Climbing, whether at the gym or on a cliff, is the greatest way to prepare for rock climbing. Having had a robust strength and endurance training program can help you develop to tackle challenges. The workouts below can be done at home using simply a resistance band. This full-body workout puts your upper (arms, shoulders, fingers, chest, and core) and lower (legs, feet, and core) muscles to the test (quads and glutes). As you train, keep the following in mind:
Here are 5 main steps for you to improve your rock climbing ability.
Step 1 – Climbing Is A Great Way To Improve Your Climbing Skills.
Warm-up with five to ten minutes of simple cardio, such as jogging or jumping jacks, before each session. Adapt the workouts to match your body. Make adjustments or skip the workout if something doesn’t feel right. Take everything at your own pace. As your training advances, increase the reps or add more resistance.
The higher you go, the better. Wherever possible, climb with excellent individuals and observe how they handle difficulties. Pay attention to their suggestions and take notes on both their successes and failures. Climb with those who are not as good as you, but also with those who are as good as you.
Climb a variety of moderate climbs with ease. This will allow you to extend your climbing sessions by preventing your arms from being exhausted and giving you the energy to try out some new moves and methods.
Step 2 – Use Your Legs And Stand Up!
As new climbers, one of the first things you are advised is to use your legs. It’s also one of the first areas where you will fall short. Most amateurs will reflexively reach up with their arms, expecting to have the strength and endurance to defy gravity without giving their legs a second consideration.
For instance, if you are completely outstretched from foot to finger, there is no way to move anywhere, let alone up! Even if you manage to make a move, the smaller, weaker muscles in your body will quickly exhaust and be unable to handle the following move. Therefore, when your legs have commenced the upward movement, bend your legs, step up, and push with those large strong muscles, pulling on the holds with your arms only after your legs have initiated the upward movement.
Step 3 – Practice Standing On Unstable Ground.
It’s time to put your trust in those dancing feet now that you’ve invited your legs to the party. Choosing terrible footholds is a fantastic strategy to build this trust.
Traversing (climbing sideways instead of upwards) is a good approach to practice this. A traverse wall is found in almost every indoor gym, and it not only helps you warm up your climbing muscles, but it also forces you to think about your foot placement.
As your confidence grows, start putting more restrictions on where you put your feet. You’ll be surprised at how little your feet need to stand on to provide support for your legs to push off, and you’ll realise that the seemingly bad footholds are actually adequate.
Step 4 – Bring Your Body As Close To The Wall As Possible.
When climbing, keeping your body close to the wall is a great way to save energy and prepare for your next move. Allowing your body to fall away from the wall lowers your centre of gravity which puts extra weight on your arms and renders upward progress more difficult. Outdoor activities may appear to take a lot of work at first, but as muscle memory kicks in, it will become second nature.
Step 5 – Backstep Is A Skill You Should Learn.
The backstep is when you stand on a foothold with the outside foot closest to the wall rather than your inside foot. You will no longer be squared up as if to mount your ladder because the outside of your hip on the same leg will also be adjacent to the wall.
Your second foot may become redundant with time, but it can be put to good use by resting it against the wall for balance or leverage while you rotate your body into this new posture.
Its main purpose is to get the body close to the wall while maintaining a straight arm position. This will save valuable energy while simultaneously bringing previously inaccessible holdings closer. It may appear paradoxical at first, and it isn’t appropriate for all types of climbs. However, with a little practice and experimenting, your climbing will become more fluid and need less effort, and your upper body will reward you!
Climbing requires skills, strength and perseverance in equal amounts. Perhaps, these climbing pointers will assist you in improving your rock climbing technique. Give yourself the patience to practice your climbing technique over a couple of seasons and accept failure as part of the process.
