Can You Get Abs Like a Rock Climbing (The Truth)
Rock climbing is a full-body exercise that works nearly every muscle. Therefore, rock climbing will bulk up your abs if you do this sport long enough.
But maybe that’s not why you came to this article. Of course you know that rock climbing targets your core muscles and that rock climbing will eventually lead to visible abs. You’re probably more interested in knowing when you’ll start seeing abs as a result of your climbing workouts. Or when you start to feel the gains in your abs.
can you get abs Like a Rock Climbing (9 Exercises to Work the Abs)
The answer to this question is also not so simple, as your vision will depend on your diet and current body fat content. A climber who begins an exercise program with an already low body fat percentage will likely see visible improvements compared to someone who begins with a higher body fat percentage. Additionally, a climber who eats a healthy diet will see gains much faster than someone who eats fast food twice a week.
Which climbing technique stimulates abdominal growth?
There are many different styles of climbing. Bouldering and mountaineering are two of the most popular sports, so we’ll stick to them for now. These two approaches target the core, but in different ways.
Bouldering requires a lot of strength and explosive movements, requiring active use of the abdominal muscles and other core muscles. This makes bouldering an exceptional fundamental development activity.
Sport climbing requires a lot of endurance because the routes are much longer. On these long routes, sport climbers use their bodies to maintain their posture and support themselves while climbing. Because the activity places a heavy emphasis on endurance, rock climbing is much better suited for developing overall fitness than rock climbing, which is more strength-oriented.
While both exercises are great for working your abs, rock climbing is the clear winner in this case. Rock climbing is the best way to burn fat because the climber spends much more time on the wall. This is why mountaineering athletes tend to look thin (sometimes mistakenly perceived as thin) and rock climbers tend to look bigger.
Therefore, it is quite natural that during sport climbing abdominal growth occurs faster than during rock climbing. Not because one is better than the other at working the abdominal muscles, but because one is better at burning fat, which in turn will make the abs more visible.
Which climbing terrain is more essence oriented?
The level of core engagement used by a climber depends on the type of terrain he is climbing. High altitude terrain requires the most activity, while vertical climbs and board climbs require much less core activity.
Lack of strength is actually the main reason why many climbers have difficulty tackling high-altitude terrain. Many climbers, especially beginners, find climbing more difficult than other types of terrain. Beginners often climb the cantilever ladder at least one step higher than the slab or vertical ladder.
That’s because most of us have enough upper and lower body strength to easily scale vertical walls and slabs, but we lack the core strength to handle the same overhanging slopes where our core does most of the hard work.
It also forces beginners to avoid overhanging terrain altogether. But this will not only hinder your growth as a climber, but will also cause you to receive fewer significant benefits from climbing.
So, if you want to get six pack abs from rock climbing, you need to include a lot of cantilever climbing in your workouts. This means you may have to lower your bar, and that’s totally fine!
If you find it difficult to take a step back, you may want to consider adding more core exercises to your (at home) workout.
Climbing moves that build the core.
Below are some movements that require effective use of your abdominal muscles. You can incorporate it into your climbing workouts if you want to get a more intense workout.
dynamic movements
Dynamic movement refers to any type of movement that uses explosive momentum to reach the next catch point. For example, dead ends and dynamos are dynamic movements. Dynamic movements are usually necessary when maintenance can be achieved through static movement.
The dynamic movements are especially popular with shorter climbers, who have less reach and therefore must lunge repeatedly for long distances to reach the next point. These dynamic movements require the core to maintain stability and balance during the lunge.
Any movement during steep climbs.
As mentioned above, climbers must constantly use their body to make movements as the terrain increases. So, if you want to use more active movements during your climbing sessions, stop avoiding caves, ceilings and other suspended parts of your gym or climbing wall!
Tie your toes and lock your heel.
Toe and heel hooks are climbing movements that require an active core to maintain tension in the body. These movements will not only strengthen your muscles, but will also make you a much better climber. Finding heel hooks to pull yourself up to can change the way you climb to the extreme. Likewise, a good toe hook will help you stay stable in the worst situations imaginable.
So the next time you fall because your grip is too tight, or the next time you feel like you can’t get very far, try using a toe or heel hook to fix the problem.
Will you get a 6-pack while you climb?
