Having been trained to look for a wonky posture, I have come to notice climbers from a mile off simply by the way they hold themselves. Super strong people, lean muscular structure with the added bonus of funny fingers, they all have certain traits in common. The greatest distinctive feature is their very endearing hunchback (slight sarcasm here). From many hours, weeks and months of training and pushing their limits, climbers are excellent at honing in on the muscles that can make them climb harder - from their glutes right down to their finger tips - these guys get pretty strong. |
I have been unwittingly introduced to the world of climbing thanks to my partner who seems to be at his happiest when scaling boulders, cliffs and frozen things.
They have fantastic core strength, they train themselves to isolate key muscle groups which ensures their balance is maintained while entering into the crux of the climb and yet they somehow end up with a weak-looking posture.
There is a myriad of possibilities causing the creation of the distinctive 'Climbers Hunchback', from weak chest muscles, to underdeveloped lower back muscles or it could be down to very tight internal rotators at the shoulder, the result of always pulling down.
What a climber should do first and foremost is stretch. Stretch out your upper back, particularly widening across the collar bones. One of my best moments of teaching (torturing) my partner was asking him to do a Chest Expansion exercise - the perfect starter exercise to widen across the chest.
Getting your stance back:
The video link shows something similar, but to begin put the band behind your hips rather than in front.
Remember, your body has over 650 muscles and although you may only want to strengthen 10 of them, each and every one is vital to perform everyday movement.
They have fantastic core strength, they train themselves to isolate key muscle groups which ensures their balance is maintained while entering into the crux of the climb and yet they somehow end up with a weak-looking posture.
There is a myriad of possibilities causing the creation of the distinctive 'Climbers Hunchback', from weak chest muscles, to underdeveloped lower back muscles or it could be down to very tight internal rotators at the shoulder, the result of always pulling down.
What a climber should do first and foremost is stretch. Stretch out your upper back, particularly widening across the collar bones. One of my best moments of teaching (torturing) my partner was asking him to do a Chest Expansion exercise - the perfect starter exercise to widen across the chest.
Getting your stance back:
- Begin by standing correctly, feet place hip width apart, weight equally distributed across your feet, tailbone is lengthened towards the floor (i.e. don't let your bottom stick out), relax your shoulders and feel the little height pixies pulling you up from the back of your head
- Hold an exercise band behind your hips with your palms facing to the back of the room
- Now begin to take your straight arms backwards, maintaining the the distance between your arms and hands (the exercise band should not tighten nor slacken as you float your arms backwards)
- Bring attention to your spine - has it arched or have you chicken headed (pushing your head forwards) to sneakily increase your range of movement?
- Look left then right then come back to center (switch starting direction each time)
- Exhale float your arms back down by your sides
The video link shows something similar, but to begin put the band behind your hips rather than in front.
Remember, your body has over 650 muscles and although you may only want to strengthen 10 of them, each and every one is vital to perform everyday movement.