6 Essential RAMroller Exercises to Build Total-Body Strength
When it comes to building total-body strength, free weights reign supreme. They effectively challenge, and most importantly, build, multiple muscle groups at once. They keep your stabilizer muscles and core working at all times, and allow you to take your conditioning to the next level.
However, free weights don’t have to stop at barbells and dumbbells. The Spartan RAMroller lets you load up and lift heavy, trains your core and grip-strength to a high degree, and is incredibly versatile. (How do you want to hold it today? Get creative!) Plus, it’s small enough to store in the corner of your living room and can double as foam rollers.
Related: The RAMroller Lunge: 5 Steps to Crush It Every Time
To get started with your RAM, try out this 30-minute total-body workout. To get your body ready for heavy lifting, perform a 5-minute dynamic warmup. Make sure to incorporate exercises such as knee-to-chests, inchworms, arm circles, bodyweight squats, and planks. Then, go after those circuits!
This workout features the SPARTAN RAMroller. Available in five weights—11, 22, 33, 44, and 55 pounds—it expertly allows you to train functional strength, muscle power, and grip strength in the gym, at home, or in the office. It’s also made of 100% recycled materials.
RAMroller Exercises: Circuit 1 (3 Rounds)
RAM Squats
Place the RAM on one shoulder (like a log carry), hold it across your upper back (back squat), or against your torso in the crooks of your elbows (Zercher). (You can also come up with your own loading technique.) Slowly squat down, pause, then drive through your heels to stand back up. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and braced core. Do 15 reps.
Related: Bodyweight Squat: The Best Exercise to Sustain Your Fitness Goals
RAM Overhead Presses
Hold each end of the RAM at shoulder-height. Brace your core, then press the RAM straight up overhead above your ears. Work on keeping your body in one tall, straight line, and not arching your lower back. Do 15 reps.
RAM Reverse Lunges
Place the RAM on one shoulder (like a log carry), hold it across your upper back (back squat), or against your torso in the crooks of your elbows (Zercher). (You can also come up with your own loading technique.) Slowly take a giant step behind you with one foot, lower into a lunge, and then drive through your front heel to stand back up. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and braced core. Do 10 reps per side.
RAMroller Exercises: Circuit 2 (3 Rounds)
RAM Sit-Ups
Lie faceup with your feet flat on the floor and hold the RAM straight above your chest with arms fully extended. Squeeze your abs to sit up and, as you do so, raise the RAM directly overhead. Work to keep your arms completely vertical at all times. Do 15 reps.
Bent-Over Rows
Hold each end of the RAM at arm’s length. Brace your core, hinge your hips back until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor and the RAM hangs directly below your armpits. From here, row to RAM to your navel, pause, then slowly lower back down to start. Do 15 reps.
RAM Burpees
Hold each end of the RAM at shoulder-height, then hinge at the hips to place it on the floor. Keeping ahold of the RAM, hop your legs back, perform a push-up, hop your legs forward, and spring up into a vertical jump. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and moving with control. Do 15 reps.
