Just about any activity in climbing could be described as a skill, but if your goal is improving your climbing performance, you’ll want to focus in on the following three:
- Movement
- Technical Systems
- Mental and Emotional Focus
This post will explore skilled movement and exercises you can practice to you improve it. We will address technical systems and mental and emotion focus in future posts, so stay tuned!
We will specifically explore two movement skills that will get you started on the path of enlightenment: breathing and precise footwork.
One thing to keep in mind when developing skills or improving performance is practice, practice, practice. When planning your session, plan to practice!
Include Practice in your Planning
If you haven’t already read the Plan it Right blog, we encourage you to do so before reading further.
A climbing session should include movement drills as part of a progressive climbing warm-up. New skills take a considerable amount of mental and physical energy, so they need to be practiced early in your session when your body and mind are still fresh.
Approaching too much difficulty when you’re tired or unmotivated is the enemy of new motor learning. These drills must be practiced on climbs that are easy enough that you can actually slow-down and spend extra time improving the quality of your movement instead of kicking and gasping to the top at all costs.
Ask yourself: if you habitually climb more challenging routes poorly, how will you learn how to climb them well? This is why planning time to address movement drills is a critical element to progressing as a climber.
1. Breathing. Do it.
Whether you are a parent with children, stressed out from the day, or even slowing down with your yoga practice, we can all take moments to simply breathe deep and relax. Being attentive to your breathing gets you back in touch with your body and can improve your mood and performance.
Put it to Practice
On your next warm-up climb, notice how you breathe. Do you breathe regularly? Is it shallow or deep? Are you holding your breath during crux moves or when you are scared, pumped, or distracted?
On your second warm-up, do one or all of the following and see how it feels:
- Before leaving the ground, pause and take a few deep breathes to relax.
- Grab the starting holds and let out a sharp, fast exhale to mark your transition into action, as if blowing out a candle.
- Breath evenly as you begin to move, then speed up or slow down your breathing and see if it affects your movement.
- When you stop at a rest stance, slow and deepen your breathing as you shake out. Does it help you relax? Then, give another sharp exhale when you transition into climbing again.
- Deepen your exhale into a stronger gust when you commit to a long, powerful, or crux move.
2. Precise Footwork
Now that you have become aware of how your breathing can affect your climbing let’s look at what skills constitute movement on the wall.
Precise footwork is a part of wall contact, which refers to how effectively you stand on footholds and grab handholds.
As simple as it sounds, doing this well is essential because it is the foundation of movement, and if this skill is not practiced and developed, it is as likely to collapse your progress as a foundation of wet cement.
Even the best climbers in the world can do more air-squats than pull-ups because legs are stronger than arms. They know precise footwork (and subsequently, leg work) is the critical first step to using their lower body effectively.
High-quality footwork begins with your eyes: look at your foothold until your foot is where you want it. Look away too soon, and your foot is more likely to slip off, miss entirely, or kick the wall, all of which waste energy.
Then move to your toes... Standing on the arch or ball of your foot significantly limits your movement and prevents your foot from pivoting and turning smoothly. If standing on your toes is unfamiliar, experiment by standing on each of the following:
- The inside edge of your shoe underneath your big toe;
- The outside edge of your shoe underneath your little toes, or;
- The front-most tip of your shoe for the smallest holds and pockets.
… But, sometimes standing on your toes isn’t the best option. In these cases, you might try:
- Smearing on a large, smooth hold, which means standing on your whole forefoot and relying on friction to stay on the wall, or;
- Heel-hooking, which is when you use the back of your heel to pull on a hold with your leg. This is often done when climbing around a corner or over a roof
- Deepen your exhale into a stronger gust when you commit to a long, powerful, or crux move.
PUT IT TO PRACTICE
As Douglas Hunter, former Program Director of The Front and co-author of the books, The Self-Coached Climber and Redpoint, says, “Silent feet is not an exercise, it is a way of life.”
To practice these skills, do several rounds of silent feet on a route well below your maximum ability. Silent Feet = Your feet should make no sound as you progress up the climb.
After grabbing the starting handholds, look at your first foothold and very slowly place your foot on it. Look away to your next foothold only when your you have placed your first foot exactly as you want it.
After placing both feet, shift your hips until you feel in balance, then push with your legs until you can easily reach the next handhold, and repeat.
As you climb, notice what part of your shoe you are using to get the best purchase on a particular hold.
Continuing, notice what footholds you have chosen, and how you have moved your feet in order to place them quietly. Did you use more footholds, or less? Did you make smaller steps, or bigger ones? Were your feet generally closer together, or farther apart?
While this and any drill needs to be first done on easier climbs, the skills you gain will transfer to more challenging climbs through repetition.
NEXT UP: Skill and Drills Part II: Handhold Use, Balance and Resting and Movement Initiation!
Note: Part 1 of this series contains climbing lingo and advanced training terms that may be unfamiliar to you. For an introduction, check out the Bouldering 101, Mastering 5.10 or Learn to Lead courses, or schedule a Private Lesson!
By David Farkas
Adult Program Manager
Challenge yourself. Have fun, and please email David with any questions at david.farkas@thefrontclimbingclub.com.