Rock climbing is a physically demanding sport that trains your core muscles well. So, in theory, you can tone your abs by rock climbing. However, rock climbing alone may not be enough to get six-pack abs, depending on your diet and the level of climbing you’ve achieved.
If you don’t see results, it may be because your body fat percentage isn’t low enough to have visible abs. In this case, you may need to change your diet and do more exercise to get the expected results.
Plus, you may not be at the climbing level required to get six-pack abs. Most beginner routes and climbing challenges don’t require much core activity. Especially when these roads are not bypassed. So if you want to have six pack abs, you’ll need to move up to higher climbing levels and focus on tackling higher terrain.
Furthermore, time is also a limitation. Your abs won’t appear for weeks or months after the climb. These muscles take time to grow. Lower your expectations and keep raising them, and you’ll eventually get the abs you want.
Finally, if you really want to have six pack abs, you can speed up the process by adding rock climbing exercises at home to your workout routine. This will not only strengthen your core but also improve your climbing skills. winner!
Abs exercises at the top of the lift will speed up your progress.
While climbing certainly strengthens your abdominal muscles and stimulates core growth, to get the most out of your climbing workout, you should combine it with additional abdominal exercises. This is something I started doing throughout my climbing journey and it has produced results much faster than simply using climbing as my main source of training.
Plus, training your abs at home will make you a better climber. Especially if your cardio tends to slow (for example, you have difficulty moving on steep terrain). So there’s no reason not to! You can train your abs every day or try starting with a 3 day a week program.
I think you can get toned abs just by climbing, but it will take a lot longer. If you want to speed up your progress, combine rock climbing with abdominal exercises at home.
Plus, if you want to see your abs, you’ll probably need to burn some fat. Therefore it is necessary to combine training with physical exercise. Cardio exercise is the best way to burn belly fat and show off your muscles.
Ab exercises to make your abs visible
10 minute continuation with Emil Abrahamsson and Mathilde Söderlund.
If you’re looking for a daily AB workout with climbers, I especially like Emil and Matilda’s workouts. This 10-minute workout is very intense and has three difficulty levels. I challenge you to get to level 3 in every workout (and beat Matilda in the last one, good luck).
This is a good exercise for core development, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to climbing.
20 minute ABS and HITT workout with Chloe Ting
Chloe Ting is an amazing fitness YouTuber known for her at-home workouts. Her channel features a wide range of core and HITT exercises, so if you’re looking for a workout that will help you tone your abs and burn some belly fat, this is it!
Basic climbing training with Hoopers Beta
If you’re looking for a core workout that will lead to rock climbing, Hooper has the training for you. It may not give you the fast abs you see in Chloe Ting’s video, but it will make you a better climber. In this playlist, Hopper has workouts for beginners, intermediates, and advanced. Good luck!
My Personal Journey: How I Gain Abs Through Rock Climbing
When I started climbing as a new sport, I had an unfair advantage. I have always had a fast metabolism, which translates to low body fat, regardless of my diet. I can’t say in any way that my current diet is unhealthy, but I would definitely have to try harder if I didn’t have a fast metabolism.
When I started climbing, I wasn’t involved in any sports. I always had an office job, so my daily fitness level was practically nil. I didn’t actually have abs, but I was skinny enough that you could see something if you bent over enough.
Once I started climbing, I started seeing results after about 6 months of training. At this time, my core growth was completely obvious. I can see my 4 abs popped regardless of the push up. This had to be done in a good light so that my abs weren’t at all hard, but there was definitely progress.
By then I was into rock climbing and preferred steeper terrain. I think my love of the hills definitely had something to do with my successes. I don’t think climbing would have made any difference to me as my body fat percentage was low enough that I didn’t need to burn fat.
After 6 months, I started incorporating daily core exercises into my climbing training program. This accelerated the growth of the belly. My climbing anniversary arrived just in time for summer, and then no one could say I didn’t have abs.
So yes, it is possible to get a 6 pack just by downsizing in a year. But once again, I had an unfair advantage. I didn’t have to diet or do extra cardio to get ripped abs. Every body type is different. You may see much faster or slower growth.
Don’t compare yourself to another person and focus on your own path. If abs are what you want most, you’ll eventually get them. As long as you work hard for it.
