Movement
Fundamentals Of Drill Sessions
Tags: Alex Bridgewater, Performance, Planning, Visualization
By Alex Bridgewater I work with an athlete that has had some recurring issues with his fingers. He is a strong boulderer and despite his efforts to keep his fingers up to snuff, he often would develop some sort of joint inflammation that would set him back. For a while we would drop back on…
Rachel’s Momentum Drills
Tags: drills, Movement, Rachel Speer, Skills, tension
By Rachel Speer I’ll be the very first one to admit it: I hate dynos. I would much prefer to figure out a way to do a move statically, even if it takes ten times the energy and strength than it would to just… for lack of a better word… yeet myself up the wall….
Rachel’s Body Tension Drills
Tags: drills, Movement, Rachel Speer, Skills, tension
By Rachel Speer Imagine this: you’re climbing on an overhang, gather up your strength and lob for the next hold that puts you in just a bit of a stretched position. You successfully grab the hold, but before you can even begin to move on, your hips sag away from the wall and you find…
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…