Best Core Workout for Climbers

[@JelleVermandere]

My abs hurt after watching this video

[@airsvenson]

This is unbelievable hard to do for a beginner. I’m sorry but as a fysiotherapist/starter climber I do not think this is starter friendly enough. Just hangin for more then 10 seconds with good core tension and shoulder/upperbody activation is really heavy for most people let alone people that have shoulder or lower back problems. What would you recommend to the starters in the boulder/climbing world?

[@Popcornio]

Core exercises on the ground like crunches, situps, leg raises, planks, ect.

[@luketufts6827]

Hanging leg raises are good for beginners 👍 this video definitely has a lot of advanced exercises. In general, beginners should just focus on climbing and that’s typically enough of a workout in itself 🙃 (plus you want to go easy on your muscles and especially your tendons when starting out, wouldn’t want to get injured)

[@fuzz6263]

I love your videos a lot but as a beginner this is absolutely useless for me.

[@hotjohn4321]

Hey man, I really love your channel but from my personal experience all of these exercises are heavily limited by shoulder strength. Most people training for the front lever start to hit roadblocks around advanced tuck / piked straddle on account of the demands on the lats and upper back --- the core in this position isn't under particularly intense load. For the tuck planche I would say this is even more severe, with the front delts screaming and the abs working much as in a hanging knee raise. I would propose finding exercises which tax the core much as in the mentioned exercises, but with shoulders taken mostly out of the equation --- thus, *dragon flags* for the anterior chain, *(reverse) hyperextensions* for the posterior chain, and then *leg raises* or *L sits* to work on compression strength. In my view these exercises are still compound, in that they work whole-core stability rather than just isolating e.g. the abs, and they also tick the 'high intensity' box, at least when performed in advanced variations. Crucially, they push the core to the extreme, not the upper body.

[@marvelleonline]

very well articulated

[@elijahnaz11]

Make a video! Id watch it!

[@aydinsha]

This video is basically advanced moves that 90-99% of people wouldn't be able to do.

[@chloroticaelysia1520]

I've been looking for a decent video on this recently. You come to the rescue!

[@JustinMarsan]

Very few of these exercises seem very applicable to climbing or core intensive... Front lever is a lot harder on the lats and shoulders than on the core for instance... Back lever doesn't seem to be applicable at all... Windshield wipers and the like are better, as a lot of core engagement in climbing is anti rotational, but hanging from the hands adds a lot of unnecessary difficulty on the arms and shoulders and there are so many ways to do those wrong, while you could get the same benefits from doing those on the floor or doing weighted russian twists for example. L Sit and Tuck planche are not very applicable to climbing either... That kind of range of motion for difficult moves is very rare and the tuck planche is much more about shoulder strength than core... The actual full planche is quite a challenge and requires a lot of lower back strength, but to get anywhere near this feat one would need months of calisthenics training that wouldn't improve their climbing much... In my opinion most of the core engagement in climbing is more similar to variations of planks on the floor that introduce rotation, either by moving yourself, or by removing contacts on the ground to create imbalances that the core corrects, but these quickly becore too easy. The next best thing is to do specific drills for core on the wall, which I like to do as my warmup. They include exercises like straight arm climbing, which requires lot of twisting to do moves, static climbing that forces core engagement for stability in moves that would have been easy to do dynamically otherwise. Cutting feet very time on overhang is nice for feet recovery, and many other drills like that that can be done on easy terrain to specifically target the core engagement of climbing !

[@siccodewilt1]

I love you dude :) Edit: I have never ever seen the meat hook before. Always cool to see something new.

[@derWein]

Do you have any tips how as a climber I should train core with an injured hand?

[@6darkness6eternal6]

Really good video! Would you consider doing a video on exclusively posterior chain exercises in the future? While these are all useful for getting your feet to distant footholds, doesn't the posterior chain play a much bigger role in actually engaging and pulling your hips in on overhanging terrain?

[@psychedelephant7767]

I'm curious why you cued shoulder "protraction" during the L sit? I think keeping shoulders in a neutral position would be best (between protraction / retraction).

[@movementforclimbers]

Really good question. From what I know, keeping the scapula protracted will allow you to scoot your hips back further, which in turn lets you compress deeper into the L sit. This is especially useful if you are using the L sit to transition to something like a tuck planche or handstand. Hope that helps!

