Program Design
Climbing the Strength Ladder
Guest Post by Aj Lee
If you’re anything like me, always trying to find new ways to simulate growth and avoid the boredom of traditional rep schemes, I may have something for you to add to your strength toolbox. Several years ago when training for the RKC the topic of “Ladders” was presented as a means of training hard without burning out. Here’s how it works:
Ladders are multiple sets of an exercise performed with minimal rest with progressively more reps (e.g., 1-2-3-4-5 for compound movements, 10-15-20 for heavy double swings). The ladder starts off very easy but gets progressively harder, builds up to an all out performance, backs off, and starts all over. There is no hard fast rule as to the number of reps or rungs, as I like to call them, it depends on the exercise and if your goal is strength or conditioning. Generally if I am training for strength I use one or two big movement lifts, with lower repetitions and longer rest. If I want to train my conditioning I may choose to go add more exercise, rungs and shorten the rest time between them.
Military Press is Great for Ladders
Here is one strength ladder I use:
Deadlifts - 1-2-3-4 reps (usually done with a weight that is 75 to 85% of my 1-rep max) I will try to get 2 or 3 ladders in totaling 20 to 30 reps.
Military Press - 2-4-6-8-10 reps (usually done with a weight between 60 to 70% of my 1-rep max)
The next one is a great full body workout and can be done with short rest to enhance your conditioning:
Pull-ups – 1-2-3-4 reps
Military Press – 1-2-3-4 reps
Double Kettlebell Snatches - 1-2-3-4 reps
Double Kettlebell Front Squats – 1-2-3-4 reps
In this program do one ladder of each exercise and move to the next. Repeat the circuit one to three times, dropping the reps if needed.
Do Some Deadlift Ladders and Watch Yourself Grow
As you can see with ladders the only limits are set by your creativity. One important point to remember is the recovery aspect, do not wait until full recovery before you climb the next rung, a great tip is to use a timer and see how long it takes to finish a ladder and use that as a guide for the next sets, your goal will be to either meet or beat your time. Ladders are an effective and fun tool to add to your next training session. Have Fun!
Aj Performs a Deadlift and Pull Up Ladder
Aj demonstrates one of his favorite ladders that challenges both his upper and lowerbody. One bar with 45-50% your 1RM for the deadlift and a pullup bar. Start with 5 deadlifts and then 5 pullups, 10 deadlifts and 5 pullups and go up to your desired range.
PR for Real. One Man’s Quest to Military Press Half his Bodyweight. And the Mind Spot.
One of the tasks you need to complete in order to pass Level II of the RKC is to press a kettlebell that is equivalent to half of your body weight. This definitely can be a daunting task. After training hard, I achieved this goal with a “not so beautiful press” about two months before my level II certification; and then I messed up big time. Where I should have been refining my technique with the heavy kettlebell right up until testing, I didn’t practice it at all and I lost the ability to press the weight. My saving grace came from Master RKC Instructor Mark Reifkind who worked with me, refined my technique and got me to press the kettlebell. I was then able to pass my Level II certification. Below is the excerpt from the article.
Master RKC Mark Reifkind Demonstrates Proper Pressing Technique
PR for Real. One man’s quest to Military Press half his bodyweight. And the Mind Spot.
By Masster RKC Mark Refikind
Let me lead with this: I have nothing against training for Pr’s( personal records). In fact, it was the hallmark of my training in powerlifting for 15 years as it is a key component of the Westside Barbell method, my preferred system of systematic torture for powerlifting progress.
Every week in WSB land, we strove to get a new pr in some special exercise or variation of a competition lift. PR’s for wide grip board press, close grip, 3 board, 2 board, floor press close, floor press wide, etc. etc. We knew,especially on max efforts( close to or above 100% of personal best) that one could only increase loads for one, perhaps two, weeks before progress would stall out, or, go backwards.
Read the rest of the article on Mark’s Site Here
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