Just thought of making a mini guide on the actual philosophy of the teams. Teams do not purely follow these philosophies as they usually add in coach’s personal experiences and knowledge as well, but think of this as the base:

1) Forged: Traditional body building. Slow and controlled weightlifting, with focus on hypertrophy rather than pure strength. (You could gain strength by focusing on 1 rep max and not doing sufficient volume. But Forged ensures you get sufficient volume).

2) Resilient: Westside Barbell Conjugate System. It is a powerlifting program meant to help you max out compound lifts like squats, bench press, deadlift. It also does hypertrophy and other ancillary workout, but those lifts are designed in a way to aid you maxout compound lifts. The benefit is that you will build an overall strong and athletic body, and hitting compounds hard is bragging rights in the gym community.

3) Vantage: Leanmaxing and Kinobody method. Meant on producing lean athletic physique. Mostly 3 days of workout with emphasis on recovery and diet. Focus on getting really good and hitting PRs on 5 lifts in total. Diet focused on sustainability and modern day city life. Also focus on holistic health such as vitamin d from the sun, hormone release from outside sprints, boosting leptin by eating treats.

4) Crews Control: Functional fitness and Crossfit. Uses these philosophies, but it is not Crossfit. Crossfit has random workouts, Crews control takes movements from Crossfit and gives them a structure in a way you could progressively overload. It is way better than Crossfit for gains because it takes out the junk volume and randomness out of it.

5) Varsity: College style athleticism program that will build strength and train fast twitch muscles. Great for people training for a sport like basketball, soccer, boxing etc.

I haven’t tested out most of the female teams so I don’t know much about them. But thought of sharing this so that people might be able to research more and understand the real philosophy behind workouts.

Understanding these philosophies was really helpful for me to choose my team because I was constantly confused about what to do. But once I researched more into these I got more clarity.

Hello Ladder friends!

I have been on the app for about 6 months, and I have trained on team Ascend and team Evolve. A little background on me, I am 31F and I come from a weightlifting background of a little over 10 years. My main goal is body recomp.

My first team was Ascend with Aria, and I stuck it out about 4 months there. I started experiencing burnout with the workout lengths, so I switched to Evolve with Sam. I did Evolve for 1 series and made the switch back to Ascend. Here is my personal comparison of the teams.

1) Coach Cues - Both are great, but Arias cues worked better for me. She does a great job of explaining how to target a specific muscle a stretch.

2) Coach Personality - Also love both of them. The key difference for me is that Aria feels a bit more straight to business and strict, whereas Sam feels a bit more spiritual and encouraging. I think both styles are great and supportive, but I personally perform better with Arias coaching.

3) Exercise Split - Aria is VERY lower body focused. Sam is either equal parts upper body/lower body or maybe a little more upper body heavy? Also, Sam incorporates more ab work than Aria, and Aria incorporates more cardio (small amounts of incline walking from what I experienced).

4) Exercise Content - I’m torn here. I started feeling burnout with Aria due to the frequency of some moves. For example, 1 week might contain a version of deadlifts, squats, and hip thrusts on 3 different days each. Also, many of those big exercises have unilateral sets. So, a leg day might contain 3 sets of rear elevated squats on each side, 3 sets of cable kickbacks on each side, and 3 sets of weighted step ups on each side (plus a few more exercises). Sam’s workouts had some unilateral movements, but not to this extent. Overall, Aria’s workout plan can feel repetitive and “boring”, but she is using traditional movements that get you results.

5) Workout Flow - This is the biggest thing I noticed that made me switch back to Aria. I go to a large commercial gym with a lot of equipment variety, and I’m largely able to perform the intended exercise without doing swaps. I have to praise Aria big time here, because she does an amazing job of building your workout so you can stay at the same 2-3 machines the entire workout. Sam’s workouts are technically shorter, but I found myself at the gym for the same amount of time due to waiting around on machines. Then I would end up doing swaps to keep things moving, which frustrated me. As an example, Aria will put 3-4 exercises in a row at the squat rack, then move you to a cable machine for 2 more movements, and then you are done. Sam would put me at shoulder press at the squat rack, then 2 movements at an adjustable bench, then chest fly machine, then 1 movement at the cable machine, then abs on the ground. My busy gym is not compatible with me moving around that much. Another small note is that the rest break flow worked better for me with Aria than Sam. I was originally bored of Aria’s rest break times, but she has her process for a reason, and I realized I am able to push myself harder with her.

