It is not a secret anymore that a climber’s flexibility is a big step in climbing harder. However, did you know that just like with many other things in life such as a good state of mind, owning a house, or mastering an ability, bouldering flexibility is simply a skill everyone can achieve if they put their mind to it?
Flexibility is yet another optional you’ll just have to work on if you want to level up your climbing. Before we dive into why flexibility matters, share climbing exercises and stretches to improve it, I want to make it clear this is a skill everyone can achieve.
Feed our curiosity about climbing flexibility
A while ago I went climbing with a friend who is funny and very pleasant to be around. At some point, she mentioned her boyfriend one day said he believed that being happy is something that comes very easily and naturally to her.
While it’s true some people might find it easier than others, we both agreed that being happy and with a good state of mind is not a given but often a choice that requires some effort and presence, such as taking time for oneself, choices you make, surrounding yourself with good people, etc.
Now why do I mention that in an article that’s supposed to be teaching you about flexibility?
I find both somewhat relatable even though not directly related at first glance. Keeping the same train of thought I often hear people saying that they’re not flexible enough so is impossible for them to do certain moves. Or they’ll belittle someone’s achievement by saying they were just lucky to be flexible.
The reason I shared this story is to raise awareness of how quick we can be to dismiss something that could actually benefit us or label it, before even trying it. It seems to me it slips our minds that others with whom we compare ourselves have most likely already put in a lot of hard work and time, while we are mere beginners (or haven’t even started yet).
Let’s break free from the boxes we put ourselves in, feed our curiosity instead, and be proactive about achieving “that” something we admire in others.
Flexibility is the ability of joints and muscles to move freely and unrestricted through a full normal. Not only crucial for performance in climbing, flexibility is what maintains your physical balance, keeps the pain away, and also improves posture by improving one’s body alignment.
Long story short it will not only level up your climbing but also your health!
What are the advantages of working on your general climbing flexibility?
Less risk of injuries
Flexibility combined with muscle strength allows you to have a better reach and grab holds you never dreamed about touching just by looking at the route.
Improving the overall sensation in the body
Either from a hard catch or another body imbalance climbers can sometimes experience back pain. Climbing exercises and stretches not only improve your flexibility but also give your body the muscle support it needs to keep you away from that pain.
Hack the system
I am 160cm tall so this makes me a relatively short climber. However, thanks to flexibility I can compensate for not having very long legs by placing my feet very high.
This removes this recurrent gap between short-tall climbers and allows me to climb routes more easily and reach holds I probably couldn’t reach because of my height.
Access to more rest positions
Hip flexibility allows you to get reeeally close to the wall, transfer weight on your lower body, and rest in the frog position. I use this pose quite often during climbing because it helps me save my arm/finger strength.
You have more efficient climbing sessions
Being able to heel hook high helps you progress higher up in your climb, saves energy from the upper body, and sometimes can be a good rest for your hands and toes.
You keep up with modern bouldering
Indoor climbing is all about dynamic, balance, and coordination moves. Active flexibility combined with strength is key to performing those moves while keeping yourself injury-free as a bonus.
Reducing muscle soreness
Soreness feels unpleasant and increases the risk of injury. Therefore stretching will not only increase your climbing flexibility but it will also reduce the risk of injury.
It takes less time than training and can improve your climbing
You’re not really into training hard but you still enjoy a send now and then? Good news! Flexibility exercises will most likely help feel more confident while sending slab wall bouldering problems and pushing on your high foot.
The mental aspect
Muscle release and stretching are meant to help your body relax. What happens though, as a bonus is that a more relaxed body usually means a more relaxed mind as well so it will help you start the day fresh or end it in a calming way.
How to improve your climbing flexibility
According to studies such as the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, the higher you lift your foot the stronger climber you are. Improve your active flexibility by strengthening your muscles while being stretched so you can get to use take full advantage of full splits, and high heels and avoid injuring yourself while doing so.
Level 1
On that note, the following video from Lattice Training gives a good example of how to actively stretch the hamstring, quad, and calves. I find these types of exercises very effective when climbing and can feel the difference in my climbing as soon as I start doing them. Literally the next day!
Very useful not only when it comes to legs, these thick Lattice Resistance Bands range in strength from extra light to extra heavy and they can be successfully used for both warming up and training. To facilitate this process we recommend using something similar!
For different stretching for climbing sessions, you can also try using the Lattice Flex Mat with Lattice Flex Blocks. They provide a solid base, helpful for beginners because they can contribute to controlling extension, reach, reduce or increase intensity, and make you feel more confident when doing all that!
This video from Lattice is also worth checking out on how to use them to improve climbing flexibility:
Level 2
I don’t consider myself a very powerful climber, strength-wise. However, I can climb pretty hard routes, and that partly changed ever since I started practising yoga. I noticed myself having a much better balance and coordination on the rock, reach holds easier, and feel more confident. If you are curious to know more about this subject you can read my article on Yoga for Climbing.
Of course, you are not forced to become a yogi to improve your climbing. There are plenty of climbing yoga-inspired exercises that focus on improving your flexibility for climbing without the extra fuss such as the Level 2 video from Lattice on Flexibility Follow Along for Lower Body.
Level 3
Great for a fresh start but also for wrapping up a climbing day is Level 3 from the same Lattice Flexibility Follow Along for Lower Body series. For very little as 10 minutes a day, you can improve your flexibility for climbing by training it!
This one focuses on single leg stretches, hamstring and hip extension, abductors, and the scorpion stretch which is my absolute favourite for relaxing the hips and lower back.
Importance of hip opening
Maybe one of the most important in climbing (and quality of life) is hip opening.
While being in school I noticed it was way easier for me to learn or do something when it made sense to me. Usually, things started making sense when I understood how they work and what is their meaning.
On that note, I love how this video from The Climbing Doctor explains the importance of mobility and flexibility in climbing, along with climbing-specific examples for hip flexibility.
10 minutes a day for a lifetime of climbing flexibility
For a minimum 10 minutes of stretching each day, then we can look forward to a lifetime of climbing flexibility and feeling good in our own body.
Stretching can seem like an easy thing to do and in truth, it isn’t very hard to do. However, I like to call it a detail-based activity that requires mindfulness, especially when you’re new to it. So I kindly ask you to listen to your body and stay conscious of its capabilities as this is crucial when stretching for climbing. After all the whole purpose of gaining flexibility is so you can rely on it without getting injured.
Do you feel like a lack of flexibility is in the way of your success? Let us know about the changes you’ve noticed in your climbing since you worked on your climbing flexibility.
Products related to this article
Lattice Training
0 Comments