[@seros222]

Best videos, thx. Love combination of calisthenics and climbing. Would u recommend also a hangboard for Finger strength? And how does a typical training week for u look like?

[@philonhands5126]

Where is the best core exercise? Straight legs toes to bar.

[@movementforclimbers]

Those are killer.

[@danieljuntana]

As somebody who could do all those techniques before starting with climbing (those are aerial straps and rings techniques), I don't see how you could need such specific movements for climbing or how they help. They are all very focused in the shoulder position and stay static, rather than applied core trainings that involve proprioception with small movements. And on top of that, you are not talking about the proper shoulder position in meathook which is the most important for begginers to avoid injury.

[@proboom9]

doesn't front lever benefit you when you climb overhang? I would like to know how do you suggest to train core trainings that involve proprioception with small movements?

[@danieljuntana]

@@proboom9 sure it would benefit to learn to stay hanging there, but if you want to continue going up, I would reccomend exercises like one arm hanging very low, body horizontal, with one feet sitting on a chair or block so that it you are horizontal at shoulder height, and then trying to twist the body until you can look over your shoulder, that why you train psicomotricity, balance, strenght in the shoulder and engages the core as well. Other way could be hanging, from one or two arms, and trying to touch the hands with the feet, from the sides. if this is too easy, then with the hip retroversed. that way you learn to keep the core mobile while in tension. does this work for you?

[@proboom9]

@@danieljuntana its sound good. I try to imagine my body position follow your instruction. The movement its like climbing with bar instead of holds. ty

[@danieljuntana]

@@proboom9 exactly! That's how training should be, in my opinion, with movements that are directly related to what you want to learn. Training each muscle independently only goes so far, is like training halterofilia to learn acrobatics, it misses the big picture.

[@aydinsha]

This should be titled "Advanced Core Workouts for Climbers Already in Peak Condition". Lol 90% of climbers won't be able to incorporate these into their training. If you're looking at average people getting into climbing it's prob 99.9%.

[@clarence-theregularcat7708]

How about shoulder strength and scalpular movement? they are mentioned in the video but I think they deserve more attention as it is a common problem for climbers to not train these correctly. My personal exerience with these kind of exercise is that for many the misconception is, that people rely too much on their front part of their body while neglecting their neck.

[@DDoesT]

Any recommendations for climbers that are just starting out?

[@Idyllic-Fibers]

Initially I was scoffing at how difficult these exercises looked…but then I hopped on the bar and discovered I could do a skin the cat and a straddle front lever hold. Thank you for the inspiration to be bold!

[@lianneoneill3431]

What if I can't even do the 1st progression of front lever where you align your hips with shoulders? I can't get my hips up that high so how do I work towards that?

[@ShinSakuraNoMai]

One fundamental strength you however need for usng the bar is grip stregth as well. You need to be able to hand on it for that long.

[@buckrogers9659]

Dear God! And I thought a two minute sustained plank was good!

[@LaitoChen]

lol, what happened to planks and leg raises? I'm going to dislocate my shoulders doing these

[@ltp1019]

I can always rely on your videos for applied help, thanks so much, now i gotta do it tho :/

[@lucadellasciucca967]

The title should be best back, shoulder, chest workout fo climbers!

[@hilikustue]

The Back Lever seems rather pointless (very limited application in climbing) and therefore unneccessary dangerous to your shoulders. There are far superior movements if you want to strenghten the posterior chain and improve shoulder stability and mobility without endangering your shoulder health imho.

[@smishstudio]

You break down the steps so clearly that I’m convinced I might actually be able to do the front/back lever one day 😁🙏🏻

[@maldeventre]

Can you do it now after 3 years?

[@Tantrixmusic]

Any chance of exercises that can be done at home? For all levels?

[@tommym875]

I love your videos. Always so well produced and well thought out. It might not really be in the scope of your channel, but I’d love to hear any of your thoughts on nutrition. I imagine you have some keen insights there.

[@designnclimb]

Meat hook is goal! Thank you!!

[@paytonthomas8441]

I gotta save this one and refer to it every time I try these 🤩

[@ER110176]

Nice Video. How about a Vid about Hip mobility?

