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A typical climbing sequence can be broken down into a series of rest positions and transitional movements. Rest or hanging positions allow you to recover and get some oxygen into burning muscles, but also can be useful in scoping out the terrain ahead and planning your next move. Common rest positions include balancing on good foot holds on a slab or hanging on straight arms on an overhanging route. Better yet you might be able to find a no-hands rest by stemming with the feet in a dihedral or or performing a knee-bar on overhanging terrain. Transitional movements are the dynamic motions that link resting positions. Typically beginning climbers employ movement patterns that are instinctive or have been learned through previous experience. Think of a baby crawling across the floor, a person climbing a ladder and then envision the same movement pattern while climbing a rock face. The body is in a frontal position, facing the wall and the hands and feet alternately reach and step upward. Certainly there are climbing situations where the old frontal step-and-reach technique is the most efficient way to get to the top, but as you progress into harder terrain with fewer holds or steeper overhangs you need to incorporate novel movement patterns to save energy and get the most biomechanical advantage. Elite climbers have a vast repertoire of transitional patterns and are able to link movements quickly and efficiently allowing them to climb strenuous routes with few if any decent resting positions. To add a new movement to your bag of tricks, it needs to be stored in your muscle memory. When your body performs a motion, a series of nerve impulses fire off in a specific sequence. You can think of the pattern of nerve impulses as a computer program. Except you can't simply perform the motion once and push the "save" button. Nope, you've got to repeat the sequence over and over until that particular motor engram is securely ingrained in your muscles. That is why beginners are initially jerky and wobbly, but then begin to smooth out their movements. They become more efficient in the process and then next time they are faced with a similar sequence their body will be on "autopilot". Learning new transitional moves is best done when you're relatively fresh and after warming up. Being fatigued or scared interferes with the process of building motor engrams so practice in a safe and comfortable environment. Also be mindful of the fact that old bad habits may seem more effective at first until you learn the new technique. Keep an open mind and a degree of patience when starting out. Consider the following movements and positions. Do you use them in your climbing? Why or why not? Construct some boulder problems that incorporate these motions and analyze them by answering the following questions: Is your body facing the wall or turned sideways?
For more info on specific techniques, check out the links at the bottom of this page: Articles by Neil Gresham.
Upper Body Gaston: Grip a handhold that is above and to the side of the body with the hand in a thumbs down positions. A potentially dangerous body position because of the stress placed on the rotator cuff of the shoulder. Match: Bring both hands to the same handhold. Bump: To use an intermediate handhold to transition to a higher hold without shifting body position. Campus: To climb using only the arms, feet dangling below. A method of training grip, contact and upper body strength. Undercling: A hold which is oriented in a downward direction. Opposition can be created by pulling upward and maintaining body tension through the feet.
Lower Body Frog Step: A frontal body position in which both legs are extended simultaneously to reach higher handholds. Backstep: Placing a foot behind the body with the foot on its outside edge allowing the hip to roll inward, closer to the wall. Drop Knee: Similar to the backstep, but the knee is rotated inside and downward allowing the foot to push sideways on a hold that is too high to backstep. Flag: An extended leg that counterbalances the body and prevents the center of mass from barn dooring. Rock On: To shift body weight from one foot to the other. Sometimes requiring a dynamic lunge to get your weight on to the new foot. High Step: Lift up a leg to reach a high foot hold. Swap Feet: To exchange feet on the same hold. Step-Through: Rather than swapping feet you may be able to step through to avoid trying to match feet on a small hold. From a frontal position, step in front of and across the other leg to the new foothold, usually stepping onto your outside edge of your shoe. Hand-Foot Match: To high step and place a foot on the same hold as a hand. Heel Hook: Rest the heel on a hold thereby taking some weight off of the arms, usually employed on steep or overhanging terrain. Knee Bar - A resting position achieved by caming the top of the knee and a foot between two holds.
Full Body Dyno: A dynamic movement to reach a distant hold where momentum is required to propel the body. Twist Lock: A transitional movement in which the body is twisted towards the hold being locked off allowing the locking off arm to straighten and bringing the reaching shoulder higher and closer to the wall extending its reach. Hip Roll: Rotating the hips from a frontal position to face sideways bringing the hip closer to the wall. Used in conjunction with a backstep the hip roll can be used to maintain body tension on overhanging routes by putting the leg in a more biomechanically effective position to push off of the foot hold. Turnout: To extend the hips and draw the body closer to the rock in a frontal position. Barn Door: The tendency of the body to swing outward away from the wall on steep terrain when the center of gravity is not centered between points of contact. Lay Back:To support the body by creating opposition between pulling arms and pushing feet. Mantle: A hand-foot match in which the body rocks on to a ledge similar to the motion you would use to get out of a swimming pool. Stem: To support the body using opposition created by pressing the hands and or feet outward in opposite directions.
For more information on the following techniques, check out Neil Gresham's articles from the following links: Advanced
Knee-Bar:a rest position that can be useful when
climbing steep or overhanging terrain, achieved by camming the upper thigh
and foot against two holds.
PARS Outdoor
Pursuits Program  |
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Design and Photography:
Ryan
Ojerio June
1, 2002 |
