Climbing
Climbing core workout: Build strength for peak performance
Unlock your climbing potential with these core workouts designed to boost strength, stability, and control while improving performance and minimizing injuries.
Although part of the climb is mental preparation, a strong core shouldn’t be overlooked. Bouldering pro Shauna Coxsey’s tip to “climb, climb as much as you can” is one way to build core strength. Before that, though, comes a dedicated climbing core workout and routine — and dedicated, according to Coxsey, might be an understatement.
Shauna Coxsey training on a fingerboard at The Climbing Hangar Matchworks
© Matthew Bird / Red Bull Content Pool
“At the moment I’m trying to fit in 15 different training sessions a week,” Coxsey said in 2020. “The amount of hours I’m training differs, but generally it’s six days a week with one rest day every other week.”
That said, climbers can dedicate themselves to improved core strength in fewer hours per week. Doing so is worth whatever time it takes for superior performance and a lessened likelihood of injuries. Read on to learn how it’s done (hint: it involves workouts different than yoga for climbing, which, separately, is great for flexibility and breathing control).
Understanding core muscles in climbing
Shauna Coxsey
© Jake Thompson/Red Bull Content Pool
The core is more than the abs, though of course those are a big part of it. The core also includes the glutes, hip flexors (for taking steps and moving the legs), and lower back muscles. And even the abs aren’t just the traditional image of a six-pack: There’s also the obliques (side abs), which play a huge role in rotational movements when the legs are steady.
The benefits of core stability exercises for climbing include:
- They build the muscles behind body tension, maintaining posture amid a high-load position and minimizing extra moves that use energy
- They lessen a climber’s chance of injury and makes them better at toeing-in on overhangs, keeping their feet on, and moving effectively and efficiently
- They focus on developing the muscle groups key for torso twisting and bending movements
- They help with toe pointing, outstretching legs, hooking the heels, or making moves that involve a high knee
6 essential core exercises for climbers
01
Hanging leg raises
Core muscles targeted: Abs, hip flexors
Instructions:
- Grab a pull-up bar or the jugs on a hangboard.
- With arms and legs straight and shoulder blades pinching together, raise the legs without bending the knees. The hips should be perpendicular to the torso.
- Gradually return to the starting position while keeping the body as still as possible and avoiding swinging.
- Complete three sets of 15 reps, with one minute of rest between sets.
02
Planks
Planking is good for your core
© Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Core muscles targeted: Abs
Instructions:
- Atop an exercise mat, lie face down with toes and forearms on the floor. Bring the elbows under the shoulders and face the forearms toward each other. Relax the head and keep the gaze on the floor.
- Engage the abs (bring the navel inward toward the spine) while maintaining a straight torso and keeping the whole body in a straight line. The shoulders should be down, and the balls of the feet should be under the heels.
- Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds, or as long as you can. Each instance of holding this position is one set, and three to four sets total is best.
03
Side Planks
Sideplanks train your core muscles
© Daniel Sommer/Red Bull Content Pool
Muscles targeted: Abs, obliques, and lower back
Side plank instructions:
- Atop an exercise mat, lie on the left side. Extend the legs and place them atop one another. Place the left elbow directly under the left shoulder, and keep the head and spine aligned. Rest the right arm atop the right side of the body.
- Engage the abs (bring the navel inward toward the spine) while maintaining a straight torso and keeping the whole body in a straight line. Lift upward from the hips and knees while maintaining a straight torso.
- Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds, or as long as you can. Then, switch sides. Each instance of holding this position is one set, and three to four sets total per side is best.
04
Dead Bugs
Dead Bug
© Dan Sheridan/ INPHO
Core muscles targeted: Abs and back
Instructions:
- On an exercise mat, lie on the back. Extend the arms upward so that they’re perpendicular to the torso. Bend the knees and hips so that the hips form a right angle with the torso and the shins form a 90-degree angle with the thighs.
- While engaging the core and keeping the lower back on the mat, bring the left arm backward toward the floor over the head. At the same time, extend the right hip and knee, bringing the right heel near the floor. Move slowly, and stop just before making contact with the mat.
- Return to the starting position, then repeat on the opposite side.
