Descending Ladder Workout | Body Recomposition Workout Plan Day 40

Sliced And Diced Afterburn Workout | Live Lean Shred Ep. 40

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m back in the gym sharing descending ladder workout #6 from the Afterburn 1.0 body recomposition workout plan.

Welcome back to day 40 of our 6 week Body Recomposition Workout Plan Series.

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Descending Ladder Workout #6 | Body Recomposition Workout Plan

It’s descending ladder time.

This is the last descending ladder workout from the Live Lean Afterburn 1.0 Body Recomposition Workout Plan.

If you missed them, check out the previous descending ladder workouts:

• Descending Ladder Workout #1
• Descending Ladder Workout #2
• Descending Ladder Workout #3
• Descending Ladder Workout #4
• Descending Ladder Workout #5

Here’s the link to download the PDF containing the complete workout, including video links for all exercise demonstrations:

If you haven’t downloaded the workout yet, sign up here to get all the workout PDFs emailed to you for free.

Warm Up

Complete this 4 minute warm up circuit twice, without taking breaks.

• WU1. Seal Jacks x 30 seconds
• WU2. Air Squats x 30 seconds
• WU3. Push Up x 30 seconds
• WU4. Alternating Pendulum Lunge x 30 seconds

Here’s the link to download the PDF for the complete warm up, including video links for all exercise demonstrations:

Descending Ladder A: Unilateral Exercise

Descending Ladder A uses a descending rep scheme starting with 5 reps per leg, descending all the way down to 1 reps per leg.

Grab your dumbbells and let’s get to work.

A1. Dumbbell Stationary Lunge

The first exercise is the dumbbell stationary lunge.

• Reps: Start with your left leg, following a 5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder:
  • 5 reps x left leg, 5 reps x right leg
  • 4 reps x left leg, 4 reps x right leg
  • 3 reps x left leg, 3 reps x right leg
  • 2 reps x left leg, 2 reps x right leg
  • 1 rep x left leg, 1 rep x right leg

• Rest:
  • The 5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder involves performing continuous sets without taking breaks between rep changes.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 3

Descending Ladder Superset B

Superset B features a challenging descending ladder starting with 6 reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1.

B1. Plyometric Push Up

The first exercise in superset B is the explosive plyometric push up.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder involves consecutive sets with no pauses between changes in repetitions.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

Coaching cues:

• Up next is 6 reps of the explosive plyometric push up, then drop to your knees to compose yourself for a few seconds, then immediately move into spiderman push ups.
• Once you complete 6 reps of the plyometric push up, drop to your knees to compose yourself for a few seconds, then without resting, proceed to perform 5 reps of the spiderman push ups.
• Continue this sequence by decreasing reps until you perform one rep of each exercise.

B2. Spiderman Push Ups

The second exercise in superset B is the spiderman push up.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder involves continuous sets without breaks between rep transitions.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

Coaching cues:

• Each push up is considered one rep.
• For example, it’s considered one rep when the left knee touches the left elbow during the push up, and two reps when the right knee touches the right elbow.
• After finishing the entire descending ladder, take a 45 second rest, then repeat once more to complete a total of 2 sets.

Descending Ladder Tri-set C

Tri-set C follows a descending ladder rep scheme starting from 6 reps down to 1.

Select a weight for the most challenging exercise in the following tri-set:

1. Barbell Push Press
2. Mountain Climbers Gripping Barbell
3. Barbell Deadlift

Based on these three exercises the barbell push press would be the most demanding exercise, therefore select a weight for this exercise.

Perform 6 reps of the barbell push press, followed immediately by 6 reps of mountain climbers gripping the barbell, and then 6 reps of the barbell deadlift.

Without pausing, continue to perform 5 reps of each exercise, repeating this sequence until you reach 1 rep per exercise.

This completes one set.

C1. Barbell Push Press

The first exercise is the barbell push press.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • During the descending ladder from 6 to 1, perform each set continuously without taking long breaks when transitioning to the next exercise.
  • Take just a long enough break to reset and position your body for the next exercise.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

C2. Mountain Climber Gripping Barbell

The second exercise is the mountain climber gripping barbell.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 per leg descending ladder
• Rest:
  • During the descending ladder from 6 to 1, perform each set continuously without taking long breaks when transitioning to the next exercise.
  • Take just a long enough break to reset and position your body for the next exercise.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

C3. Barbell Deadlift

The final exercise is the barbell deadlift.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • During the descending ladder from 6 to 1, perform each set continuously without taking long breaks when transitioning to the next exercise.
  • Take just a long enough break to reset and position your body for the next exercise.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

Coaching cues:

• After the barbell deadlift, clean the bar back up to re-rack it, take a few seconds to shake it out, then immediately move back into the barbell push press.
• After completing the entire descending ladder, take a 45 second rest, then repeat the sequence once more to finish a total of 2 sets.

Descending Ladder Superset D

Superset D is the last one designed to burn it out.

This is structured as a descending ladder superset, starting with 7 reps per exercise, then descending down to 1 rep for each exercise.

Let’s finish strong.

D1. Squat Thrust Burpee

The first exercise in this 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder superset is the squat thrust burpee.

• Reps: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder involves continuous sets without breaks between transitioning rep changes.
• Sets: 1

Coaching cues:

• Perform 7 reps of the squat thrust burpee, followed immediately by 7 total reps per leg of the reverse lunge, then continue with 6 reps of squat thrust burpee and repeat this pattern without rest until you reach 1 rep.
• Complete only one round of this superset.

D2. Reverse Lunge

The second exercise in this 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 superset is the reverse lunge.

• Reps: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 per leg descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder involves continuous sets without breaks between transitioning rep changes.
• Sets: 1

Coaching cues:

• Complete all reps on one leg, then alternate legs and repeat.
• You only need to complete one set of the 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder.

You are now done day 40’s workout.

That is what the afterburn is all about.

We have one more to go.

Next Workout: Strength Circuit Workout | Body Recomposition Workout Plan Day 41