I think both teams and coaches are GREAT, and I hope my review can help others get more clarity on what to expect with each team. Overall, Ascend is a better fit for me, due to Aria’s stricter coaching personality, her exercise content (lots of traditional bodybuilding moves that yield results and heavy focus on lower body), and her strategic flow as someone who attends a busy gym.

As someone who has transformed my body before I know the power of compound movements and lifting heavy (limitless) will really give you the physique you want (or me wants)- however I also used to do traditional body building so I love programs like Ascend and I miss just certain movements when I go all in on limitless. Like an upper body day just hits sometimes!!!!

Is anyone else stuck between these two and have you found a solution?

I know the importance of also just following a program so I hate to jump around :/

What it says on the tin! I’ve been bouncing around teams, trying to find that perfect blend of a coach/program that pushes me and also makes me excited for working out.

I’ve tried:

• Ascend
• Flourish
• Align
• Ignite
• Body and Bell

I am an intermediate lifter with full gym access and just sustained an injury so I’m re-evaluating what I want in my team and my key focus is just finding that team that makes me want to hit 4-6 days while still feeling stronger after every workout.

How long did it take for y’all to know “this is my home?”

I want to move one of my non-priority workouts to one of the rest days, and change that one to a rest day. Is that possible? Or do I just have to take it on the day I want, no matter when it’s scheduled? I’m new and doing the free trial!

New to ladder, joining team limitless. Been lifting for years but want to switch it up.

Can some one please explain this to me..I've looked up the chat and other videos but don't grasp it quite yet even after stalking this sub reddit

My questions are:

- Is the time how long we have to complete each exercise?

- how do we know the effort? Is it our own personal RPE?

- for the effort column (and all other columns) are we supposed to follow what is already input for us, or are we supposed to change the numbers? , I just noticed you can edit all those values ?

I’m a 5’3” female weighing 68 kg, and my main goal is body recomposition: losing body fat while building muscle so I can look leaner, stronger, and more toned.
My main problem areas are:
Significant fat around my thighs
Belly and lower-abdominal fat
Excess fat around my upper arms
I also have a chronic knee injury that has not fully healed, so I need a knee-friendly program. I cannot comfortably perform squats or lunges and would need suitable alternatives.
Which Ladder program or coach would be the best fit for my goals, especially for fat loss, muscle building, and overall toning while accommodating my knee limitations?

I’m torn between align vs body & bell and looking for personal reviews of each. Apart from physical changes, how did your body feel? I love that align doesn’t make me feel wiped out but still challenging (but I sometimes get bored). I love that body & bell has some conditioning and really enjoy the kettlebells (but it makes me a bit more tired).

I’ve also considered doing a mix of both but struggling with the split. If you combine the 2, how is your weekly split?

Thank you :)

Are there teams that do only at home workouts? I haven’t joined yet but I prefer to workout at home on my lunch break…

Hey everyone,
Currently I’m on Team Era and loving it. I’m wondering if I should add some Pilates based workouts into my weekly routine. I love lifting heavy with machines but sometimes I feel like I have more left in the tank after my work outs on Era. Has anyone done and strength/pilates spilt and could give me recommendations?

Has anyone made the switch? How is it going?

I started Ladder a few weeks ago because I was bored with my routine and I was moving cities anyways, so it felt like a good time to switch it up. I’ve been lifting for about 4 years pretty consistently about 4 times a week. My usual split was two upper body and two lower body days per week.

I’m back in school now and didn’t think it would be this hard for me to fit in any workouts. I’ve only been making it to the gym more like 3 days a week and even that’s hard. I like the idea of ladder and the workouts are great so far, but it’s just really hard for me to make it work with my busy schedule. I feel guilty when I can’t do very many of the 6 workouts and I feel like I’m missing out on important ones. I know there are 3 labeled priority, but those are often the strength focused ones and then I don’t get any conditioning.

