Movement
A Cause to Visualize
Tags: Alex Bridgewater, Performance, Planning, Visualization
“I visualized all the moves the night before. It’s about 400 Moves In total. You have to keep all of that in your mind, add endless footholds. It was no surprise that I didn’t sleep that well that night. I was nervous and certainly felt some pressure.” – Babsi Zangerl The use of visualization…
Rachel’s Footwork Skills
Tags: drills, footwork, Movement, Rachel Speer, Skills
By Rachel Speer Last time I wrote an article on skill drills, I talked about the benefits of dedicated practice. The foundation of skill practice should always be footwork. The overly muscled boulder dude who crushes overhanging roof routes, but gets shut down hard by anything on the slab wall. The doubter tapping their foot…
Polar Skills
Tags: drills, Movement, Rachel Speer, Skills
By Rachel Speer When I first started climbing, I learned quickly how to balance my body on the wall, I got stronger, and I rocketed through the grades, improving rapidly. For a few years I coasted on the easy gains until I came upon my first plateau, at the upper end of the 5.11 range. …
Self-Limiting Exercise
Tags: crossfit, Gray Cook, Mobility, Movement, Self-Limiting, Strength
by Steve Bechtel “True training and conditioning is as much about learning as it is about energy expenditure.” – Gray Cook Walk into any gym in the world and you’ll see someone doing isolation exercises to focus on building strength or size in one muscle group. Isolation is a good way to build strength…
5 Biomechanical Tips to Improve Your Climbing Technique
Tags: activation, breathing, Movement, Philip Ferrara, Practice
by Philip Ferrara At every level, rock climbing requires strength and the application of that strength through efficient technique. Efficiency, however, is determined by proper biomechanics. This means using interdependent muscle systems to apply force at the right time and in the right direction using as little energy as possible. To a new climber, getting…
Four Ways To Instantly Improve Your High Step
Tags: high step, hips, kevin perrone, Mobility, Movement
Kevin Perrone LMBT, EP-C The high step is an easily relatable example of mobility in climbing. How well you can flex at the hip is a measure of both flexibility and strength. Who among us hasn’t had that awkward experience of being a little extended between holds and trying to get a toe up on…
Improve Your Hip Mobility And Core Strength For Better Climbing
Tags: Core Strength, Flexibility, Kettlebells, Mobility, Movement, Stability, Strength, Stretching
by Charlie Manganiello SFG II Does your butt sag and feet pop off on cave problems? Ever try a dyno or thrutch for some reachy move and struggle because you can’t get your foot high enough on the hold you need? How about those times you go to make the big move and you end…
Introductory Hip Mobility Drills
Tags: Balance, Flexibility, Injury Prevention, Mobility, Movement, Movement Preparation, Recovery, Stability, Stretching
by Steve Bechtel If you want to see the damage that a desk job can do, teach squats to a group of adults. Many of us spend our days sitting at a desk, drive in a car for an hour or more, sit on the couch for a couple of hours, then curl up in…
Mobility and Stability, A Primer
Tags: Balance, Flexibility, Injury Prevention, Mobility, Movement, Movement Preparation, Recovery, Stability, Stretching
By Steve Bechtel …or “why you should stop doing everything else until you get this.” Mobility and stability is probably the most important training a climber can do away from the crag is to injury-proof himself. This can include a whole host of treatments, but for the average joe, it means training joint mobility and stability….