Descending Ladder Workout | Body Recomposition Workout Plan Day 33

How To Get Back To Being Healthy After Vacation | Live Lean Shred Ep. 33

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing descending ladder workout #5 from the Afterburn 1.0 body recomposition workout plan.

Welcome back to day 33 of our 6 week Body Recomposition Workout Plan Series.

We have 10 more days to go until we hit the end of this 42 day Live Lean Shred challenge.

You are doing awesome.

Even though the series is not complete yet, people on the Afterburn Facebook group have already been sharing their before and after photos.

The Live Lean Nation is crushing it and I’m super impressed with the progress to date.

Table Of Contents – Jump To:

Creating This Series Has Been A Humbling Experience

I did a Facebook Live to discuss how this 42 day body recomposition workout plan series hasn’t really received the attention that I hoped it would.

The views are down quite a bit compared to the other videos posted on our Live Lean TV YouTube channel.

Creating this series has been a humbling experience, especially since we went into this with a goal of having 10,000 views per video, and we’ve only been getting approximately 2,000 views per video.

Based on this, I was a little bit down since we’ve put all this effort and work into giving out one of our best selling workout programs for free online, however most of our community are not paying attention to it.

Fortunately after the Facebook Live, I had a positive reality check.

After I went through all the comments, photos, and videos from the trainees in the Afterburn Facebook Group, it’s crystal clear this body recomposition workout plan is freaking changing lives.

This experience has reinvigorated me and made me realize that, at the end of the day, it’s not all about numbers.

Obviously we would love to reach more people.

However, even if we reach just a thousand people and get them to change their mindset on the proper way of working out, this 6 week body recomposition workout plan has been a success.

It’s truly empowering to see people making the following comments:

• “I never thought lifting weights could get me the results I’m currently seeing in the mirror.”
• “I never thought I would enjoy how lifting weights makes me feel.”

In response to this feedback, I’m adjusting my perspective to recognize that even if we’re only influencing a smaller group, we’re still creating a positive impact and transforming lives.

I just have to keep reminding myself of that, and in the grand scheme of things, we’re doing good with this series, therefore we have to keep it going to finish these last 10 days.

How Do I Get Back My Healthy Routine After Vacation

Over the last 3 nights I took Jessica and Kyla on vacation to visit my family in Toronto, Canada.

It was Kyla’s first trip to Canada and we had a lot of fun.

During those 3 days, we never went to the gym.

Plus, the foods we were eating weren’t our typical Live Lean foods.

Now that I’m back in San Diego, it’s time to get back to Living Lean.

Many people might let those three vacation days derail their healthy progress and disrupt their momentum.

However, when you’re Living Lean, you have the mindset that things will happen in life when you don’t workout or eat healthy.

In other words, this is just a part of your life’s journey.

Once you home you will get back to your normal healthy routine again.

Look at it this way:

If you went on a trip and forgot your toothbrush, and couldn’t brush your teeth for one night, you wouldn’t come home the next day and suddenly stop brushing your teeth just because you missed one night.

The reason is, you have ingrained the daily habit of brushing your teeth.

As a Live Leaner, the same principle applies to your workouts and eating habits.

Once you get back home from vacation, you go back to:

• Your workouts
• Preparing your meals
• Eating healthy foods
• Sleeping, resting, and recovering

This is my first day back in the gym for me and getting in the proper foods and drinking enough water after that layoff.

This is what it’s all about.

It’s not allowing life to get in the way of you Living Lean.

Mindset, Mindset, Mindset

I can’t beat that into your head enough.

You are making the decisions of what you’re feeding your mouth.

You are deciding to workout or not workout.

Don’t let three days of travel, vacation, or anything stop the momentum that we’re building in this 42 day body recomposition workout plan series.

Even if you did miss a workout, get back into it today and start with the workout you missed.

It’s time to get right back into it.

Enough talking.

Let’s get into today’s descending ladder training workout.

Descending Ladder Workout #5 | Body Recomposition Workout Plan

This is the fifth 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 training is another great body recomposition training style to build muscle and build strength since we’re moving some weight.

Since we’re keeping rest periods shorter, while keeping the weights in our hand, we’re also going to be burning fat as well.

