Rock Climbing Exercises At Home

Most people do rock climbing as a hobby or even as a sport. To be a good rock climber you must ensure that you’ve done enough physical exercise. By this I mean you ensure that your muscles are well built to avoid getting weary. This can be achieved through regular workouts either at home or at the gym. Of course, doing your workout from climbing gyms is way better but than doing it from home. The only issue with gyms is that they are inaccessible and expensive.

Exercising regularly is very important to a climber because it helps him or her to gain strength and stamina. Luckily, this article will cover various ways to work out at home for a rock climber. The exercises will target the most important parts of the body where there are muscles that help during climbing. These muscles include those of legs, core, fingers and forearms and the upper body. Without wasting much time, let’s focus on each one of them in details.

Legs

Legs exercise is very important when it comes to rock climbing. Most rock climbers usually ignore it because they think that only hand muscles are involved. Legs exercise is painful and rock climbers usually avoid it. The following are some of the workouts out that are very important when it comes building leg muscles.

1. Bodyweight squats

The bodyweight exercise is one of the ways of strengthening your body without using any equipment. This exercise can be done anywhere at any given time because it requires limited space. Bodyweight squats are usually done by the beginners or when one wants to relax his or her muscles before the main exercise. Squats can be very effective when one uses some weight. Squats are very important to a climber because they help in building muscles of the legs, increasing strength, improve hip mobility and also helps to burn fat.

How to perform bodyweight squats

As a climber, you should start by standing with your legs apart. Preferably, the distance between your legs should be equal to the width of your shoulders. This will give you enough stability when doing the workout. Start squatting down until you reach a point where your thighs are parallel to the floor then press up to the standing position.

2. Lunges

This is another effective way of strengthening your legs. Lunges help one to strengthen glutes medium muscles of one leg at a time.  Lunges involve leaning forward in a manner that the gluteus and hamstrings are well exercised.

How to perform lunges

The climber will start by standing in a way that he or she feels comfortable. The next move is to step forward until the front leg is at an angle of 90 degrees while the other leg is parallel to the ground. Do the same to the other leg. Lunges can also be made difficult by adding some weight such as dumbbells. This exercise will ensure that your joints remain healthy and strong. Besides, lunges are great when it comes to preventing injuries.

Upper Body

Rock Climbing also contribute to building the upper body hence to be a good rock climber you must ensure that the upper muscles are well built. There are various ways of building your upper body which include push-ups, pull-ups and triceps dips. Let us take a look at each one of them in details

3. Push-ups

Push-ups are one of the most important and basic forms of exercising for a serious rock climber. Rock climbing usually involves mainly pulling muscles hence a good climber should try to do several sets of push-ups to ensure that they strengthen their upper body muscles.

How to perform push-ups

Most people do not know how to do push-ups the right way. The first step is to lie down on the floor facing down while your feet are together. Position your arms the width of your shoulder ensuring that your elbows are facing towards your toes. Raise yourself using your arms until your body is straight from the head to the feet. Make sure your abdomen is contracted to prevent your hips from sagging. Repeat these moves continuously at a steady pace.

4. Pull-ups

Pull-ups are another important rock climbing exercise which helps in strengthening your upper body. You should always do plenty of pull-ups to ensure that you become an avid climber.    

How to perform pull-ups

Pull-ups can be done without using any special equipment. You can simply use table bodyweight row or even a towel row

5. Table body row

This is one of the most perfect ways of doing pull-ups. A climber will only a require kitchen table or even a desk.  One will start by laying in such a way that his or her face is at the edge of the table. Ensure you are stable by gripping the edge of the table in case it’s a narrow one. Use your upper back and your shoulder to pull yourself up until your chest touches the table. Then go down a number of inches off the floor. Then do it again.

6. Towel row

This is usually done with a towel. The towel should be long so that it can be more challenging.  This is done by wrapping the towel on a fixed pole. Then grab the ends of the towel with both of your hands. Ensure the arms are straight and the elbows are locked. Pull your body towards the pole and then get back to your initial position. Repeat this process a couple of times

7. Triceps Dips

Triceps dips are another bodyweight exercise that a climber doesn’t need any special equipment in order to perform it. One can use a bench or do them on the ground.

How to perform Triceps Dips

Position yourself on a stable secured chair or table. Ensure your hands are apart from the width of your shoulders. Extend your legs in front of you while holding the table. Ensure your hands are straight while your elbows are bending at an angle. Move slowly towards the floor while bending your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees. Make sure your back is close to the table for stability. Once you reach the floor press up and straighten your elbows. Always avoid bending your legs or raising your body.

Forearms and Fingers

The strength of the fingers and the forearm is very important to a climber. Exercising these parts will help you to hold the rock firmly as well as enhancing stability. Wrist curls and reverse wrist curls are some of the best forearm exercises. Both forearm and the fingers do the same work during climbing. Most forearm exercises will also help train your fingers. Let’s go through each forearm exercise in details.

8. Wrist curls

Wrist curls are so important when it comes to forearm exercise. Those exercises help to strengthen the wrist and fingers.

How to perform wrist curls

One can do wrist curls while sited on a stable chair. Hold a soup and position your arm on the leg. Make sure your wrist is free or hanging as your palm face up.  Curl your wrists upwards towards your direction then lower them back down. Repeat it again.

9. Reverse Wrist Curls

The strength of the forearm is very important in rock climbing. For this reason, ensure that you curl your wrists in all directions so that you can strengthen the muscles on both sides of the arm.

How to perform reverse wrist curls

Position yourself on a chair and take a small dumbbell in each hand. Position your forearms on the legs. Ensure your wrist is free hanging. Curl your wrist upwards towards your body then lower them back. Repeat it again for some time.

Core

Core muscles include internal and external oblique, transverse abdominis, hips and back. This is one of the favorite and most important exercises because one is able to train on how to hold out for a certain time. There are a number of ways through which one can exercise core muscles. The most popular ways are through plank and also through a hanging leg lift

10. How to perform the plank

To perform the plank workout, you should position your body as if you are doing pushups. Bend your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees ensuring that you rest your weight on the forearms. Remain in that position for as long as you want. To make it challenging you can try lifting or extending your arms while in the same position i.e. plank position. Try it while lifting your right arm and your left leg for the best results.

11. How to perform hanging leg lift

This is done by hanging on a pull-up bar. Ensure your arms are straight. Pull your legs so that they make an angle of 90 degrees with your hips then slow your legs back down. Ensure you don’t bend your knees while lifting your legs. Rookies can bend their legs a little to make it easier for them.

CONCLUSION

Rock climbing can be difficult without proper exercises. By now you’ve known the various ways to exercise from home without having to spend on equipment. You will only require your bodyweight and you are good to go. Always exercise regularly to increase strength and also maintain a good climbing shape.

 

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