An Honest Review Of The Ladder Workout App

Whenever I get the itch to work out, I often stand around and wonder where to start. Do I feel like running? Going to the gym? Doing yoga? And even then, what kind of yoga? It’s why I was intrigued by the idea of a fitness app that would figure it out for me, kind of like personal training for people with a bad case of brain fog.

That’s Ladder’s claim to fame. The app offers you a specialized, weekly strength training plan that changes every Sunday. All you have to do is open the app and boom — there’s a workout waiting for you that’s fun, personalized, and IMO, just the right amount of challenging.

I first heard about Ladder when it came across my FYP on FitTok. Everyone was raving about the weekly workout schedules, so I snagged myself a free trial and gave it a try.

Now that I’ve been doing my routine for a week, I totally understand the hype. While it’s always nice to go to a trainer-led spin or barre class, it’s nice to have something structured that I can do on my own time, too.

Keep reading below for my honest review of the Ladder app, including what the classes are like.

What Is The Ladder Fitness App?

Ladder is a strength training app that allows you to choose from a list of workout styles, which include bodybuilding, HIIT, kettlebell, push-pull movements, functional fitness, Pilates, yoga, running, and more. After you tap the ones you like best, you’re assigned to a Ladder “team” as well as a coach who utilizes a mix of those styles.

From there, your new fitness coach will set you up with a structured, specialized workout plan that gives you something to do every day of the week. It resets on Sundays, so there’s always a fresh routine to try, and you can do as much or as little as you like. Each workout is usually 30 to 40 minutes long and includes an array of exercises, so you never feel bored.

Each workout features your fitness coach, who demonstrates each exercise, a handy countdown timer on the screen, a progress bar, and a voiceover that announces the next move. You can also sync your Apple Music or Spotify account to soundtrack your routine, and you can connect to your smartwatch to track your stats, too.

As a bonus, there’s the option to message your coach within the app to ask questions, and there’s a calendar section where you can schedule workouts and track your achievements. If you want you can even get social by chatting with your teammates, sharing selfies, and exchanging workout awards.

Ladder App Price

Ladder has a 7-day free trial, which is a nice way to test the app before taking the plunge. As part of the trial, you get to try any workout and join any team, and you also get a personalized plan. The app then reminds you when the trial is coming to an end. If you stick with it, it’s $29.99 a month or $179.99 for the year, which includes unlimited access to teams and workouts.

Getting Started

From the jump, I immediately appreciated how everything in the app felt super personalized. There were 12 different strength training styles to choose from and 14 different teams, so it really felt like I ended up with a routine that was perfect for me.

I decided to focus on HIIT, Pilates, and yoga, which landed me on the team called “Align” with coach Sasha. The Align workouts combine strength training moves — like cossack squats and RDLs — with power vinyasa yoga for a regimen that helps you get stretchy and strong. (BTW, you can also switch teams or try other workouts, if you’d like.)

Before you dive in, it’s recommended that you do a “welcome workout”. Mine was a 29-minute full-body routine that blended yoga moves, lower and upper body exercises, and Pilates-style movements, like glute bridges, dead bugs, and toe-tap rainbows. All I needed to get started was a yoga block, two dumbbells, and a mat.

The Workout

To warm up, Sasha started me with a round of cat cows, and then we moved on to the Pilates exercises, which included the two rounds of rainbows, glute bridges, and dead bugs, as well as plenty of tips and tricks to ensure I had good form.

I liked that Sasha directed the class, but there was also in-ear coaching that beeped at the start of each new exercise. It beeped when the set was almost over, too, and then announced the next move. It made it so I could focus on the exercise, instead of staring at my phone the entire time.

What really shook me, though, was how short each round was. There were only two sets of eight reps per move, which meant each one was over in a flash. The mini-rep count was perfect for my excruciatingly short attention span, but it also allowed plenty of time to move slowly and intentionally in a way that truly burned.

After the first round, I got a quick rest. Coach Sasha recommended taking big, deep breaths, and it made for the perfect break. After that, we dove into lower-body work with cossack squats, RDLs, and 1.25 goblet squats. Again, each round was just long enough to feel challenging, but not so long that I felt like giving up.

Next, we did another yoga flow portion with a series of downward-facing dogs, mountain poses, high planks, and forward folds — all welcome stretches after the sweaty lower-body portion. Sasha also snuck in a 25-second plank, which I totally wouldn’t have done without her motivation.

At one point she said, “I’m so proud of you for taking this time to take care of yourself,” and honestly, what could be nicer to hear when you’re wobbling around on the mat?

To finish, we took another quick break and then did a fourth round of moves that included upper-body exercises like bent-over rows, low planks with an arm reach, and side planks with an oblique crunch. I got in there with my three-pound dumbbells and made sure to use good form to make the most of each move. And just like that, it was done.

With my first workout under my belt, I looked at the week ahead. I saw that I had a Yoga & Strength workout on Monday, “Glute Werk” on Tuesday, a 44-minute yoga class on Wednesday, a cardio and upper body workout called “Back, Back, Back It Up” on Thursday, a layered yoga flow on Friday, a “Full Body Drip” conditioning and mobility routine on Saturday, and a 23-minute breathwork sesh on Sunday.

The Takeaway

Typically, I’ll get 15 or so minutes into a workout before I’m compelled to abandon it in favor of doing literally anything else, but something about the pace of these routines kept me motivated through the very end.

I think it was the simplicity of each round, the low rep count, and the progress bar at the top of the screen. It was so refreshing to look up and see that I only had seven seconds left in a set, or that I was 67% finished with the workout.

The weekly schedule also made working out a breeze. As the queen of indecision, it was a joy to have a routine laid out for me. Add in the supportive coaching, and what’s not to love?