Why Yoga & Bouldering Don’t Mix

Over the past few decades, some clear trends have emerged in bouldering – living in vans, use of the word ‘stoked’ for everything, mismatched training attire and yoga.

I understand how all of the trends have developed…except for yoga.

When considering the needs of a well-rounded sportsperson’s ancillary training, we must consider the demands of the sport.

Bouldering is a pursuit that requires the following:

• • Pull strength, power, endurance and mobility
  • Finger/forearm strength, power and endurance
  • Single leg strength, power, endurance and mobility
  • Trunk strength, power, endurance and mobility
  • Push strength, endurance and mobility
  • Full body coordination, timing & explosivity

If you wish to do ancillary (aka off-the-wall) training to support your bouldering practice it is best to do something that supports the practice as much as possible.

At Bould Move, we love movement exploration and variety and appreciate that coordination can be improved through yoga. I personally have dedicated 2 years of my training history to yoga and I was never more flexible..or more frequently injured.

I wanted more range of motion. Everyone was talking about it as being essential to be able to go to that next level. Everyone was also doing yoga, so I did the same. 

I struggled with yoga at the start, falling over in basic poses, so I figured I must need it. Eventually I could hold the poses with ease and thought this meant I was progressing. My teacher’s kept encouraging me to relax more into poses, and although my results were slow-going, my flexibility did improve. 

I did notice I was not as strong with a few movements like pulling and single leg strength but I thought that my new found range of motion would make up for the losses.

And then my injuries commenced…constant niggles in the shoulders eventuated after most intense sessions but I still thought yoga was the answer. It wasn’t until I ruptured the LCL in my knee in a figure 4 stretch that I decided I can’t stand what yoga is doing to my body and how little it is actually contributing to creating a body I need and want. 

I am grateful that yoga contributed positively to my basic coordination but I have now placed yoga gently in the bin as a choice of ancillary training for a power and strength based sport.

Since my time as a yogi I have completed a physiotherapy degree and learned a thing or two about the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems. 

Here a just a few things that yoga does not allow for as an ancillary training tool for the modern day boulderer:

1. A measurable way to increase the complexity of a movement 

You will never know if you are experiencing improvements in yoga other than how it feels. Yes you may be able to see that your range of motion has improved. But range of motion without strength through that range is the source of most injuries I deal with as a physiotherapist.

Resistance training allows for full range movements with measurable change (measured via load). Resistance training allows for lengthening and strengthening of the musculoskeletal system through range. 

For example, adding weight to a pull up to develop pulling strength. When the pull up is performed through a full range of motion it allows for length, strength and a measurable outcome.

2. Minimal development outside of the poses that the specific yoga-style incorporates

Bikram yoga has only 24 poses. Sun salutation has only 12. 

Practising the same poses only allows development of endurance and flexibility in those poses. 

Bouldering is reactive and dynamic – you can not practise the movements of a specific boulder for the next 3 years and expect to transfer the skills developed in that 1 problem to another problem. So why would you pursue yoga poses as your only input and expect transferability outside of those poses.

3. Yoga teachers tend to push for flexibility over mobility…and unfortunately may not understand the difference 

Flexibility is the passive range available at a joint. In my 2 years of pursuing yoga as my primary practice I only had 1 teacher out of 15+ encourage active range holds vs a passive stretch.

There also appears to be pride in the ability to flop/relax into an end range position in yoga.

Having range without strength-through-range in bouldering is the perfect recipe for an injury.

Imagine having the capabilities of performing a down-dog with that hugely exaggerated hyperflexion at the shoulder – amazing range right! Now imagine having all that range and never practising pulling up your body weight from there ever. Now imagine being at that amazing end range and pulling as hard and fast as you can, like you would when catching a dyno at full reach. How do you think the tissue would tolerate it?

Brief answer – not well.

4. It is not possible to develop hanging, pulling, forearm and finger strength in yoga to the level that bouldering demands

This point is pretty obvious – there is no hanging or vertical pulling in yoga. There is no grip development or variety of any kind.

Bouldering is one of the most pull based sports on the planet. Boulderers regularly outperform other sportspeople in any challenge that involves forearm/finger strength and endurance – see Ninja Warrior, etc.

Hanging, pulling, forearm and finger strength development is crucial. Yoga can not provide this.

5. It gives you some range of motion…but bouldering demands more than that

I have touched on this already throughout the blog, but it deserves its own point and to be repeated.

Range of motion without strength-throughout-range is never a good thing

in power and strength based sports, like bouldering.

If you wish to improve your range of motion, do this in a way that mimics the sport you are developing the range for.

To Summarise

1. Ancillary training should be developed in consideration of the practice
2. Bouldering is a power and strength based sport.
3. Yoga favours passive flexibility not active mobility.
4. Flexibility is passive range of motion.
5. Mobility is active range of motion.
6. Deliberate resistance training improves mobility and strength-through-range.
7. Passive flexibility developed in yoga has no place in bouldering.
8. Active mobility developed through resistance training is how the boulderers body must be trained for bouldering.