The fact that core strength is important for climbing performance is no secret. A strong core allows us to create body tension and lets us transfer weight to our feet when climbing on overhanging terrain. Core training should be a staple of any successful training program.
However, effectively training core strength for climbing means more than just working our abdominals to try and get a six-pack. There are lots of different core exercises out there, but to give you a place to start here’s a short article and a video from Ollie Torr and Tom Randall of Lattice Training.
The video showcases a core strength training routine that can be done almost anywhere with little to no equipment. Be sure to read the write up below as it contains some important general advice you can apply to your core training no matter what exercises you are doing.
Enter Tom and Ollie…
Lattice Training: Core Training Video
Core training is an incredibly important element of strength and conditioning for all climbers. The way that we explain how important this facet of your profile is, is to get a climber into any position on a climbing wall and feel how much your core is working on pretty much any movement! Whether it is a slab, an arête or a horizontal roof, the middle section of our body (front and back) provides the connection between our hands and feet. If it’s not up to the job, you’re not going to get the most out of your hands or feet!
In this video, we take a look at some of the most popular and practical core exercises that focus mainly on the abdominal and oblique muscles. As you can see, they are performed with very little specialist equipment and almost all climbers could do this on the floor in their house – there is definitely no excuse to avoid these exercises as they really are that simple.
Our tips for best performance:
- Work in reps that are relatively low in number and don’t cause failure
- Always aim for good form over speed or intensity
- Keep your neck in a neutral position when exercising
- If completing static exercises, aim for 15-30 second holds to start with
- Core training should be a staple part of your training program and we recommend that you do it consistently throughout the year and more than once a week.
A great example workout for the video here is to complete two full cycles of all the exercises where reps are equal to 10 and static holds are equal to 30 seconds. We challenge you to do it all in less than 30 minutes!
Core Training Video
cover photo courtesy of latticetraining.com
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