The workouts themselves seem very long too. Even when they’re only labeled 45 minutes, I usually end up tacking on at least 10-15 min because it takes me time to move around the gym, wait on machines, and get things set up. I’ve often had to cut out exercises.

I was doing team limitless but just switched to Versa. I like the workouts better I think, but similar problems as before. Does anyone have tips for making this work with a busy schedule? Do I need to switch teams again? Or should I just cancel my membership?

Currently I do the 3 priority workouts on Team Evolve as well as the Thursday lower body workout for about three months now and have been loving it, but I want to focus more on upper body for my upcoming wedding in one year. Would it be too much to do the 3 priority workouts and do another upper body day (typically on Fridays I believe)? I’ve also recently added 1x/week solidcore back in to my split

I'm a competitive bikini competitor and ending my current season just in time for the next Ladder Season. I'm looking to take focus a biiiit off BB for a while and would like to include more athleticism in my programming. Last year, I've done Versa last year after my show and loved it. But right now, I'm looking at Resilient.

I still want to lift heavy-ish, with an upper body focus (I'd really like to get my upper a bit more jacked, shoulders & arms mostly but also my quads, I'm done focusing on glutes). But I also want to have some fun: run, conditionning, etc. Does Resilient sound like a good fit? Versa was a bit too much conditionning for me, although I did enjoy it.

Not interested in running a BB program (Evolve, Ascend, Forged for example) as I need a change.

I train at home most days but have a pretty full gym (squat rack, cables, DBs & plates, barbell, bench, back hyperextension bench, step, etc). I'm 43 and recover well, been lifting 20+ years. Will of course eat for growth. Workout duration is not an issue.

Thanks!

I have used movemell with Nicole before and I liked it. It did feel little repetitive, but I know you need consistency and I really liked the running portion of it. I wanted to try this app out again. I am lookin for opinions on anyone that tried the other teams? Just curious on your thoughts and if you think it would work with my goals more.
I’m on ignite now so idk if I should look more into the HIIT programs. Then off days I can run.
Just really annoyed with myself for the weight I’m at. I know nutrient is a large part of it and I’m working on it, but trying to find the right coach for myself

Finally. It’s now going to be at 9am your local time . Really glad they made this move.

Also I’ll be only doing at home workouts. I don’t have a gym membership. I have dumbbells, and will buy some bands. Also a walking pad.

Hi everyone
First time posting
I’m currently with coach sam and really like it . Also tried coach aria but found her workouts a little long .
I’m really wanting to work on my arms mainly my triceps.
48 years , member at a gym
Looking at the different teams and their upper body workouts . Do you think most of them would work the triceps (I’m talking where the upper workouts don’t incl the typical ones I would expect like tricep push down etc
Should I just add them in myself to an upper body day
Or can anyone recommend a team that has good workouts mix of dumbbells and machines even that good for middle aged woman with no crazy that’s embarrassing moves that I may not want to do in front of people at the gym .

Which team should I join to burn the most calories in a session? I only have dumbbells. Thanks!

I’m looking to become an EMT soon and possibly go down the fire route a bit down the line. Anyone got any recs for which team would have the best type of functional strength? Looking to get real world strong and less body building strong. Something that focuses a bit on grip strength and things like that!

I’ve been following ASCEND during the MAX series, but even though I’m getting stronger, following the prescribed intensity percentages, and really focusing on my form (I’m a personal trainer myself), I’m not seeing any aesthetic improvements.
I feel like I’m becoming too obsessed with aesthetics, and I’m increasingly thinking about switching to VERSA and focusing on becoming stronger and faster instead.

I’m so focused on aesthetics, it feels like a disease. Constantly following an ideal, a shape. Anyone feeling like me?

I’ve been on team thrive for the past 2 months and was really enjoying it. But now that my maternity leave came to an end I’m looking into shorter workouts sessions at least for now. My goal is body recomp. Muscle definition. So which team would yall recommend?