Training for the Top: Strength & Conditioning Tips for Climbers

To be the best climber, you have to be willing to dedicate time to training off the wall. In addition to climbing workouts, you need to dial in your strength and conditioning training.

Strength and conditioning (S&C) is a broad term that encompasses:

• Strength training

• Cardiovascular conditioning

• Plyometrics 

• Agility 

• Flexibility and mobility.

These components are customizable to the specific sport you enjoy. For climbers, incorporating workouts in each strength and conditioning (S&C) area will translate to on-the-wall progress. Let’s break down each component so you understand the purpose of each and how to structure your off-the-wall workouts to break into the next level of climbing.

Strength Training

Strength training involves resistance-based exercises, whether through weight-lifting or body-weight exercises. As a rock climber, you’ll want to focus on unilateral resistance exercises. It’s uncommon to simultaneously pull or push with both arms or legs while climbing. Thus, it’s important to strengthen each arm and leg separately while the rest of your body works to maintain body tension and stability.

You can start with a few simple exercises and gradually progress. Here are some examples for your upper and lower body:

Unilateral Arm Exercises 

• Single arm rows

• Archer pushups

• Dumbbell lateral raises

• Dumbbell frontal raises

• Weighted wrist extensions

• Weighted wrist curls

Unilateral Leg Exercises 

• Single-leg Romanian deadlifts

• Bulgarian split squats

• Weighted walking lunges

• Single-leg squats

• Single-leg step-ups

Cardiovascular Conditioning

High levels of cardiovascular fitness can help you climb longer and have a profound impact on your overall health and longevity. Increasing your cardiovascular fitness will improve blood flow throughout the body and accelerate recovery after exercise. In climbing terms, you may find you can climb for longer before pumping out.

You don’t need to start running marathons. Instead, focus on incorporating 2-3 moderate-intensity cardio sessions per week. Aim for each session to last 20-30 minutes, and you can choose from a variety of activities, including running, swimming, cycling, rowing, hiking, power walking, or any cardio machine you enjoy.

Plyometrics

Plyometrics involve explosive exercises that increase your jumping ability. Plyometrics are fantastic for making you a more dynamic climber and competition moves (dynos, paddle dynos, laches, coordination moves, etc).

For maximum benefit, incorporate plyometric exercises at the start of your S&C sessions, when your muscles are most fresh, or on a dedicated day when you train only plyometrics. Some great plyometric exercises to try out are:

• Lower Body Plyometrics

  • Box jumps

  • Depth jumps

  • Squat jumps

  • Ice skaters

  • Jumping lunges

• Upper Body Plyometrics

  • Hand-release push-ups

  • Power pull-ups 

  • Medicine ball throws or slams.

Agility

Agility drills help improve coordination and quickness. Combined with plyometrics, agility training can help you with dynamic or coordination climbing moves. Additionally, agility drills for climbers can target the fingers and work to increase the speed at which the motor neurons in your forearms and hands fire.

Agility drills to incorporate into your training include:

• Balance exercises (e.g., standing on an unstable surface or on one leg while tossing a tennis ball back and forth with a partner)

• Campus board max pull-throughs

• Recycles – keep your feet on the ground or good holds. Hold onto the wall with both hands and then move one hand through a series of holds as fast as possible. Repeat with the other hand.

Flexibility and Mobility

Flexibility and mobility are the final components of strength and conditioning and can significantly impact your climbing progress. Flexibility refers to the passive range of motion of a joint and surrounding tissue, while mobility is the ability of a joint and surrounding tissue to stretch under load. Flexibility will help you reach those high feet, while mobility will allow you to maneuver your way out of awkward body positions.

There are numerous flexibility and mobility routines for climbers available online. You’ll want to target only the major joints: shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles.

How to Program Strength and Conditioning Around Climbing Training

When programming strength and conditioning training, it’s important to prioritize your climbing workouts. When possible, perform your strength and conditioning workouts on non-climbing days or after climbing workouts.

Another option is to split your training into morning and evening sessions, with at least 6 hours between them. If you generally climb better in the afternoon or evening, do your S&C session in the morning and your climbing session in the afternoon. Splitting your sessions can help you maximize your schedule, and keeping at least 6 hours between workouts will give your body sufficient time to recover.

Strength and conditioning training isn’t complicated, and it will help you elevate your training to the next level. To make the additions to your training manageable and sustainable, you can easily combine plyometrics, agility, and mobility/flexibility workouts. Strength training and cardio sessions don’t need to be longer than 30 minutes to be effective. Start small, with one additional workout a week, and build up your capacity over time. Don’t forget to come back and share how adding strength and conditioning work has elevated your climbing!