all posts post new thread

Other/Mixed Can someone briefly explain ladders to me.

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

MattM

SFG1
I read ladder recommendations on here all the time but I have to be honest and say that I don't really know exactly what it entails.

Is it just doing 5-4-3-2-1 reps of something to get the volume in? What's the purpose?

A lot of times with swings or pull ups I'll do 1-3-5-7-5-3-1 or 3-7-11-15-19-15-11-7-3 (using the first couple of sets as a "warmup"). Have I always been doing ladders and just not known it?
 
Ladders are an easy way to get a lot of good quality reps in. They also naturally incorporate a certain amount of waviness. In general, ascending ladders are better for strength, descending ones for muscle mass.

They're nothing magical, but many people find them a good way to train. The best way to find out if they fit oneself is to try them out.
 
I read ladder recommendations on here all the time but I have to be honest and say that I don't really know exactly what it entails.

Is it just doing 5-4-3-2-1 reps of something to get the volume in? What's the purpose?

A lot of times with swings or pull ups I'll do 1-3-5-7-5-3-1 or 3-7-11-15-19-15-11-7-3 (using the first couple of sets as a "warmup"). Have I always been doing ladders and just not known it?

You've been doing pyramids. Ladders are most commonly done ascending (12345/12345/etc.), such as in Pavel's ROP program from Enter the Kettlebell. 54321 would be a descending ladder, although the term "ladder" is usually used when you are repeating a sequence a number of times.

I posted the link below on another thread recently. It's an old newsletter of Dan John's with a great article about ladders by Steve Shafley. He discusses the rationale for using ladders (mainly as a form of autoregulation/cybernetic periodization) as well as examples of specific applications.

http://danjohn.net/pdfs/vaug.pdf
 
Kern, the original format is "I go, you go" so approximately equal periods of work and rest, and ascending reps. The goal is to avoid high-rep sets by achieving volume with low-rep sets instead. E.g., you have a pullup max of 10 reps, so you do a ladder with a buddy, imagined or real, of 1-2-3-4-5-6, at which point you're feeling fatigued, so you rest a bit and start over. Maybe you only go to 5 the second time through. If you do these two ladders, you'll have done 36 pullup reps without ever having some more than 60% of your max reps in a single set. The "I go, you go" format has a lot going for it - you start some of the higher rung without being completely recovered, and it helps you going after a high rep count when tested or in competition.

Enter The Kettlebell's main program, the Rite of Passage, is built around ladders - read the book for a good explanation.

-S-
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom