desk or one with monitors.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips sag or the table moves.
- Watch for
- Hips sag toward the floor
To open step 4
- Inverted row under a table: 30 reps on 2 days.
Can stand in for it
- Towel door row
- Ring row
- One-arm doorframe row, feet back
Also on this step
- Face pull
- One-arm doorframe row hold
- One-arm row, slow lowering
- Towel door row hold
Step 4 Common
One-arm doorframe row
8-25 reps each side
- Gear
- None
- Setup
- One hand on a solid doorframe edge at chest height, toes a hand's length from its base.
- Stop
- Stop when your hand slips or your hips twist. Count the weaker side.
To open step 5
- One-arm doorframe row: 25 reps each side on 2 days.
Also on this step
- Ring Y-raise
Step 5 Uncommon
Steep one-arm doorframe row
4-15 reps each side
- Gear
- None
- Setup
- One hand around a solid doorframe edge, toes against its base.
- Stop
- Stop when your hand creeps down the frame or your hips twist. Count the weaker side.
To open step 6
- Steep one-arm doorframe row: 15 reps each side on 2 days.
Step 6 Uncommon
One-arm towel door lowering
3-10 reps each side
- Gear
- Towel and door
- Setup
- A knotted bath towel over the top of a solid door you push to open, your toes against it.
- Stop
- Stop when you drop fast or the door moves. Count the weaker side.
- Watch for
- Hips sag toward the floor
To open step 7
- One-arm towel door lowering: 10 reps each side on 2 days.
- One-arm towel row, feet back (Towel and door): 20 reps each side, on 2 days.
Can stand in for it
- Table row, feet up
- Ring row, feet up
Step 7 Rare
One-arm towel door row
3-12 reps each side
- Gear
- Towel and door
- Setup
- A knotted bath towel over the top of a solid door that you push to open.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips twist or the door moves. Count the weaker side.
- Watch for
- Hips twist open
To open step 8
- One-arm towel door row: 12 reps each side on 2 days.
Can stand in for it
- Table row, feet up, with a backpack
- Ring row, feet up, with a backpack
Step 8 Rare
One-arm towel row with a hold
4-12 reps each side
- Gear
- Towel and door
- Setup
- A knotted bath towel over the top of a solid door that you push to open.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips twist or the door moves. Count the weaker side.
- Watch for
- Hips twist open
To open step 10
- One-arm towel row with a hold: 12 reps each side on 2 days.
- Then Tuck lean-back hang (Pull-up bar, rings or straps): 30 seconds, on 2 days.
Can stand in for it
- Paused table row, feet up
- Paused ring row, feet up
Fig.With a bar or rings
On a bar or rings
The last 3 steps hang from a bar or rings, up to the front lever.
Step 10 Epic
Tuck front lever
5-30 seconds
- Gear
- Pull-up bar, rings or straps
- Setup
- A fixed bar or rings; a stool to step down on.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips drop or your arms bend.
- Watch for
- Elbows bend
- Opens at
- a Pull-up record of 8
To open step 11
- Tuck front lever: 30 seconds on 3 days.
- Then Front lever, back flat (Pull-up bar, rings or straps): 20 seconds, on 2 days.
- Then Tuck front-lever row (Pull-up bar, rings or straps): 12 reps, on 2 days.
Can stand in for it
- Archer row under a table
Step 11 Legendary
Flat-back front-lever row
3-10 reps
- Gear
- Pull-up bar, rings or straps
- Setup
- A fixed bar or rings; a stool to step down on.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips drop or your back rounds.
- Watch for
- Back rounds
One fresh set of 3 reps earns this step's colour.
To open step 13
- Flat-back front-lever row: 10 reps on 3 days.
- Then Front lever, one leg out (Pull-up bar, rings or straps): 15 seconds each side, on 2 days.
- Then Front lever, half lay (Pull-up bar, rings or straps): 15 seconds, on 2 days.
Step 13 Artifact
Front lever
3-10 seconds
- Gear
- Pull-up bar, rings or straps
- Setup
- A fixed bar or rings; a stool to step down on.
- Stop
- Stop when your hips drop or your arms bend.
- Watch for
- Elbows bend
One fresh set of 3 seconds earns this step's colour.
The top of the ladder.
Fig.Moving up
When to move up
Reach the top of the range on 2 days, and the next step opens. It stays open unless you start the ladder over.
- Your goal. Each set asks for just past your recent best, so your count climbs a little at a time. You type your count, and no one checks it.
- Moves in between. Some steps also ask for one or two more moves at their top, listed on each step above. A move marked Then opens once the move before it reaches its top. A move in between whose gear you don't have is left out.
- Stand-ins. When your gear or your settings leave out a main move, a move under Can stand in for it takes its place, in its own range. Its days at the top open the next step the same way.
- Tendon-heavy steps. The climb to step 11 and step 13 takes 3 days at the top.
- Orange and gold. From step 11, the climb opens the step. Then one fresh set at the low end of its range earns its colour. A set is fresh after a night's sleep.
Fig.Next
Where rows lead
Your row records open steps on other ladders too.
- The climb to Pull-up step 6, Flexed-arm hang, waits for an Inverted row under a table record of 10.
- The climb to Side core step 10, Tuck flag, waits for a Feet-elevated push-up record of 6, and one of these: a Pull-up record of 8, a One-arm towel row with a hold record of 8, a Paused table row, feet up record of 8 or a Paused ring row, feet up record of 8.
Climb the ladder while you play
QuestPump is a free add-on for World of Warcraft: Forever. Each quest you turn in asks for a pump: a few push-ups, squats, stretches or yoga moves beside your desk. You type your count, and your records climb these ladders.