Here is the link to download the PDF with the full workout, including video links for all exercise demonstrations:

If you haven’t downloaded the workout yet, you can sign up here to receive the new workout PDFs for free via email.

Warm Up

Complete this 4 minute warm up circuit twice, without 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 is the link to download the PDF for the complete warm-up, which includes video links to all exercise demonstrations:

Descending Ladder A: Unilateral Exercise

Descending Ladder A features a descending rep scheme of 5-4-3-2-1 for a single unilateral exercise.

Note: In the video, I incorrectly showed Descending Ladder Superset B exercises before the Descending Ladder A unilateral exercise.

A1. Alternating Standing Dumbbell Front Raise

The first exercise is the alternating standing dumbbell front raise.

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

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

Descending Ladder Superset B

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

B1. Barbell Bent Over Row

The first exercise in superset B is the barbell bent over row.

Barbell Substitution: Smith Machine Bent Over Row

Since I didn’t have access to a free weight olympic barbell, I completed the Smith Machine Bent Over Row.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder consists of consecutive sets without pauses between each change in repetitions.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

Coaching cues:

• Perform 6 repetitions of the barbell bent over row, then proceed immediately to mountain climbers while gripping barbell.
• Once you complete 6 reps of mountain climbers, without resting, proceed to perform 5 reps of the barbell bent over row followed by 5 reps of mountain climbers.
• Continue this sequence of decreasing repetitions until you reach one repetition per exercise.

B2. Mountain Climber (Gripping A Barbell)

The second exercise in superset B is the mountain climber (gripping a barbell).

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

Coaching cues:

• After completing the entire descending ladder, rest for 45 seconds, 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.

Throughout the tri-set, keep the dumbbells in hand during transitions between exercises.

This tri-set includes the following three exercises:

1. Dumbbell Push Press
2. Dumbbell Deadlift
3. Dumbbell Front Squat

Select a weight appropriate for the most challenging exercise.

Based on these 3 exercises, the dumbbell push press would be the most challenging, therefore pick a weight for this exercise.

Perform 6 reps of the first exercise, then immediately move to 6 reps of the dumbbell deadlift, followed directly by 6 reps of the dumbbell front squat without releasing the weights.

After completing 6 reps of each exercise, proceed without pausing to perform 5 reps of each exercise, and repeat this sequence until you reach 1 rep per exercise.

That’s one set.

C1. Dumbbell Push Press

The first exercise is the dumbbell push press.

• Reps: 6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder
• Rest:
  • The descending ladder from 6 to 1 involves performing each set continuously without breaks between transitioning rep changes.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

C2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

The second exercise is the dumbbell romanian deadlift.

• 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 transitioning rep changes.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

C3. Dumbbell Front Squat

The final exercise is the dumbbell front squat.

• 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 transitioning rep changes.
  • 45 second rest between sets
• Sets: 2

Coaching cues:

• After completing the entire descending ladder, rest for 45 seconds, then repeat once more to complete a total of 2 sets.

Descending Ladder Superset D

Superset D is structured as a descending ladder, starting with 7 reps and decreasing sequentially to 1 rep for each exercise.

D1. Push Up

The first exercise in this 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 descending ladder superset is the push up.

• 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 push ups, followed immediately by 7 total reps of burpee push up, then continue with 6 reps of push ups and repeat this pattern without rest until you reach 1 rep.
• Complete only one round of this superset.

D2. Burpee Push Up

The second exercise in this 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 superset is the burpee push up.

• 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:

• This burpee push up finisher combo skyrocketed my heart rate.

That’s The Workout

Hopefully you enjoyed descending ladder training workout #5.

I had to come up on my condo balcony to finish descending ladder superset D because the gym was too busy.

The people who go to my condo gym aren’t your typical YouTubers or people who post on Instagram.

In other words, they don’t want to be on video.

Tomorrow I’ll be coming your way with complex training workout #5.

We’re almost at the end of this 6 week body recomposition workout plan series.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

I believe in you and know you can do this.

See you at the next workout.

Thanks for watching and keep Living Lean.

Bye.

Next Workout: Complex Training Workout | Body Recomposition Workout Plan Day 34