- Aim for three to four sets of three to seven reps per side.
05
Russian Twists
The Russian twist
© Dan Sheridan/ INPHO
Core muscles targeted: Obliques, abs, hip flexors
Instructions:
- Atop an exercise mat, sit with the glutes on the floor. Raise the torso and the legs to a 45-degree angle from the glutes. Bend the knees so that the calves are roughly parallel to the floor.
- Bring the arms in front of the torso, interlacing the fingers just a few inches in front of the chest.
- Engage the core to twist to the left, then return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
- Complete three sets of eight to 16 reps.
06
Supermans
Core muscles targeted: Lower back, glutes
Instructions:
- On an exercise mat, lie face down. Extend the arms in front of the body and straighten the legs.
- While looking down, engaging the glutes, and bringing the navel slightly inward, gradually lift the legs and arms about six inches off the exercise mat. If necessary, continue lifting the arms and legs until the lower back muscles contract.
- Hold for two to three seconds, then return to the starting position.
- Complete three sets of eight to 12 reps.
07
Climbing-specific core training techniques
Campus board exercises
Felipe Camargo
© Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool
These climber strength training exercises take place on climbing-specific gym fixtures called campus boards. They look like a cross between a standard climbing wall and everyday wood slats. They’re also a huge challenge designed for advanced climbers, which might be why Shauna Coxsey’s advice for quick climbing improvements is to stay on the wall. For less experienced climbers, who can easily injure themselves on campus boards, other options are best.
A rock climbing training regimen using a campus board can involve exercises as simple as switching between the hands to climb up and down rungs. It can also involve gradually reaching higher and higher from a constant starting position. In any case, campus boards are made for improving climbers’ accuracy, contact strength, and power.
Bachar ladder workouts
A bachar ladder descends from the ceiling and is otherwise unsupported. This means that climbers exercising on them must stabilize themselves, and stability always starts with the core. In other words, bachar ladders are a must for advanced climber strength training and abdominal conditioning. They also develop grip strength, another key component of safe, successful climbing.
Common bachar ladder exercises include the slow climb, in which only the arms are used to climb and descend the ladder. The legs are flayed out under the body, and the inner thighs may flank the ladder. In another common exercise, the two-hand lock-off and reach, both hands are on one rung as the climber pulls up, rotates one side of the torso away from the shoulder, then uses the other arm to reach the next rung.
Front lever progressions
This climbing exercise is as difficult as it is rewarding. While standing upright and holding onto a pull-up bar, jugs, or another stable workout surface above the head, a climber raises their entire body so that they gradually become completely parallel to the floor. Some climbers bring their body upward while perpendicular to the floor for a few seconds, then go parallel. Some go even further and bring the knees to the chest, then do brief bicycle-like leg movements.
In either case, the goal is to hold the parallel position for as long as possible. It’s not common to hold this position for more than 20 seconds, so even a few seconds of holding this position — and even one rep — is an accomplishment.
Training frequency and progression
Natalia Grossman
© Daniel Milchev / Red Bull Content Pool
Climbing core workouts are almost always part of a broader training regimen that ramps up in intensity six to eight weeks before a climbing event. Two to three days of exercise alongside dedicated climbing gym time every week, with two rest days per week, is ideal (training five days a week instead of seven also ranks among climbing superstar Natalia Grossman’s pro training tips). Fold in two to three 30-minute cardio sessions per week for ideal results.
Most climbers get better at core exercises week after week, and for those looking for more concrete results, some basic math can help. Determining how many reps of a core exercise one can do per set is the first step. From there, figuring out what 10 percent more is comes next. For a climber who can complete 10 hanging leg raises in the first week, that’s 10 + 10*0.10 = 11. So, this climber will aim to complete 11 hanging leg raises per set in the second week. This gradual increase in difficulty can more reliably lead to long-term results.
Strengthen your core, elevate your climb
With a strong core, climbers can reach for the stars. Or, at least, they can reach greater heights as they scale boulders, cliffsides, and other challenging terrain. Plus, incorporating regular core workouts into one’s training regimen is great for more than climbing — it improves overall fitness too. From the rocks to the real world, core exercises make all the difference.