Endless Ladder
A machine with a ladder that moves down as you climb, so you climb rung by rung with your hands and feet for as long as you keep going.
- Primary muscles
- Lats, Quads, Glutes
- Secondary
- Upper back, Biceps, Calves, Front delts
- Logged as
- Session: time, plus what the machine shows, such as distance and calories
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
The endless ladder is one of the few cardio machines that works your upper body about as hard as your legs, because your hands pull you up every rung. It follows your pace: climb faster and the ladder speeds up, slow down and it slows with you. Height climbed is the number to compare sessions by. It's demanding from the first minute, so short bouts are a better start than long steady climbs.
How to do it
Step onto the lowest rungs and hold the side rails or a rung at chest height before the ladder starts moving.
Climb rung by rung with your hands and feet; the ladder moves down as you climb, so it follows your pace.
Keep your hips close to the ladder and move the opposite arm and leg together.
Slow down until the ladder stops before you step off. Copy the height climbed from the display at the end.
Common mistakes
Hips far from the ladder
Leaning back puts your arms under strain and makes every rung awkward. Keep your hips close to the ladder.
Moving the same arm and leg
A same-side pattern feels clumsy and throws you off balance. Move the opposite arm and leg together, like on a normal ladder.
Stepping off while it moves
Slow down until the ladder has stopped before you step off.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
