Whether you’re new to climbing or a seasoned pro, resistance training is crucial to improving your strength, endurance, and injury prevention. At our Sunshine Coast bouldering facility, we often see climbers benefit from adding targeted exercises into their routine to complement their time on the wall. In this guide, we’ll share the top 6 resistance training exercises to help you reach your full climbing potential.
- Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell rows build upper back strength, assisting with pulling on steeper angles. Horizontal pulling may be more specific to the strength required for steeper overhangs and is better for isolating and developing strength in the lats. For an alternative with better weight versatility, try landmine rows.
- Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are a popular strength exercise for climbers. They mimic some pulling motions used in more vertical climbing, this exercise may be more useful for hypertrophy or as variation in your strength program.
- Deadlifts
Deadlifts are one of the best exercises for building strength, especially in the back, glutes, hamstrings, and core. For climbers, deadlifts improve strength and stability for climbing on steep terrain, where you need to pull with both your legs and back.
- Planks
Climbing demands a strong core, and plank variations are excellent for building the strength and endurance needed to maintain good body positioning and movement on the wall. Dynamic and isometric plank varieties are all beneficial and may feature in a training plan.
- Squats
A good foundation of leg strength and power is beneficial, particularly for slab and competition climbing. Squat variations are a useful tool to build a foundation of strength to be applied to your climbing practice.
- Fingerboard Training
Finally, with have finger boarding. Finger strength is vital for bouldering and sport climbing and is considered by many as the most important physical metric of strength. Fingerboard training directly targets the fingers and forearms. There are many protocols out there to try but it’s best to start simple with easier grips at the start of your session and progress gradually.
A coach is helpful to provide training guidance, particularly with the addition of finger training to your climbing routine.
Incorporating these 6 resistance training exercises into your routine may enhance your climbing performance by building strength, endurance, and injury resilience. For climbers in the Sunshine Coast, our facility offers the perfect environment to practice these exercises, receive expert coaching and fine-tune your climbing abilities.
