Rock climbing is a sport you can enjoy for decades, if you don’t get injured. Many professional climbers have consistently achieved impressive grades, established new climbs, and dominated the World Cup circuits for years with great success. While they may have minor injuries here or there, they’ve mastered how to keep their body in tip-top shape.
So what’s their secret? Frankly, it’s boring. A pro’s key to staying healthy is a proper warm-up. It’s tempting to skip the warm-up, as most people prefer to spend their time climbing when they have limited availability.
The Importance of the Warm Up
What most people misunderstand is that an effective warm-up routine doesn’t need to take long. You can prime the muscles, joints, and tendons while decreasing injury risk in as little as 10 minutes.
Without a thorough warm-up, you increase your risk of straining tendons and muscles or climbing sub-optimally. Odds are, you will also take longer to feel ready to try hard if you only warm up by climbing easier routes than it will if you take 10 minutes off-the-wall.
Breaking Down The Warm Up
There are two parts to the climber’s warm-up. The first is generating heat, which increases heart rate and loosens the major muscles and joints, such as the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hips. The second part focuses on the finger tendons and pulling (back and shoulder) muscles, as rock climbing relies on them most heavily.
Part 1: Waking Up the Joints and Muscles
There are five exercises in the first part of the Warm Up. Demo videos are linked to each exercise.
Down Dog to Chatturaunga to Up Dog.
Sets: 1
Reps: 3
Sets: 1
Reps: 3 per side
Sets: 2 (switch directions on the second set)
Reps: 10
Finger Flicks (with or without resistance).
Sets: 1
Reps: 10-20
Sets: 1
Reps: 10
With the muscles and joints loosened up, it’s time to warm up the fingers.
Part 2: Waking Up the Tendons and Pulling Muscles
For part two, find a hangboard with edges of varying sizes, as well as jugs.
20mm Edge Hang
Sets: 1
Reps: 10 x 1 second
Shoulder Shrugs on Jugs
Sets: 1
Reps: 5-10
15mm Edge Hang
Sets: 1
Reps: 10 seconds or 60-75% of your maximum effort
Negative Pull Ups
Sets: 1
Reps: 3-5 or 60-75% of your maximum effort
Side Lunges
Sets: 1
Reps: 5 per side
Negative Pull Ups
Sets: 1
Reps: 3-5 or 60-75% of your maximum effort
Hip Opener of Choice
Sets: 1
Reps: 10 per side
Examples:
- 90-90 hip lifts
- Legs Swings
- Open the gates
- Close the gates
- Active pigeon pose
10mm Edge Hang
Sets: 1
Reps: 10 seconds or 60-75% of your maximum effort.
Explosive or Assisted Pull Ups
Sets: 1
Reps: 3-5 or 60-75% of your maximum effort
Boulders in Ascending Difficulty
Sets: 1
Reps: 5+ boulders with 1-3 minutes rest between boulders
And that’s it! Ten minutes later, and you’re ready to climb. Your tendons are warm and prepared to grasp small holds; your shoulders, wrists, and hips are ready to support your weight in unusual positions, and your nervous system is awake and ready to work. It’s tempting to skip the workout, but you can carve out less than 10 minutes to prevent months of being sidelined due to injury.
