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Kettlebell Ladders question

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Hello all

Do you rest after each rung or at the top of each laddar after completing all the rung?
 
Depends. Low in the rungs, I'll typically rest very little. Maybe a minute between a 1 and 2 rep, for example. But in between a 4 and 5 rep, I may rest 3-5 minutes.

Also depends on the lift. I assume you're referring to kettlebell presses. But let's say I'm doing a ladder with heavy deadlifts, I'd rest at least 5 minutes between each set, maybe upwards of 10 minutes if I need it.
 
My goal with ladders is usually a 1:1 work:rest between rungs while my imaginary training partner does his "I go, you go". I aim to rest as needed, up to 5 minutes between ladders.

Of course it also depends on your goal and working weight. Shorter rest will favor growth, longer rests favor strength.
 
Ladders can be adapted to all kinds of purposes so there is no specific rule.

This old issue of Dan John's newsletter has a great article on ladders by Steve Shafley:
http://danjohn.net/pdfs/vaug.pdf

For ROP press ladders, a guideline I've followed is rest one minute for each number of reps in the preceding rung (1 rep each side, rest 1 minute; 2 reps each side, rest 2 minutes, etc.). I don't think this is in the Enter the Kettlebell book, but I saw it recommended somewhere, tried it and like the way it worked. However, I just used it as a general guide, and often changed things up based on feel. I also went through periods where I integrated pullups with my press ladders, so adjusted rest periods around those as well.
 
Wow. Really that long between rungs eh? I was always under the impression that the "rest" periods were while the other arm was working. I would take 5-6 minutes between sets of ladders, but nowhere near the between-rung rest you guys did. This could actually be a huge reason I had to stop ROP as I felt I was just getting beat up with the 20kg.

How long does a full session take of five rungs, 90 minutes?
 
That is what I thought. Rest one side then the other. Rest between ladders. Also, I need to deload. I found that benefical even though Pavel doesn't discuss it.
 
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Etk p. 134 just says "rest" "and "short rest" regarding between each rung. "C&P left, switch c&p right, rest, 2 reps, another short rest..."

P.135 clears it all up, titled "whats the perfect rest interval between sets". It says, again I quote "If vodka is the intensity, and whiskey is the volume, then tequila is the density". See, theres the answer. Tequila!

Just kidding! It also says for strength, it doesnt matter if you take 15 minutes, an hour, or a whole day to do 5 sets. But for building muscle, use shorter rests. He compares very short rets, under a minute, to EDT. And long rests to Naked Warrior's grease the groove method. He explicitly doesnt proscribe a rest length.

Doing pullups in the ladder, I was able to rest 1:1 ish between rungs, 2-4 minutes between ladders, and the heavy 5x5 days were taking well over an hour, pushing 90 min often. Rop is a time commitment for sure!
 
Actually in ETK Pavel did discuss rest periods. Basically he said "why complicate?" He indicated short rests promote muscle gains and long rests neural adaptations. Either way you will get stronger. Do what you can to get all your ladders in for each day you train.
 
Jeffro, sorry I didnt realize you were answering at the same time I did, lol.

When I did the ROP the first time it took me quite some time to meet tbe goals, but I stuck with it and did. I would bgo through it with a certain bell then do it again with 1:1 work to rest. Worked for me and even though it wasnt designed as a muscle growing program I gained 10 pounds and went down a pants size.

It's an awesome program.
 
That is what I am trying to figure out...

What exactly is a short rest?
What exactly is a long rest?

Which is better for strength? Muscle pr neural?
 
I thought I'd add my 2c in here. I've done the ROP numerous times, and I've used all sorts of timings.

I found that my greatest pure strength adaptations were when I was working through with about 15 min between rungs. I would often go through the ROP once with the mega rest, and then another time compressing down. Basically, if the bell was closer to 5rm than to 8rm then I had luxurious amounts of rest. If it was an 8rm bell, then I would push for density and maybe even add in the pull ups.
 
How long does a full session take of five rungs, 90 minutes?

I am currently on 9th week of RoP, got my first 5-rung ladder yesterday. Earlier I was doing 15s, 30s, 45s, 60s etc rest between rungs and about 1,5min between ladders but now I am working with hr monitor and wait until my bpm drops to 140ish. This way I am doing very short rests between 1st and 2nd rung, little longer (about a min) before 3rd and before 4th and 5th I had 2-3min of rest, also got additional rest before 4th and 5th ladder of pull ups.

Total time for 1x1-5, 4x1-4 was 46:40, but have to admit that sometimes I wasnt fully recovered between rungs. I believe that doing 5x1-5 will take me about 65-70min. Hope that helps.
 
Wow, I thought it was rest between ladders only.... rest between rungs I previously had thought similar to previous posts that you rested one side while the other worked

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread
 
I do not want my workouts take forever. So I rest as and when needed. I am not a slave to the clock with rest intervals. Between ladders a bit longer rest but still as needed. So after the 4th ladder I might rest longer than after the first ladder.
 
See some of these workout lengths go against Pavel's arguments against long workouts. Shorter more frequent workouts were what he advocated. I find RoP to not be well laid out at times.
 
I'm a newbie to training ladders, having recently begun using them on my strength days.

Between rungs I've adopted a like number of breaths for rest. When doing overhead press I use a breath up, one down, at about the same cadence. In the rack for two easy breaths and next rung. Next rung is two reps = four breaths.

My working breathing is going to be faster than resting, but is a good way to break it up. Between ladders I rest 4 minutes, but if doing for hypertrophy I'd rest half of that or a touch under at 90 seconds.
 
When I first used the 24kg and went through the ROP I did it again and actually was able to use no rest between the ladders. This gave me quite a workout and really made jumping to the 28 a breeze. As the bells got heavier I wasn't able to do the no rest between rungs but attempted to keep them as minimal as possible. I initially needed a 44kg for a 1/2 press but got bigger doing this style and had to hit a beast press. I did but it took me a while! After 5 x5 with a 36, I blasted a 44, waited a bit and got the beast. Then I did mostly doubles work for the next few years.

Last fall I did the ROP press program again with a 40kg for a change of pace and managed to complete it. I did not do a 1:1 and in fact could not tell you what the ratio was but I did finish it. Some rungs required a lot of rest. Results surprised me, thicker shoulder girdle and tighter waist. Strength gains too, which carried over to barbell presses!

The ROP is an awesome tried and true program. Don't overthink it, just do it!
 
RoP is awesome but with a 15 month old I don't have 1.5 hours to work out.
 
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