As a climber, you must have come across several instances where you have preached about the importance of grip strength. Developing wrist and grip strength is essential to move forward in your climbing career. However, unfortunately, it is overemphasized, so much so, it overshadows other traits that are equally important for both novice and advanced climbers.
One of these requirements is building core strength. It is usually overlooked by climbers without realizing how important it is for most climbing techniques. Despite working on your grip strength and spending hours training for advanced routes, if you have reached a plateau, it is most likely due to lacking core strength. Core strength is necessary to help you stabilize your position and keep your form during climbing.
As Steve Betchel, famous rock climber, author, and coach puts it,
“The core muscles are almost exclusively stabilizers and are best used to control movement rather than to initiate it. The one exception which may be specific to climbing is the hanging leg raise and its variations.”
Before we move on to ‘How you can build core strength for bouldering?’, here are a few things you should keep in mind.
- Avoid doing core-building exercises right before a climbing session.
- Core training will not help you lose belly fat. If you are looking to lose that layer of fat on your belly, you have to lose overall body fat until the visceral fat starts shedding.
- Building core strength is not akin to back strengthening. Having stronger abs does not mean you have a strong lower back.
- Core gives you structural support. It is not a prime-mover when it comes to climbing.
- Core does not only mean abs. There are several other muscle groups including rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques, hip flexors, etc. involved in the core.
- Your goal is not to get tired. It is to improve climbing performance. Find the minimum effective dose instead of running through circuits without any rest. You have to train for core strength, not for core endurance.
Now that we have spelled some of the basics you should have in mind regarding core training, let’s move on to the exercises that will help you in developing your core as a stabilizer. Remember that whatever exercises you choose, they have to progress them over time such that the intensity remains high. This is important to achieve progressive overload.
Hanging Leg lift
This is one of the most effective core-building exercises that can be regressed or progressed according to your current core strength. All you need is a hangboard, a.k.a. climbing fingerboard. You can also use a portable hangboard that goes over a door or the door sill.
Hold on to the jugs of the hangboard that you are most comfortable with, keep your arms and legs straight and squeeze your shoulders. Slowly start lifting your legs up until your hips are at a 90 degrees angle. Hold still in this position for a second and slow move your legs down. You can start with three sets of 10 legs raises with one minute of rest in between. If that is too easy for your, do three sets of 15 leg raises. Make sure your body does not swing while performing the exercise.
You can also create a tougher variation of the exercise by bending your knees and pulling them up to your chest.
Sit-ups
As common and mundane as sit-ups sound, they are a very effective core-building exercise that can be performed in plenty of variations. Assuming you have been climbing for a few months and have been performing sit-ups, here is a tougher variation of good old sit-ups that will really activate your core.
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold any weight that you are comfortable with on top of your head with arms stretched out. Anything above 15 pounds is good. Using your momentum, sit up with the plate still stretched out, stand up, and then lie back down. Note that your arms should be stretched out all this time. Perform three sets of 10 such sits ups. This exercise focuses on your hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, abs, and shoulders.
Oblique Knee raise plank
Plants have long been known as a core building exercise. This variation of the plank not only focuses on abs and lower back but also works on the glutes, hip flexors, shoulder, and chest.
Get down in a high plank position. Bend the right knee and bring it just outside the right elbow. Now move the knee up to your elbow and go back to the original position. Perform three reps of 15 oblique knee raise plank with the right legs. Then perform a similar plank with the left leg.
You can also perform other variations of planks if this one doesn’t work for you. Some effective variations of a plank include the elevated plank, sideways walking plank, side plank with leg raise, etc.
Matrix
This exercise will literally set your core on fire. Get down on your knees, make sure they are hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell or a weight plate near your belly and lean back as far as you can. Hold the position for three seconds and slowly come back up.
Don’t go back and come up with a jerk. Moreover, keep your back straight. A Faltering position can lead to injuries. This exercise focuses on quads, hip flexors, lower back, and abs.
Conclusion
Although there are plenty of exercises that you can do to build core strength. Experts believe sticking to three to five exercises that are performed regularly and progressed help in developing core strength more effectively. The exercises mentioned in this article target the core as a stabilizer that will help you in bouldering or climbing. Even if you don’t have a hangboard or other professional workout equipment, these exercises can be easily performed at home.
Like any other muscle group, it is imperative that you give your muscles at least two days to recover. Make sure that you don’t overdo the exercises. Listen to your body and take enough rest between reps.
