In order to become a top-class rock climber, you have to train your body in the best possible manner so you can ace this domain with ease and excellence. If you think without performing rock climbing exercises and workouts, you can reach the pinnacles of success; you aren’t thinking straight.
Don’t you have any idea of how to train for rock climbing? Do you know how to train your grip and finger for rock climbing?
If not, you better read this article carefully in which we are about to discuss the exercises that every climber should practice and the muscles that should be trained for rock climbing.
Here we go ✌️
Best Exercises For Rock Climbing
The following are the best exercises for rock climbing, and performing them regularly will give you an idea of how to train for rock climbing at home.
1. Push-Ups
One of the best at-home exercises for rock climbing is push-ups. The chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles are needed to perform well at rock climbing, and all three of them will be involved in this workout.
Position yourself on all fours, arms straight, and wrists in line with shoulders. Step your left and right foot back to straighten your legs. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, your back should be straight, and you should be standing on your toes.
Gently drop your body to the ground while bending your elbows. Ensure that your hips and back are in a straight line. Your elbows might gently extend to the sides.
When your chest touches the ground, straighten your arms to get back to where you started by pressing your hands into the ground. This is one repetition.
For one to three sets, try to accomplish as many reps as you can before failing.
2. Pull-Ups
If you want to know how to train for rock climbing at home, make sure you start doing pull-ups to get the job done.
Although, beginners will find pull-ups super challenging, but performing them regularly will help build your back, forearms, and, most importantly, your grip strength.
From a standing position behind a horizontal bar, leap upward and grasp it with an overhand, pronated grip. Place your hands about shoulder distance apart. Leave your feet crossed and hang from the bar.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together, inhale deeply, and exhale as you elevate yourself until your chin is just above the bar.
Take a deep breath in as you lower yourself by straightening your elbows. This is one set. Keep going with as many as possible.
Pro Tip:
If you don’t find yourself comfortable performing pull-ups, you may get things going with dead hang. Instead of dragging yourself up for this rock climbing workout, you will simply hang from the bar for as long as you can. The longer you can hang there, the better.
3. Planks
Plank can be another amazing exercise for beginner climbers to take their rock climbing game to a whole new level.
To perform a plank, a beginner should first take the push-up position. Next, place your weight on your forearms while bending your elbows 90 degrees. You can stay in this posture as long as you like.
When you ace regular planks, you can make it a bit more challenging for you.
For instance, attempt a one-minute plank while raising your left leg and right arm off the floor. Plank for a minute while lifting your left arm and right leg off the floor. You'll discover that it's a lot harder.
4. Wrist Curls
Wrist curls are probably one of the best forearm exercises for mass that can significantly improve a climber's performance.
Place your forearms on your thighs with your palms facing up while holding the barbell. Performing a barbell curl requires nothing more than using your hands and wrists to lift the weight as high as you can toward the sky.
As the barbell moves back to the starting position, let it roll into the corner of your fingers.
5. Bodyweight Squats
Another best strength exercise for rock climbing is bodyweight squats.
Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart as you stand. Bend your knees and hips to squat down. Lower yourself till the tops of your thighs are flush with the ground. After that, press up to turn the motion around and go back to standing.
You may make these squats substantially more difficult by adding extra weight to them, and by doing so, you can significantly improve your rock climbing ability.
6. Lunges
Do you want to know how to train for rock climbing when overweight? If so, you should start practicing lunges as a type of exercise to build up your legs and reduce your weight at the same time.
First, choose a relaxed standing position. Take a step forward with one foot, bending your other knee until your back leg is parallel to the floor and your forward knee is at a 90-degree angle. Stand up straight again, and then switch to the other leg.
When performing lunges or squats, adding weight can increase the challenge. Hold a dumbbell in each hand while lunging to make things harder.
What Muscles Should A Rock Climber Train?
When it comes to rock climbing, or even wall climbing, the upper body, lower body, core are all involved.
The muscles that are used in rock climbing are the biceps, wrist flexors, and major back muscles like the trapezius, rhomboid, and latissimus dorsi.
Along with these muscles, make sure you also train your antagonist's muscles. These include your chest, triceps, shoulders, and wrist extensors opposite your pulling muscles.
Strengthening your antagonist muscles benefits your climbing because it helps maintain muscle stability, enhances muscular balance, facilitates more efficient movement, and lessens the likelihood of injury.
There are a lot of climbers that have powerful biceps but less developed triceps. As a result, if you're experiencing any muscular imbalances or want to increase your climbing performance, you should try incorporating triceps-focused exercises into your routine.
Over To You
Rock climbing demands extreme strength and endurance, which is why the aforementioned are the best exercises for rock climbing that every climbing enthusiast should include in his routine.
Once you start performing them, you will train your body for rock climbing in the most ingenious manner possible.
What are you waiting for? Start performing them now, and you’ll be a pro climber sooner.
