Why Climbers Need Mobility, The Exciting Way To Get It

Perhaps the most significant benefit of a sports scientific approach to climbing is the ability to assess a climbers’ level of knowledge for a particular movement pattern and compare their performance with that of their peers. Science isn’t perfect for various reasons, but the goal is to quantify and measure your physical abilities and then compare yourself to most climbers concerning your overall ability level. This process is commonly referred to as reference development or setup.

The benchmark used to evaluate a climber’s ability is called a “level.” Our method of assessing a level is simple. If you are climbing a Vx boulder, you can have the same level of strength and mobility as other climbers climbing a Vx boulder, but at a lower level than Vx + Climber 1. Your performance level, your physical, is just a tiny piece of the puzzle, so we prefer to avoid using climbing grades as a benchmark when talking about strength.

The levels are climber’ s climbing grade distributed as follows:

• Level 0 = Reasonable, Needs Improvement
• Level 1 = Good, Can Improve
• Level 2 = Excellent, Probably No Action
• Level 3 = No Problem, World Level

Below, Assessment Exercises and Corresponding Check Numbers are listed. However, you must first declare a disclaimer. This is my evaluation. We use it for myself and my clients, and in my experience, it has proven to be effective. We do not doubt that it is remarkably similar to other coaches’ evaluation protocols (as we would if we were valuable to climbing coaches), but this does not imply collaboration or data exchange between me and anyone else. Second, there is no single size that fits all data pools or standardized assessments. Therefore, each estimate is susceptible to error and overgeneralization.

Finally, keep in mind that these exercises and benchmarks are not necessarily directly related to climbing performance. Instead, they are indicative of fundamental strength and mobility weaknesses.

Also, most importantly, do not try to evaluate yourself in any exercise unless you are familiar with the correct format. Testing maximum strength is very tedious and, therefore, very risky.
We recommend that you seek help from a trainer or other knowledgeable individual if you are unsure of the proper technique. You should at least be familiar with very low-intensity exercises before maximizing the test.

Tip: If you know the correct format for this exercise and want to rate yourself but don’t feel comfortable checking your maximum reps, you can do the math instead. Instead of checking at most 1, check at most three times and multiply that number by 1.11. why? Up to 3 reps are about 90% of 1 rep.
This chart is for reference only. Guidelines for evaluating included exercises should not be taken from them.

Although we will not detail the exact form for each of these exercises, some aspects of the state should be specified for accurate testing. Most of these walkthroughs have several options, so we would like to clarify what you need to do.

Scapular pull

This is perhaps the most important thing to check if you are new to training. Pulling the scapular tests your ability to properly engage your shoulders in an upright position, an essential skill in almost any climbing exercise, and, frankly, good climbing posture. However, it is also one of the simplest tests to get good results. With your arms straight, hang them on a jug or rod on a hanger and align your shoulders as profoundly as possible.

Think of it as preparing for a pull-up without bending your arms. You will feel some external rotation in the shoulder as it moves down and back as if trying to squeeze the shoulder blades together. Your chest should rise slightly toward the bar. The deeper the grip, the more the chest lifts and the more off the bar.

Front Lever

For the evaluation, we are only interested in some of the many existing arm variants.
Your curls look like this: Pull your knees toward your chest and press the lever. One leg is raised, one leg is bent, and the other is extended. Both legs are fully extended.

Side Slits

Measure your height and mark it on the floor using any object, socks, or anything else you can reach close to or reach, such as a memory card. Stand sideways with one foot on one of the markers. Take small steps to the side so that the inner foot follows the marker and moves further away from the foot. This is your count when you can no longer move without assistance (such as putting your hands on the floor or standing up).

Hanging Leg Raises

Also known as Totoba. Keep your arms straight and your shoulders clasped for a full range of motion. This means your feet should touch the bar between your hands. Slowly lower your body and do not relax before repeating another number of reps. It’s harder than you think.

Pull-up

This is a tactical pullup, not a pullup. This means gripping from above, with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your thumbs on the same side of the bar (hands rest on the bar, but do not squeeze it). Move slowly without relaxing. Put your chin on the bar. Otherwise, it will not be counted.

Squats

Autograss Back Squats, this is not a weak parallel. We need the full range of motion. Make sure your knees do not move in front of your toes. Your feet should be set slightly wider than shoulder-width. · It’s unlikely that you will touch the floor with your butt, but it’s pretty darn close. Make sure you move your butt thoroughly.

Max Hangs

Hang from the board as if hanging from the pull-up bar during the Max Hangs pull-up set. Your shoulders are tense, your arms straight (slightly bent elbows are acceptable), and your body is snug. If you love your injury and don’t want to get stronger, don’t hang on to your bones.

Final Thoughts

You may have noticed that level 0 is quite tricky. However, this is a fairly respectable level of power and seems to be a reasonable expectation for most people who have been climbing for at least a few months and regularly assert their abilities. So there is no doubt that climbers would never have reached level 0. Perhaps these are climbers who do not have reinsurance, try hard work, or do not climb for a long time.

These climbers should ask themselves the following questions: “Do you need extra training or are you still climbing better and stronger?” You’ve heard this before, but I’ll repeat it:
“If you’re still getting stronger and getting better, climb!”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)