Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 8 – Core techniques

Hi everyone. Welcome to week 8 (out of 16) of my climbing techniques and climbing improvement plan. I think I may have missed a week (or two) actually. I got thrown off track a little because I attended a fantastic internet marketing seminar which has hopefully given me some more knowledge to reach a wider audience of fellow climbers. Anyway, here we are.

This week I would like to focus on basic core technique (probably the single most important factor in being a good rock climber).

When I first started rock climbing I was amazed when I watched experienced climbers using impossibly small holds, as they progressed up routes that I could only dream of completing. I thought they must have spent years developing incredible strength in their fingers. Only now, after learning from those people, do I understand how it’s done.

Find your centre of gravity

To climb anything steep, you need to develop an understanding of your body’s centre of gravity. The closer your centre of gravity is to the wall, the easier it will be to hang on. If you’re hanging on with your left hand, turn your right shoulder and hip into the wall, you’ll feel immediately stronger (if you’re hanging from your right hand, turn in your left side). Use your legs as counterweights, if you’re stood on your left foot and you feel like you’re going to fall left, point out your right foot to equalise your body weight. This is called ‘flagging’.

Climb with your feet

Most climbing newbies focus far too much on their hands (especially people who have strong arms and hands). Always get your feet into position before moving your hands, your climbing will immediately improve. Focus on getting them into a position which means you will be balanced when you move up. You will be amazed how much your feet actually come into play, even on really overhanging routes. If you feel like you’re struggling with your grip, push from your feet, forcing your hips towards the wall. It will almost always relieve the pressure on your fingers.

Keep your arms straight

If there is weight on your arms and they are bent, the stress will be on your muscles. In a pretty short space of time they will get pumped up and you’ll be fatigued. Try instead to hang on your skeleton. If the holds are too low when you’re stood on a hold, bend your legs to allow you to keep those arms straight. Your legs are much stronger and less likely to become fatigued.

Breathe

Climbing can put you under pressure (we have all been there, several feet above a suspect piece of gear). When people get stressed they hold their breath. Breathe deeply. Exhale forcefully as you move for best physical performance.

More useful techniques

To have a solid all-round climbing ability, there are some other core techniques you might want to learn (I took this list from Wikipedia to make sure I didn’t miss anything):

• Heel hooks and toe hooks
• Finger, hand and fist jamming
• Arm bar and elbow bar
• Rest positions
• Holding a grip tendu or arqué
• Crimp / crimping
• Chimneying
• Egyptian / drop knee / lolotte
• Mantle shelf / mantleshelfing
• Bridging / stemming
• Egyptian bridging
• Laybacking
• Smearing
• Gaston
• Dyno

I have been thinking of offering a series of pocket sized climbing techniques cards for each of these techniques. They would cost 79p each (about the same as an MP3 download from itunes), and be delivered as pdf downloads. What do you think? Interested? Drop me a comment below. Thanks