Climbing exercises at home

ByMoises Campos
climbing-exercises-at-home
Photo by GRAHAM MANSFIELD on Unsplash

Make climbing exercises at home will help you keep fit when for some reason you are unable to attend training in the gym or go out to climb a route. Here are a few of them training routines useful for increasing your strength, flexibility and endurance levels.

Climbing training at home

The areas where you should focus your climbing training at home are as follows:

Maximum strength and power

The aim is to reduce the effort required to supporting the weight of the body on a given grip and power is to improve the speed with which force is applied. The generation of energy supplied to the systems that generate maximum force and power lasts up to 12 seconds.

Resistance

The aim is to make fatigue come later. The generation of energy allows the muscles work between 12 seconds and 2 minutes before fatigue occurs.

Aerobics

Exercises where the application of force is minimal and the activity can be sustained for two minutes or more without fatigue. It is possible to train specifically with climbing-related exercises such as hand movements on a hangboard or general exercises such as jogging or cycling.

Complementary

When climbing, multiple muscles of the body are used, but there are some muscles that, although they do not receive an intensive load, are activated to allow you to maintain a correct balance and stabilisation of the muscles that work the most. In addition, they are useful to prevent joint injuries that bear an intense load such as the shoulders.

In a exercise routine Complementary low-intensity exercises targeting these muscles as well as exercises to increase flexibility can be performed.

Climbing exercises that can be done at home

Within each session there are many exercises that can be included. The main ones are listed below for you to incorporate in your climbing training routine at home.

Exercises for maximum power-strength routine

It is important to keep in mind that it is necessary to warm up for about 5 minutes and to do stretching before carrying out these exercises.

Minimum rail suspensions

To do this exercise you need to have a hangboard or a board where you can hang yourself. The power strip you should use should only allow you to hang up to 15 seconds.

  • To do the exercise you can complete two sets of 5 repetitions each.
  • Each repetition must last 12 seconds, with 3 minutes rest between each repetition.
  • The rest between each set will be 5 minutes and over time you can take up to 5 sets.
  • As you master this exercise, the bar will get smaller and smaller, to the point where you have to add weight to your body.

Explosive power strip

This exercise is useful in the power training at home. It will also help your contact strength. You need a bar or board 1 or 1.5 cm longer than the smallest size on which you can hang.

  • From the bar, hang and execute a bar very quickly, without propelling yourself with your feet, and release your arms so that you immediately grab the top of the hangboard.
  • Keep your arms locked as you reach the grip, release immediately and drop to the floor.
  • Then, without resting, repeat the whole movement again.
  • Through this training you will improve your coordination, contact strength and power.
  • Perform 5 repetitions in each set. You can start with 6 sets and rest for 3 minutes between each set.
  • If at the end you can't keep your arms locked, decrease the number of repetitions.

Exercises for strength endurance routines

Similarly, you should always warm up for about 5 minutes and stretch before these exercises.

Short-term hangboard suspensions

  • You can start with 6 repetitions in each set and do 3 to 5 sets.
  • Each repetition will last for 10 seconds and you will rest for 30 seconds before the next repetition.
  • Between each set you have to rest for 1 minute.

Movements on a hangboard

  • Standing on a chair, begin to simulate climbing movements on various hangboard grips. This should be done for a maximum of about 2 minutes.
  • Repeat the movements 3 to 6 times, resting at a ratio of 2:1 or 1:1 between each repetition.
  • If you can't hold for at least 2 minutes, you have to shake your arms using large grips when you get tired. If even this makes it difficult, reduce your weight with a pulley by hanging a counterweight.

Bar intervals

This exercise requires the use of a stopwatch.

  • You must do 20 sets where each set lasts exactly 1 minute.
  • Within that minute you will have to complete 4 to 5 bars and use the rest of the minute to rest. If you complete the bars in 10 seconds, you will have 50 seconds to rest before starting the next set.
  • If you can't complete all 20 sets, reduce the number of bars, or if you find it too easy, increase the number of bars.

Exercises for aerobic routine

As with the other exercises, it is necessary to warm up for about 5 minutes and stretch before starting the routine.

The aerobic routine is usually carried out in a low-intensity session in order to keep the muscles active and to provoke adaptations in the energy recovery. This extends the time it takes for muscles to reach fatigue.

Movements on a hangboard

As above, but with less intensity.

  • Standing on a chair, start simulating climbing movements on different hangboard grips for about 3 minutes.
  • Repeat 3 to 6 times, resting at a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio between each repetition. Progress up to 6 minutes.
  • When doing this exercise you should feel very little muscle fatigue. If this does not happen, reduce your weight with a pulley hanging counterweight.

In a aerobic session at home you can take advantage of this to add complementary exercises at the end of the session, as aerobic exercises specific to climbing are somewhat limited when done at home and you don't have a wall.

If you want to do a generalised aerobic routine such as running or cycling, try not to do it at a very high intensity. For example, a half hour of gentle jogging that demands of you, but that you don't end up with sore legs and almost out of breath.

Exercises for complementary routine

In this complementary routine You should also warm up and stretch for about 5 minutes before these exercises.

Leg lifts

This exercise will serve to training muscles of the abdomen in a manner very similar to that of the climbing positions.

  • You should hang from a bar or the large hangboard grips and raise your legs without bending your knees to a fully horizontal "L" position.
  • If you can't do it, do it by bending your knees in order to minimise the effort.
  • Perform a couple of sets with the maximum repetitions you can before you fail, with 3 minutes rest between each set.
  • To increase the difficulty you can add weight on the ankles.

Scapula muscle bars

This exercise will be very useful for avoid injuryThe main focus is on the shoulders and strengthening the shoulder stabilisers located on the scapula.

  • Instead of raising your head above the bar as in a normal barbell exercise, you have to keep your elbows slightly bent and do the first part of a front lever.
  • Imagine you wanted to bend the bar, the head goes back a little and the chest goes up.
  • The range of movement is only a few centimetres, hold the position for a couple of seconds before returning to the starting position.
  • Perform two sets of 8 repetitions each, resting for 3 minutes between each set.

If it gets too complicated at the beginning, it means that they are weak and you have to keep doing it, as they are not able to do it. scapular stabilisers are very important in climbing and should be paid attention to.

Mental training for climbing at home

The mental aspect of climbing can also be easily trained at home, some recommendations to achieve this are as follows:

  • Al training at home concentrate on the process. Don't think about the results of the day's exercise, just enjoy the training. Put on some music or even a climbing podcast that can motivate you.
  • Expand your comfort zone. For example, if an exercise on the board or hangboard you can't do, try it again. Don't give up, try that last repetition that you can't seem to do.
  • Build your confidence. You may not be able to complete the difficult exercises at first, but you will get there in time. Remember past successes and don't rely on the likelihood that you won't move up a level.
  • Create a routine that motivates you or repeat one that has worked for you in the past. For example, if it helps to listen to music before exercise, always do it that way.
  • Manage your stress and tension. To do this, you can help yourself with breathing techniques and meditation. You can find free apps to guide you in doing this. You should do this any time you feel stressed, even a pause for breathing can help improve your state of mind.

Conclusion

You have obtained some examples of climbing exercises at home that you can incorporate into your various routines. You can add other exercises to help you maintain the same level of training. You have seen that a hangboard is a very useful tool for training at home.