Ladders are traditionally an incremental change in the prescribed repetitions from set to set. An ascending ladder has the repetition totals per set incrementally build from set to set. A descending ladder has the repetition totals per set incrementally decline from set to set. You can also combine an ascending and descending ladder to make an up-down ladder to combine the best of both worlds.

For example, my good buddy Coach Robert dos Remedios, top strength and conditioning coach and author of Men’s Health Power Training and Cardio Strength Training, loves to incorporate a killer descending ladder workout he calls “Countdowns” as a special metabolic finisher to a strength workout.

Coach DOS has you alternate between squat jumps and plyo push-ups. You start with 10 reps and drop a rep in each subsequent set until you complete 1 rep of each (e.g. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). The goal is to take as little rest and transition as possible between sets as needed (ideally less than 10 seconds) and you must strive to complete the countdown ladder in less time from workout to workout to increase training density. You could also perform “Countups” by starting at 1 rep and building up to 10 reps or even do both back-to-back to make an up-down ladder.

Though rep ladders are great, I personally prefer doing time-based ladders using interval protocols. The reason I prefer interval ladders is because they allow me to focus all of my energy on the task at hand instead of tracking or counting reps. Plus, I often forget or lose track of reps when oxygen is in short supply to my brain. Frankly, I just love to let my mind go somewhere else when I am pushing myself to the limit and interval ladders allow for this, especially when automated by interval training workout music powered by Workout Muse (insert shameless plug here).

What is a ladder interval? In essence, it’s simply an incremental change (up, down, or both) in the duration of work periods for a certain exercise or combination of exercises. An ascending ladder is a ladder in which the length of the work period incrementally builds from set to set. A descending ladder is a ladder in which the length of the work period incrementally declines from set to set.

I decided to put together some special ladder interval workouts to celebrate Saint Patty’s Day this year. We even put together some special Irish Rock music for the custom interval training workout music mp3 soundtracks to drive these insane workouts.

The ladder workouts consist of:

a.) Descending Ladders Superset- You will alternate between 2 exercises in descending 60-50-40-30-20 and 10-second work periods. There is a brief 10-second transition between exercises.

b.) Ascending Ladders Superset- You will alternate between 2 exercises in ascending 10-20-30-40-50 and 60-second work periods. There is a brief 10-second transition between exercises.

The workouts use 4 different superset options:

1.) Upper Body-Lower Body Superset: Alternate between an upper body and lower body exercise

2.) Push-Pull Superset: Alternate between an upper body pushing exercise and an upper body pulling exercise

3.) Cardio-Core Superset: Alternate between a cardio exercise and a core exercise

4.) Unilateral Superset (L Side/R Side): Alternate between performing a given exercise on each side or performing a given exercise to each side where applicable

Ladders provide a very unique challenge to your muscles due to the constant change in duration of work periods and/or exercise intensity. They really test your conditioning and muscular endurance like few other protocols can. Plus, they truly shock your body and can be a great tool to blast through training plateaus and make your training fun, fresh, and exciting.

When performing descending ladders, select a load or exercise variation for each exercise within the superset that allows you to perform max reps for 60-seconds with minimal rest-pause periods. The goal is to be able to use the same load and/or exercise variation for each exercise within the superset from set to set due the non-competing exercise pairings and subsequent 10-second decline/incline in work periods.

However, by the end of the ladder, the 10-second work period should “feel” as tough as the original 60-second period if you are effectively challenging yourself. The only difference between descending and ascending ladders is that you just start your first set on the opposite side of the spectrum. Both provide a unique training stimulus and the better you get at one protocol the better you will get at the other and visa versa.

Below is a great example of a Level I, II, and III ascending or descending ladder workout using an upper body/lower body superset:

Level I- Stability Ball Push-up Hold- Hands on Ball/ Stability Ball Hip Extension

Level II- Stability Ball Push-up- Hands on Ball/ Stability Ball Hip Extension + Leg Curl

Level III- Stability Ball Push-up- Feet on Ball /Stability Ball Leg Curls

You can also incorporate drop sets with these ladder protocols. Simply choose a certain load or exercise variation to best match up with each work period in the ladder: 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10-seconds respectively. You can also train by feel and simply increase/decrease exercise intensity as needed to feel as challenged as possible during each distinct work period.

For example, let’s use 1-arm kettlebell swings with descending ladders as a case study. You can line up 6 different kettlebells in ascending order from lightest to heaviest for each of the 6 different work periods. On the other hand, I could do the opposite with ascending ladders and line up 6 different kettlebells in descending order from heaviest to lightest for each of the 6 different work periods.

What if you were performing an equipment-free bodyweight superset? Well, let’s use the lunge/push-up variation superset example to best demonstrate this. For descending ladders you could start by performing split squats and hands-elevated push-ups for the 60 and 50-second work periods and then progress to floor push-ups and lunge variations for the 40 and 30-second work periods and then finally ramp up the intensity even more using feet-elevated/plyo push-ups and split squat jumps for the 20 and 10-second work periods. You could of course flip this procedure appropriately for an ascending ladder as well.

Stay tuned for a bunch of awesome done-for-you ladder workouts to get you started with ladder intervals. They might just bring you the luck of the Irish

Crank it!

BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS2

Workout Muse Co-Creator and Fitness Director

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