“The weight you do not take on your feet you must take in your hands.”
Next time you are at the climbing wall give this a go...I challenge you. As part of your warm up find a friendly piece of boulder traverse wall. Take 2 minutes to traverse the wall following the 5 steps below. You will see improvements in your rock climbing...or your money back
look + pause + place + engage + play
You will need : Yourself, your climbing shoes, a nice angle of wall (the slabbier the better no overhang. If you want to give this a go on a rope find a really easy route to enjoy.),
1. Look down
Watch your feet
Traverse low across the climbing wall slowly on good holds. Think about keeping your body balanced, your hips relaxed and weight on your feet.
“Try moving as quietly as you can. Get a friend to watch you and listen out for noisy feet”
2. Pause
Before your toe touches the hold - pause for a second with your foot just above the hold
Hovering your foot will show you that you are in a balanced position and give you time to aim your toes. If you are not balanced you might find this difficult. Try adjusting your body position on the wall until you can easily hover your foot over the next foothold.
3. Place
Place your toe onto the hold gently and precisely
Placing your foot well is important. It will determine how much force you can put through your feet and how comfortable you will feel now and in the next move. Watch your foot as you place it and you will know that it is safe and secure.
“Use the area of your shoe from the ball of your foot round to your little toe. This toe area of your foot will give you better range of movement after your foot has been placed”
4. Engage
Put energy into your well placed foot
Really engage with your well placed foot. Put force through it and take weight off your hands by finding a comfortable position. You could try holding on more gently with your hands as you power through your feet. Or take your other foot off the wall to prove how stable and balanced you are. How much weight can you get onto your feet?
“Lower your heels on a slab or flat wall. This will help you to fully weight your foot and increase the contact area of your expensive sticky rubber”
Footwork can be mentally tiring - especially at Castle Hill, New Zealand
5. Play
Enjoy this time. Play at how quietly you can move across the wall, what happens if you rush, what happens if you slow down. Challenge your friends and enjoy it.
“Fall off, mess up, this is the space in which we learn”
Try pushing your feet in different directions on the holds. How does this change your body position? Does it increase the load of your hands? Do you feel more stable?