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Train Leg?

Chris Rice · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2013 · Points: 55

Climbing is a strength to body weight sport - at 6' and 132# - you have the bodyweight part covered - but I would bet you lack strength pretty much all over. People can argue all day about the best way to fix it but it needs done I imagine. Ashtanga Yoga - bodyweight movements - weights - everything can work for you at the level you are right now. Find people training "for climbing" and learn from them. There are several good books out there on the subject - get one and follow it. There are also good coaches out there that would help you.

Rob Gordon · · Hollywood, CA · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 115

As someone who is genetically predisposed to having big, strong legs and butt I can vouch for it NOT being beneficial to climbing because I do one squat and gain 5 pounds in my lower body instantly. And added lower body weight does not a strong climber make.

That being said, if you have naturally skinny legs, you likely aren't ever going to have big legs, so the added strength on your skinny legs could be beneficial without adding too much weight.

Whoever mentioned up thread about pistols might be onto something. That hip, groin area is probably the place you most need leg strength in climbing for high stepping and what not. Yoga type exercises would be very helpful, too.

I guess what I'm saying is I don't think big butt, quads, and hamstrings like sprinters or soccer players have are beneficial to climbers. And I haven't found strong or flexible hamstrings to have any effect on preventing injury during heel-hooking.

Jon Zucco · · Denver, CO · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 245

Call me old fashioned, but I've always felt that having a good solid base layer of muscle encasing your skeleton is overall a good thing. Especially if you're doing potentially high impact activities like climbing.

So yes, in your specific case, you should train legs in my opinion. Extra fitness, strength, and health anywhere on the body is a good thing. There is a point of diminishing returns however. I've never seen a power lifter climb 5.12 for example.

I personally do barbell squats, romanian deadlifts, and calf raises once a week along with a good long hike twice a month.

Yoga is always a good idea too.

RyanJohnson · · Tucson, Arizona · Joined Jun 2007 · Points: 396
Luke Bertelsen wrote:what are legs?
Those dangly bits weighing down your campusing technique

Big Move.
Ujhbn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

Thank you for all replies!

I guess I will definitely start doing yoga together with leg strength exercises.

Bapgar 1 · · Out of the Loop · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 90

Slim: If you want official info Pavel Tsatsouline would be my go to suggestion for how to use other drills to progress to a full pistol. He's the guy that was one of the first people to really popularize kettlebell training over in the U.S.

Honestly one of my favorite exercises to use as a progression for building hip strength and mobility is a simple lunge. The trick is that you execute the lunge stepping back into the lunge. So stand w/ your feet together and then balance on one foot, that is now the working leg. So you try and use that leg as much as possible during the lunge execution.

This will cause your lunge to be very short. i.e. the leg that goes back and touches the floor for balance, that knee (the left knee if you started standing on the right leg) will only be a few inches behind the right heel. This doesn't mean that you try and put the knee behind the heel as if you were on a balance beam but it is a very compact stance.

Then drive through the heal and use as much of the working leg as possible. If you've got good control you'll be able to come back up to the starting position w/ out the need to plant the other foot and catch your balance.

If you want to add an interesting twist to this you can always put a standard olympic bar in your hands in the overhead locked out position of a snatch and do an overhead lunge. Unless your used to supporting a bar overhead in this grip position it's surprising how little weight you need to create a ton of work for you shoulder stabilizers and core in general.

If you need some other ideas feel free to pm me and I'll get you some more info.

Last note: most folks find that the initial difficulty w/ the way I teach lunges or doing pistols is the balance component. It may take a couple weeks of practice to figure out how to move through the range of motion w/ out falling over.

That's why I like this drill, most people that are active don't have that much trouble lifting their body weight w/ one leg but struggle w/ the coordination aspect. Strength and coordination are 2 separate systems and you need to train both. You can be strong but not have good movement efficiency and then you waste a ton of effort trying to accomplish that movement pattern.

Hope that helps,
BA

Tylerpratt · · Litchfield, Connecticut · Joined Feb 2016 · Points: 40
Ujhbn wrote:Thank you for all replies! I guess I will definitely start doing yoga together with leg strength exercises.
I suggest hitting the rowing machine and running. Box jumping and lightweight lunges will also be very good. Toss on a backpack with 20 lbs in it and go hike some mountains.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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