Strength is a skill: how I use ladders to practice
All week I've written about individual lifts. Today is about how I put them together.
The idea behind all of it: strength is a skill. StrongFirst says to approach training as "a 'practice,' not a 'workout.'" A workout is about how tired you get. A practice is about how well you move. And one of the best tools for practice is the ladder.
What a ladder is
A ladder is a series of sets where one variable gets harder from set to set. The StrongFirst program design notes put it best: "The ladder starts out very easy, gets progressively harder, builds up to an all-out performance, backs off, and starts all over."
For example, a press ladder of 1-2-3 means one rep, rest, two reps, rest, three reps, rest. Then start over at one.
Why ladders work
Two reasons, both from the program design notes.
Built-in recovery. The easy rungs give you a break without stopping. You can handle a lot of total volume without burning out.
Better technique. The lower rungs are easy enough that you can pay attention to the details. Gray Cook's line: "The body will always compromise quality for quantity." The notes add: "those who always train all-out have the worst exercise technique."
That second point is why I use ladders so much. Every rep is a chance to practice the standard. If every set is a max effort, you practice grinding with bad form.
Ballistic rep ladders
For swings, cleans, and snatches, the notes list:
5-10
5-10-15
5-10-15-20
5-10-20
10-20
10-15-20
5-7-8
5-7-8-10
Grind ladders
For presses and squats:
1-2-3
1-2-3-4
1-2-3-4-5
2-3-5
2-3-5-10
5-10
Restart, don't pyramid. After the top rung, go back to the bottom (2-3-5-10, then 2-3-5-10 again) instead of pyramiding down (2-3-5-10-5-3-2). The notes save pyramids for hard days. Reverse ladders like 20-15-10-5 are for hard workouts too.
Other kinds of ladders
Weight ladder ("the chain"). Keep the reps the same and climb in weight. For example, swings at 16 kg for 10, then 24 kg for 10, then 32 kg for 10. Donnie Thompson has a staggered one-arm version that alternates sides.
Time ladder. Work for 10-15-20 seconds, or 10-20-30. The notes say not to go past 30 seconds on swings.
Breathing ladder. This one comes from Rob Lawrence. Do a set, then take a set number of breaths before the next one. A 2:1 rep-to-breath ratio is reasonable: 10 swings and 5 breaths, or 20 swings and 10 breaths. Slow the breath down. It's the most underrated tool on this list.
Combos
The notes list combos that pair a grind and a ballistic:
5-10 goblet squats with 10-20 swings, repeated
Jon Engum's swing-down/squat-up ladder
Dan John's 10-to-2 goblet squat and swing ladder
StrongFirst teaches that both kinds of lifts matter. Force equals mass times acceleration, so you push the "m" with slow lifts and the "a" with quick ones. A combo ladder trains both in one session.
Where ladders don't belong
Not every lift gets laddered. The get-up is the clear exception: "We do not practice get-up ladders as we do only singles." There's no benefit to time ladders for the get-up. Every get-up is its own rep.
A simple program example
The notes include Geoff Neupert's two-hand swing program: 20 minutes, three times a week, for 26 workouts. It starts at 8 reps every minute and builds to 21.
I like it as an example because it's simple. One lift, a set schedule, gradual progress. Pavel's line fits here: "Pros do fewer things better."
Building a session around the progression
When I plan a practice, I follow the order the lifts build on each other. The deadlift becomes the swing. The swing becomes the clean and snatch. The get-up builds the overhead lockout for the press and snatch. The goblet squat leads to the front squat. So a newer lifter's ladder work starts with swings and goblet squats, and the clean, press, and snatch get added as the base gets solid.
Picking your bell
People ask me constantly which bell to start with. The official StrongFirst starting sizes:
Average-strength woman: 8, 12, and 16 kg
Strong woman: 12, 16, and 20 kg
Average-strength man: 16 and 24 kg
Strong man: 24 and 32 kg
The chart doesn't break this down by bodyweight or age, so I won't either. On a ladder, pick the bell that lets your top rung still meet the standard.
How I think about practice
I coach at Extreme Studio Performance in Dallas, and I'm training for TFX in Austin in January 2027, so I'm planning practice for myself right now too. The principles are the same for me as for anyone:
Fewer lifts, done better.
Most sets well below max, so every rep looks like the standard.
Keep moving between sets: walking, shadow boxing, fast & loose.
Hard days are hard. Don't make every day one.
The longer video below is how I teach the hardstyle swing to every new client. It's the first lift I'd ladder:
Cue list
Practice, not a workout
Start easy, build up, back off, start over
Restart the ladder. Don't pyramid down
Ballistics: 5-10, 10-15-20, 5-7-8-10
Grinds: 1-2-3, 2-3-5, 2-3-5-10
No more than 30 seconds on a swing time ladder
Breathing ladder: 2 reps per breath, slow the breath
Get-ups are singles only
The top rung still meets the standard
Try one
Pick one: a 5-10-15 swing ladder, or a 1-2-3 press ladder per side. Do three to five rounds. Stop the session while your last round looks as good as your first. That's a practice session.
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