No matter what your level of climbing ability, a well thought out warm up routine can help your climbing enormously. The basis of a warm up is to get the body prepped for a higher level of activity and movement. It is done to increase core body temperature, increase blood flow to muscles, ligaments and tendons, and lubricate joints.
For climbing, a warm up should be considered as an integral part of any training or climbing session. Climbing is an extreme sport that involves a vast array of complex movements and joint angles. Many climbing positions place the muscles and joints under intense load and unless the body is warm and prepared for it, your performance will be limited and risk of injury increased.
So what is the best way to warm up? How long should you spend doing it? What exercises and movements should you be doing?
The best type of warm up you can choose is one that specifically prepares you for the movements you will be completing during the session. Firstly you need to ask yourself ‘what movements am I going to train or practice today’. For instance, if you were going for a jog, the best type of warm up would involve movements that replicated a running motion. This could include walking (basically very slow running), arm swings and leg swings. Doing this for 3-5 sets over 5-10minutes would be more than enough to get you warm and prepared for running.
But would this type of warm up be suitable for climbing? Mmmm Probably not. This is because climbing is a totally different activity, therefore it requires different movements and, you guessed it, a different type warm up. Let’s revisit the question ‘what movements am I going to train or practice today’.
So you’re standing at the bottom of the wall/rock, looking up and thinking ‘well there is a gaston there, a pinch over here, an undercling there, a toe hook there, oh and then a massive dyno there and…….well you get the point. Climbing involves a huge range of movements and this means there are many ways in which you can warm up and prepare the body for climbing, you could even have a different warm up routine for different climbs or training sessions.
This is somewhat removed from your typical skipping, jumping, running around type warm up, and beyond the scope of this article to delve into every possible option. But, by sticking to the principles discussed and progressing your joints through controlled, moderately paced movements with minimal load you will prime the body for more advanced climbing.
As a guide, the warm up should:
• be no less then 5mins
• not fatigue your muscles at any stage
• involve single joint (movement at one joint e.g. pointing your finger and multiple joint movements (e.g. lifting your knee to your chest – movement at your knee and hip)
• involve similar movements to the activity you are planning
• be progressive in nature (start with small, low range movements and progress to larger multi joint movements)
• moderately elevate your heart rate
• be warming (of course)
As a bare minimum, some light to moderate bouldering that mimics upcoming climbing moves would be enough to get started. Not only will this help your body but it will also integrate the mind and neurological systems to sync with your muscles, making you more focussed, co-ordinated and flowing with your movement, something that every climber desires.
Happy climbing !
We’d like to hear your thoughts on climbing specific warm ups. What do you do? What do you think works? What doesn’t? Does this article help you plan a routine? Drop us a line with any questions or comments you may have.