How to practice climbing balance

Climbing consists of several different skills that complement each other. Balance is one of those skills, but one that is often overlooked at the expense of finger strength or abdominal and back strength. However, the skill of balancing is still trainable, so it can be improved (just like everything else). That's why today we will look at how to practice balance, both for bouldering and rope climbing.

What is needed?

In a nutshell - nothing. The beautiful thing about balance training is that you don't have to do anything except climb if you don't want to. There is definitely no reason to buy expensive equipment that targets this kind of exercise. All you need is your body, a rock or a wall and the will to go through some drills.

Climbing exercise

Balance can be practiced very well by climbing, both bouldering and rope climbing. The whole sub-discipline of slab (slab) climbing is very dependent on your ability to maintain balance and manipulate your center of gravity in various ways. The best way to improve your balance on the rope and not "practice" your balance at the same time is to climb the plates. They are ideal for that - for us Prague climbers Hlubocepy. Especially then the left and small stove encourages improvement in this skill (as well as Žvahov).

Drills on the wall

Wall drills are an indoor option to practice balancing. The two main drills you can do are skipping hands and climbing legs. Our sport is dependent on movement on the 4th limbs / on the 4th points. We are the most stable on all fours, so we always try to keep this state (one of the reasons why I don't like dynamos). Therefore, once our hand(s) are missing, climbing becomes significantly more difficult. That is why the climbing drill is done on 3 limbs

What does it consist of? As it sounds, it chooses a boulder (or if you're brave a rope line) several levels below your maximum and you climb it without a single foothold. That is without one arm or one leg. It is important to switch sides so that you are not too dependent on one half of your body. Since this is a drill, you can repeat this as long as you enjoy it and have the strength. It is not necessary to go for sets, as with regular exercise.

Specific exercises

Of course, there is also the possibility of practicing balance in a targeted way, outside of climbing. The main method used to achieve this goal is to strengthen the core. And no, we don't just mean the abs, but also (and especially) the lower back and deep abdominal muscles. Secondary is the strengthening of the legs, especially the ankles and calves.

Why these groups? The core – the center of the body – keeps us upright and is where our natural center of gravity is located. Our feet then hold us to a wall or a rock. When our support (legs) or core (core) is weak, our performance will be uneven.

Stomach and back

Board

The plank is an often criticized exercise. But on the balance it is beautiful, thanks to the great variability it has. That's why we recommend the progression of the board according to strength and what you have available at home.

1. Base board
   It's ideal if you don't have a built up power base. But the basis is good technique and gradual progress over time.
2. Variation with the ball
   This vatianta assumes you have a "yoga" ball at home. Size does not matter. If you don't have one, it's a very cheap tool from Decathlon. In this version, you perform the plank on a soft, unstable mat - a ball.
3. Variations with rubbers
   The variant assumes that you have training rubbers. You fasten them to one point and alternately pull them with your hands. Of course you hold the plank position for this.

Hollow body tribute

One of the best exercises for climbers. Lie on your back and raise your arms and legs above you. Then just hold on. Similar to a plank, but in reverse.

Legs

Anything that targets the calves and ankles is suitable for targeting the legs. Running, climbing, walking and the like are of course good options. But if none of this "refuels" you and you don't want to target your calves, we recommend lunges.

Lunges forward (and backward if you have a problem with your knees) are one of the best ways to comprehensively involve the whole leg. If the lunges themselves are too dull or uninteresting for you, try them dynamically with hops (ideally, this will warm you up before climbing).

A beautiful alternative

Yoga or Pilates are wonderful alternatives for balance training. In addition, it also strengthens the core and deep muscles, which are often neglected, and we're not even talking about stretching. So, if you don't feel like exercising purposefully and would like to focus more on this climbing skill, yoga is the ideal way to achieve your goals.

The main emphasis

As we have already said 100 times, the important thing is to not hurt! Therefore, exercise your brain and warm up properly. At the same time, don't underestimate rest. I can say from my own experience that a fatigue injury is not something I would recommend experiencing - as cool as it sounds. So mainly exercise your head!

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