[@mihkelhint]

Is it normal that all these staples for core workout barely seem to work my core and are all about my shoulders instead? All my front lever work seems to be entirely on my shoulders, my shoulders give in way before the lever gets too hard for my core. But even other stuff. For example I like ab rollouts on rings, but that's like 75% shoulders 25% core for me. If I really wanna feel just core I do smth like hanging leg raises, but only from deadhang to L-hang and hold it there. Because if I keep going to toes to bar with my legs in control, then because I don't have the pike flexibility of a contortionist, the upper part of that movement becomes kind of like advanced tuck front lever raise, which for me is like 85% shoulders 15% core movement once again. I've been working on this stuff and also my shoulder mobility etc for about a year now and noticed no change on this stuff yet, so it always confuses me when people keep talking how 'this and that works core' and they are all these shoulder exercises lol

[@clown5911]

Try banana boats. Hold a hollow body hold with your arms over head (shape your body like a banana), and rock forward and back. Don't lift your arms or legs too high off the ground and try not to use them for momentum. After 30-60 seconds of that my abs are on fire. Add them to whatever other core excercises you like. I like v-sit/v-sit extension/v-ups, ~90 degree hanging leg raise, ring knee tucks, banana boat, excercise ball circles, excercise ball pikes, bird dogs, supermans, curl-up, side plank, and a few others. Them I just mix and match different ones so I don't get bored

[@fritzbox6764]

7:05 And, depending on your proportions and weight, already a decent amount of shoulder strength. 😁

[@molomono9481]

At 90kg 187cm, yeah it's a bitch. There is a really good core element that can be substituted in though, which is where you do a Pseudo Planche Lean and then drag your feet into a pike while pressing down very hard from the shoulders and keeping the legs straight. Just do this for reps at a slow speed, it requires a smooth surface with some slippery socks or a suspension trainer to slide your feet around. It gives you much more core activation than planches and also trains compression, which is something that allows you to step high without cramping your abs.

[@Loetmen73]

Hey man, I don't know if you remember me (Rodellar, Spain) 😉 Ur videos are great, thanks a lot, I'm proud of what u do ! I hope see you again, maybe in USA, who know ? Bisous

[@chumkrimson8161]

I don't think front levers are a good core exercise. front levers are mostly back and shoulder strength.

[@psychedelephant7767]

I totally agree, however this is a set of core exercises specifically for climbing. Therefore integrating core strength with back / shoulder strength is really beneficial.

[@Oljyttybasisti]

As a bodyweight hobbyist I have to say your progressions feel absolutely ridiculous. From 3x10s tuck to straddle? Not even remotely possible in my case. Perhaps its different if you are lean.

[@1stLineCenter]

Do you have any diet tips for climbers? I’ve recently cut back on animal protein and replaced it with legume. I’m interested in when the best time is to eat ie. before or after workout and which foods are best for before and after.

[@Erandieux]

Do you mean scapula retracted on the back lever instead of protracted?

[@artiomkocharov5384]

Well the thing is.. I've been climbing seriously for about 6 months and on top of that doing calisthenics every session or so. What happens is that you end up being decent at both. With that said, you can climb 6B-6C+ but not 7s and you can do some very basic calisthenic skills like frontlever, backlever, tucked planche and other stupid moves. In the end I stopped climbing and went all in on calisthenics and by doing so, I have been able to push through the basic level of calisthenics in only six months which makes sense because when you focus on one thing, you become good at it. Now, sure you could give people advice on doing these exercises but from my experiece doing both climbing and calisthenics very seriously for a longer period of time I consider that advice quite meh today. Bare with me, I'm assuming that you want to become very good at what you do. I don't mean decent, I mean good as in on a international level. Sure, if you want to have fun once every week with your friends then go for it. But if you really want to become very good at what you do, just focus on that and do alot of research to maximize your development in that area. Don't run around like a confused chicken if you are here to be great. Sure there are some exercises that will help you gain strength for climbing but if I were to go back to climbing again I would only climb most of the time. Do different type of walls, work on the technique and do some intense hangboard hanging because we all know, fingers is the key to the grades of 7 and over. Be careful though, hangboards are only for those who have been climbing very hard for 2 years or more. Same thing with moonboard, at least one year. Hangboard, moonboard and climbing different walls very intensively is probably the fastest way to reach the grade of 7C+. I can handle my bodyweight around 140%/100 and I struggled very much as soon as I tried a grade 7. I realized it was not about technique anymore, nor was it about being able to hang for 30 minutes. It became quite clear that to unlock the next level I needed finger strength. Not only a little but an immense amount. If you take a closer look at people who can climb 7s and higher, they can basically all do frontlevers with fingers! not with a full comfortable grip but fingers. Especially those who climb 8s and there you have the key to being a god in climbing. Good luck.

