9 Best Core Workout for Climbers – Leeds

The heart is one of the most important muscle groups for climbers. Maintaining body tension against the wall requires a strong core. This allows you to keep your feet on the wall even on steep slopes. If you like overhanging terrain and often find yourself lifting off the wall or unable to stand after cutting, your core may need some work!

Lucky for you, the core is one of the best muscle areas to work out at home. You don’t need weights for the exercises I’m showing you. A simple yoga mat (or a few rolled towels) will do.

Our core workouts are specifically climbing focused, meaning specific core muscles are directly engaged while climbing. These exercises range from beginner to advanced because we don’t feel it’s necessary to tell someone who can train their core with a front lever what to do.

Do I need to train my core muscles to climb?

When thinking about climbing or rock training, many climbers automatically imagine climbing onto a board or campus to develop finger strength. Finger strength is critical for climbers, but only in the later stages. Many beginners and advanced athletes have other things to think about, like their core.

If you have difficulty maintaining body tension, heel hooks, keeping your feet on the wall, lifting objects, and other basic climbing techniques, you probably lack the strength to do so.

Basic training can be very helpful for beginners and advanced climbers. Of course, “just climbing” is enough to train your core, but additional exercise (at home or at the gym) will improve your climbing strength.

9 basic exercises for climbers

1. Plank from knee to elbow.

1. Start in a plank position on your forearms. Maintain a straight back and tense your core.
2. Raise your leg and extend it towards the elbow.
3. Take a short break before returning to the starting position.
4. Switching from one page to another

2. Rotation of the table

1. Start with a vertical plank, keeping your core and glutes tight.
2. Extend your arm towards the sky, moving your upper body and leaning on top.
3. Lower your arm and repeat the same on the other side.
4. Switching from one page to another

3. Table.

1. Start with your forearms positioned with your hands shoulder-width apart. Maintain a straight back and tense your core.
2. Step back using your glutes.
3. Breathe out as you take a step back to the beginning.
4. Repeat the kick with the other leg.
5. Switching from one page to another

4. Russian fluctuations

1. Start both feet flat on the ground at a 90-degree angle to begin.
2. Raise your legs back and lift them off the ground.
3. Turn your hands to the left.
4. Repeat on the right side
5. You can make this exercise more challenging by using a medicine ball, kettlebell, or other weight.

5. Dead beetle

1. Start by lying on your back
2. Raise your arms above your head and bend your knees and hips to 90 degrees.
3. Start by lowering your right arm and straightening your left leg just before you hit the ground.
4. Return to the starting position
5. Repeat with your left arm and right leg.
6. Move from one page to another. Keep your core active.
7. If you have difficulty performing this exercise, try doing it first with just your arms and then just with your legs.

6. swimmers

1. Lie face down through both arms and legs open.
2. He slowly lifts his right arm and left leg.
3. Lower yourself and repeat with your left arm and right leg.

7. “Plank” exercise with alternating lifting of arms and legs.

1. Start in a plank position with your arms straight and feet slightly apart.
2. Raise your right arm and left leg.
3. Lower yourself to the starting position.
4. Repeat with your left arm and right leg.

8. Oblique failures

1. Start in a plank position on your forearms. 
2. Lower your hips to the right until you almost touch the mat.
3. Return to the starting position and repeat the same thing on the other side.

9. Ninth row of boards

1. Start in a plank position with arms straight and a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Perform one-arm rows, keeping your elbows close to your ribs.
3. Return to the starting position
4. Repeat the movement on the other side.
5. This exercise can also be performed with a dumbbell. In this case, move in one direction 10 times before moving the other way.

If you don’t have access to dumbbells, you can do a variation of this exercise called shoulder presses.

To perform a shoulder tap, start in the same plank position, straighten your arm, and press your right hand toward your left shoulder. Repeat on the other side.

How to incorporate these exercises into your training plan?

Everyone has their own approach to training. Some train 30 minutes a day, others 30 minutes a week. The important thing is not to practice too much, but to be consistent.

If you dedicate 30 minutes a day to core training for one week and then stop doing it the following week, something is clearly wrong. People get busy, lose motivation, forget to exercise, and the list goes on.

To ensure consistency in your climbing training, you need to answer a few questions:

• Why am I doing this? Setting goals is important to motivate you to move forward.
• How much time do I want to dedicate to basic training? Be honest with yourself: even a little time is fine, as long as you respect it.
• How many days a week am I willing to invest? I recommend training your core 3 days a week (like climbing days).
• At what time of day is it best to train your core? Ideally, schedule your workouts at the same time to maintain consistency.
• With these simple questions you can create a good basic training plan.

Here’s a rough plan.

Monday:

• Knee-elbow plank (3 sets of 10 repetitions)
• Plank (3 sets of 10 repetitions)
• Plank Rotation (3 sets of 10 reps)

Wednesday:

• Russian crunches (3 sets of 10 reps)
• Plank exercise (3 sets of 10 repetitions)
• Incline push-ups (3 sets of 10 repetitions)

Friday:

• Dead Bug (3 sets of 10 reps)
• Swimmer (3 sets of 10 repetitions)
• Plank (3 sets of 10 repetitions)

To stay motivated, I recommend printing out the blank workout plan below and hanging it somewhere in your room. Mark your climbing and core training days on your schedule and review them every time you finish a workout.

Basic climbing training video.

The above exercises will help you develop your core muscles for climbing. But I understand that the DIY method is not for everyone. Some people feel better after watching the video. If you think you’re one of those people, here are some of my favorite abdominal exercises designed specifically for climbing!

Basic climbing training with Hoopers Beta

If you’re looking for a core workout that gets you into rock climbing, Hooper has you covered. He may not give you six pack abs as quickly as the ones in Chloe Ting videos, but he will make you a better climber. In this playlist, Dr. Hooper offers climbing instruction for beginners, intermediates, and advanced climbers. Good luck!

Basic training for mountaineers with network training.

Lattice Training is a great 6 minute core workout at home with exercises that work well for climbing.

10 minute continuation with Emil Abrahamsson and Mathilde Söderlund.

If you’re looking for a daily ab workout with climbers, I especially love Emil and Matilda’s workouts. This is a 10 minute exercise.