Recently, I went rock climbing for the first time. I knew rock climbing was difficult, but I was still blown away by how challenging it really is. I can handle my own bodyweight pretty well, so I was expecting most of the challenge to be in the technique. I was not counting on feeling muscle fatigue only a few minutes into a climb. I decided to break down the muscle groups that are the most challenged by rock climbing, and find the best exercises for strengthening them.
Upper-Body
Let’s start off with the muscle groups of the upper-body. You never really think about the strength of your fingers. After all, how often do you find yourself relying on the tiny muscles of your fingers? Well, one of the things that makes rock climbing so difficult is the insane amount of grip strength it requires, especially in the tips of your fingers.
It’s always easy to tell where you are your weakest the day after a workout because that’s where you will feel the sorest. Just for example, if you do a lot of pushups and you have weak triceps, your triceps will most likely be sorer than your shoulders or pecs. Don’t be surprised if after a day of rock climbing, your fingers, hands and forearms are sorer than any other part of your body.
Grip strength really comes from your forearms, though. Your hands and your fingers play a role, but when you’re really squeezing tightly on something, your forearms are doing the bulk of the work. There are a ton of exercises that are great for improving your grip and strengthening your forearms, but most tend to neglect or insufficiently train the other muscles in your arms and back which are also put under a lot of tension when rock climbing.
I introduce to you the perfect solution: towel pull-ups.
Towel pull-ups are basically just what they sound like. You throw a towel over or across a pull-up bar and use the loose ends of the towel as grips. This exercise alone will strengthen your hands, forearms, arms and back. I can’t find another exercise that simulates rock climbing as well as towel pull-ups.
In addition to towel pull-ups, I recommend good old-fashioned pushups and regular pull-ups, especially if you don’t quite have the strength yet to do towel pull-ups. You should do three to five sets of towel pull-ups, pull-ups and pushups two to three times a week with ample rest in between to see significant gains.
Lower Body
One of the things about rock climbing that really shocked me was how much it works your legs. There are a lot of times when you have to push the full weight of your body up with one leg just to reach that next grip. One thing that’s unusual about this compared to squats, leg presses, or most other leg exercises, is that when you’re pushing yourself up with one leg, you’re also on just the balls of your feet or toes.
So, to prepare your legs for the rigors of climbing, I recommend two exercises: one-legged squats and forward lunges. Do these just like the upper-body exercises – three to five sets, two to three times per week. You can do them on the same days or on the days in between; it’s up to you.
Climbing
Obviously, the best way to get I shape for rock climbing is by climbing. Climbing is a unique exercise that is virtually impossible to simulate at home or at the gym. Routinely going to a rock climbing gym can get expensive, and building your own rock-climbing wall at home is certainly not something for everyone. If you can do either of those things, great! But, if you can’t, try the workouts I just shared with you and you should achieve similar results.
