7 strength-building moves to help you scale indoor and outdoor walls
While there’s nothing quite like digging your fingers into real rock, you can develop many of the strengths needed to climb outdoors without ever setting foot on a wall. This workout, courtesy of Eric Mischke, a Tier 3+ trainer at Printing House in New York City, builds total-body power, the ability to transfer that power through the core, and finger and grip strength to help you transition from indoor to outdoor climbing.
Get started by performing this workout, ideally two times per week, in addition to your regular routine or in place of another total-body strength session. First perform 4 reps of exercises 1A and 1B back-to-back without rest, for 4 rounds. Rest for 30 seconds, then move onto the rest of the below exercises.
1A. Weighted Pull-Up
Grasp a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing away from you. Wear a weighted vest or belt if you can perform more than 4 bodyweight pull-ups. Extend arms so you’re hanging from the bar. (Use a box to jump up onto bar if it’s too high.) Bend elbows, raising chin over bar. Extend arms to return to start position. Do 4 reps.
1B. 90/90 Hip Switches
Find bear sit position by driving knees as far apart as possible, legs bent at 90-degree angles, and outsides of feet resting on the floor. Place your hands behind your body to provide leverage. Bring one knee toward the space between your feet, pressing it as close to the floor as possible. Hold at your deepest range of motion for three counts, then slowly return to start. Repeat on the other side for one rep. Do 4 reps.
2. Box Step-Ups
Stand with the right foot on a high box and the left foot hovering at the same height above the ground behind you. Hold arms straight out in front of chest and, pressing glutes back, slowly lower the left leg until the left toe taps the ground, then reverse to start for one rep. Do 4 reps, then switch sides and repeat for a total of 4 sets, resting 60 seconds between sets. (Choose a height that makes performing 4 reps a challenge, or add dumbbells at your sides.)
3. Straight-Arm Pull-Down
Secure a looped resistance band from an anchor point above you. Grasp the bottom of the band with both hands wider than shoulder-width apart, arms fully extended. (Or, grasp a bar from the top pulley of a cable station). Hinge from the hips and squeeze the lats to pull the band down to the thighs. Pause, then raise the band to return to start. That’s one rep. Do 4 sets of 6 reps, resting 60 to 90 seconds between sets.
4. Hanging Leg Raises
Grasp a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing forward. Extend arms so you’re hanging from the bar with legs straight. Keeping upper body still and legs straight, raise them in front of you to a pike position. Pause, then lower legs back to start. Do 4 sets of 30 seconds, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets.
5. Dumbbell Finger Curls
Hold a very light dumbbell in one hand, palm facing up. Lower the weight as far as possible toward finger tips and floor by extending the fingers. Pause, then flex the fingers to curl the dumbbell back up to the palm. Perform for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. That’s one rep. Do 4 sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
Photography by Mohamed Sadek. Art direction by Kathryn Marx. Styling by Jamie Frankel.
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