4-Week Ladder Template to Gain Strength
I have been writing programs for myself and others for over 20 years. I always learn something when I coach someone through a training program, but I also learn a lot when I do a plan myself.
These programs usually start as something, but evolve considerably until I graduate. I have never been one who followed a written program, mine or another, and only trust the process. Ironically, I give clients the opposite advice. Do what I say, not how I do it seems to apply well here.
Requirements for the power conductor equipment
As I write this, everyone is dealing with a crisis that is forcing adjustments from their regular training routine. Some people, including myself, have trained at home for many years and are not dealing with a lack of equipment. Others have managed to beg, borrow, and hopefully not steal their way to a simple home gym.
This program is designed for people who have at least access to a barbell and a significant amount of weight. A significant amount is relative to every person. If you have a squat rack, that's nice! A bench? Even better.
These simple pieces of equipment are what I base the program on for myself. You can only get by with a barbell, but the exercises need to be adjusted. You can't get by with two soup cans and a ball of laundry fluff. Any decent strength program requires considerable resistance, and a barbell is the most obvious way to do this.
Just as important as the basic equipment, you need a significant amount of another valuable good – time. Although the program is not complicated, the workouts can be quite long depending on how long you want to rest. If you are one of the many who have a little more time available, it seems like an excellent way to get stronger.
The last thing you need is a little patience. You will do four exercises throughout the program. No more. The program could be adjusted to do less, but I won't go into the numerous combinations of exercises, rest periods, and repetitions that are possible. I'm just going to present the basic template, and you can play as you like at your own risk.
The 4-week lead template
The exercises I chose are:
- Barbell squat
- Bench press
- Deadlifts
- pulling up
You can choose any variation of these exercises, e.g. B. a horizontal bar, a horizontal bar, an incline or a sumo. This is your call. You must choose your preference at the beginning and stick to it for the entire program.
Training days
You will only do two exercises a day. I refer to push and pull exercises. I do squats and bench presses on day 1 and deadlifts and pull-ups on day 2.
In the beginning, when I started playing around with it, it was just three exercises that were done three days a week. That was fine, but I like this separation better. You switch between day 1 and day 2 with a day off after you've both completed. Then you repeat. Simple.
The problem for people who think in blocks of seven days is that it takes eight days to go through a microcycle. I am sure that when we leave the traditional seven-day block, time will not collapse by itself – just one way to find out.
Sets and repetitions
As you may have derived from the title, the sentences and repetitions are done on a ladder. If you are unfamiliar with ladders, a full explanation is an article in itself.
One that has been written many times and a simple Google search by Pavel, Ladder, gives you all the information you could want. I will provide the Coles Notes version here. A ladder is when the repetitions increase with each set and the weight stays the same.
For example, a ladder is a 225 pound squat for a set of 2, rest, a set of 4, rest and a set of 6. This ladder can be repeated as many times as necessary. There are many variations on this topic, but we will stick to this basic requirement.
Instead of the conventional set and repetition schemes, a target number of total repetitions must be carried out for each training session. Let's take 36 as an example. If you stick to 2-4-6, you will get a total of 12 repetitions on each ladder. Simple math shows that you need three ladders to reach this number.
You can also choose different combinations to hit numbers that don't work together as well. If your total number is 38 reps, you can do two ladders with 2-4-6 for 24 repetitions, one ladder with 2-3-4 for 33 repetitions, and finish with 2-3.
The leaders don't have to be in progressive groups of three; They can be more or less long as long as you reach the total number of repetitions at the end.
Choose your working weight
The working weight will be different for everyone, depending on how high they let their ladders climb.
This is a strength program, so I would say limit your highest reps to 6. I prefer four myself. The weight you choose should allow at least two reps more than most top reps you have ever done in an entire program.
For myself, I work with weights that allow me to do at least six repetitions. Gun on my head, I can probably do eight. The point is that you should never grind or get repetitions. Every repetition you do on each set should be clear and well executed. Here comes your progress. Perfect practice.
Progress within the program
Common sense tells you that for too long the same will lead to physical and mental stagnation. If we do the same exercise and weight, how do we see progress and not die of boredom? There is a two-part answer to this:
- First, swing the volume down for each exercise during each workout.
- Second, increase the total volume from week to week.
You want to split your training volume into low, medium and high days. Since you do two exercises a day, you don't want to have a high volume for both on the same day. You probably don't want a small volume for either, but that's less of a problem in the big scheme of things.
If you set A as high volume, B as medium volume and C as low volume, you can easily split it.
I choose this schedule:
| day 1 | Squats A. | Bank C. |
|---|---|---|
| day 2 | Tot B. | Pull-up A. |
| Day 3 | OUT | OUT |
| Day 4 | Squats B. | Bank A. |
| Day 5 | Tot C. | Chin-up B. |
| Day 6 | OUT | OUT |
| Day 7 | Squats C. | Bank B. |
| Day 8 | Tot A. | Chin-up C. |
Now we have to decide where we want to start in terms of volume. This can be individual as long as the volume increases from week to week. Depending on your training history, you may have to start out fairly low while others can do more. As with the training weights, lean to the conservative side.
If your first week is hard, you won't have a good time. Here's how I resolved it for week 1. The numbers on each day and the sum are repetitions.
| day 1 | Squats 30 | Bank 18 |
|---|---|---|
| day 2 | Dead 24th | Chin-up 30 |
| Day 3 | OUT | OUT |
| Day 4 | Squats 24 | Bank 30 |
| Day 5 | Dead 18th | Chin-up 24 |
| Day 6 | OUT | OUT |
| Day 7 | Squats 18th | Bank 24 |
| Day 8 | Dead 30 | Chin-up 18 |
| total | Squats 72 Dead 72 |
Bank 72 Chin-up 72 |
These numbers can be very high for some and low for others. This is exactly what I used, so adjust it accordingly. Now we have to increase the volume every week. My preferred ladder sequence is 1-2-3 for squats and dead and 2-3-4 for bench and pull-ups.
This is very specific and I selected my weights based on around 6 RM. The easiest way to add volume is to add one ladder per week.
This additional ladder increases the total number of repetitions by 6 per week with squats and deadlifts and 9 per week with bench and pull-ups. I add these leaders to A day week 2, B day week 3 and C day week 4.
4 weeks in
I may have already let the cat out of my pocket, but I designed the program for four weeks. I think it's about how long you can keep your attention.
After four weeks, you can choose to continue for a week or two, especially if you were smart and started on the low side of the volume.
If not, you can take 3-5 days off and your max. This can be a training maximum or a repetition maximum. You can also simply take advantage of a deload week and start another program. The world is your oyster.
The program is not complicated, but it is effective because you have collected so many high quality exercises in the four weeks. I'll warn again, choose your weights wisely.
Think about what weight you want to use and then choose easier. Don't hurry with your rest periods either. I set mine to three minutes between sets, but I will extend it to five minutes if I feel I need them. If you are looking for a pump or metabolic training, this is not for you.
Strength is based on two things:
- Rest
- Work out
This program offers you many of both if you follow the instructions.
As you go through the program, you can develop your nuances for customizing the program. I know I did it. As long as you follow the basic requirement, this shouldn't be a problem.
I experimented with an exercise in the morning and once at night. I did both exercises together and only switched between the two. It works particularly well.
If you achieve your day and week total reps and gradually increase, you are on the right track.
