Biceps Ladder

Think outside the box with your biceps training with this grueling ladder workout.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated April 1, 2025

Arms are one bodypart that, when sufficiently developed and defined, just scream right away, "Yes, I train my ass off!"

The biceps, in particular, are much sought after, yet guys (and even girls) in the gym rarely move away from the standard fare of exercises: curls using dumbbells, barbells, cables and a few other common types of equipment. These are all good curling variations, but don't forget about one specific machine on arm day: the Smith Machine.

I'm not talking about Smith machine curls here, or even drag curls. I'm talking about my popular Biceps Ladder. It's essentially one long extended set, where you do bodyweight curls all the way up a Smith machine (though a squat rack can be used as well), one notch at a time.

How To Do It: You'll start your curls at the lowest position possible, where with your arms extended and your body hanging down the floor your back is hovering just above the floor. Rep out to failure, then raise the bar one setting and go to failure again. You'll repeat this sequence – with no rest between settings – until the bar is at around chin height on the machine. The higher you go up, the easier the movement gets. Trust me, you'll need this lower degree of difficulty late in the set, because your biceps will be thoroughly fatigued.

When To Do It: Do the Biceps Ladder at the beginning of your biceps workout (when your biceps are fresh). Do 2-3 ladders total, resting 2-3 minutes between each one. After that, continue with the rest of your biceps workout, doing anywhere from 1-3 more curling exercises (depending on your current fitness level) using straight sets.

Here's a short video demonstration of me doing the Biceps Ladder:

And below is a sample biceps workout where Biceps Ladders kick things off. Notice that I kept volume in check for the exercises after the ladders. Your biceps will be sufficient fried with those 2-3 trips up the ladder, so no need to go crazy after that on biceps.