[@qweasd9153]

I agree with you. Why spend time learning those skills based calisthenics' movements when you could just stick with the basic to work the antagonist muscles and core. Dips, push ups, rings chest flys, front lever, horizontal row and pull ups variations should be enough to train all the upper body muscles for climbing. The rest of the time should be spent on the climbing wall or climbing specific training like hangboard and campus board. Learning how to planche, handstand and other advance cali moves are counterproductive, do it for fun, not to be a better climber.

[@karla.vicc95]

I climb 8s and can barely do any of these. I'm naturally skinny and have crazy strong fingers. However, I struggle on steep 7s. I guess we have to train everything xD

[@luketufts6827]

Wow! Maybe your gym/area is really hard, because I would think that someone with those calisthenics abilities would be able to climb 7a+ or 7b pretty easily. I climb around 7c/7c+ in the gym, and I can’t even do the front lever straddle properly. And I have weak fingers compared to most people who climb my grade 🤔

[@luketufts6827]

@Karla Vlatković Overhangs are awesome

[@karla.vicc95]

Heinous slabs for me it is!

[@jonbonhoagie5202]

this channel kicks ass

[@tomf8627]

I can do a tuck front lever no problem, but can't do even one piked straddle front lever. No idea how to break through that plateau...

[@hudder92]

I believe you gotta train it every other day, or everyday if you can. I have the full front lever and I trained it every other day with some grease the groove every now and then. But the most important is to be patient. It's not a skill that comes easily. Took me 20 months to get to a 3 second hold with good form.

[@luketufts6827]

I would say just try to pike a little more, of course I don’t know exactly what your form looks like

[@mauricioalfaro9406]

No equipment pandemic routine please!

[@luketufts6827]

I believe he already has one of those

[@MrWhoabuddy]

cant believe how many commercials were packed into a 9min video...holy cow

[@michaellim4125]

You should do a follow along next!! 💛

[@stasdemchuk5272]

awesome

[@movieman404]

Do these exercises also work with rings?

[@nicrosser1428]

Dude just do 2x5 or 5x2 ankles to bar if it gets easy put on heavy boots or go slower . All the time you save can be spent figuring out beta on your projects.

[@Crazyben505]

For the reps i need to hold it 10 seconds but if I can hold it 10 seconds then I should progress?, I dont get it

[@Phierix]

Thanks for this new video! I really appreciate the way you get into a new topic, very professional and didactic. Each time you present something I've never really wanted to practice before (handstand, rings, now core workout,...), you get me very interested to get into it. Keep moving beter and climbing harder! ;-)

[@imxd9698]

SO… what is the actual routine here?

[@luketufts6827]

This is just working towards different skills, so if you are doing a core workout, do like 3 sets of each at whatever stage you’re at

[@imxd9698]

@@luketufts6827 how many reps? why 3 sets?

[@luketufts6827]

@Im XD he gives the sets and reps in the video, they’re on screen while he is performing each exercise. If I had to guess why he says 3 sets, it would be because these exercises are generally high intensity so more sets might be too hard, but also to focus on building strength over muscle mass, as is beneficial for climbers. I’m not a doctor, just trying to help 🙂

[@marvelleonline]

That gym is ELITE

[@hayleymilne3083]

Great tips and progressions! Thanks for another Brilliant video!

[@Gindeshanghai]

😍😍😍

[@pbazzz]

Great video once again!

[@stuartjohnson7930]

very strong!

[@JamesCT153]

Awesome vid man!

[@codyheiner3636]

Fantastic!

[@madgreenpea]

So is it necessary for me to be able to do "skin the cat"? I have dislocated both my shoulders several times and that looks terrifying for me to try.

[@brendan.perdue]

If the movement poses injury risk then no, it would not be worth working toward it prior to trying the following exercises. As long as you can maintain adequate shoulder control and posture during the other exercises then using them to train core should be ok, but no specific training movement is worth a risk of injury

[@luketufts6827]

I thought it would be more straining than it is.. you know your own body best, though, so do what you think is safe

[@jd2722]

My planks and crunches are no good :/

[@luketufts6827]

Just gotta work on it! Good luck 👍

[@BigDickMark]

These don't seem like entry level core exercises. What's a good core routine for a V2/V3 climber?