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Wednesday, January 13,2010

What's the best warm up before bouldering?

Answered by Coach Stephen Spaeth

By NYFS Experts
At long last I think I have found a sport that works for me, but never having been into other sports or athletic training of any variety, do you have any recommendations on the best way to warm up before bouldering (a.k.a., rock climbing)?—Leanne, 13, Battery Park City

So stoked to hear you found bouldering and it works for you! A proper warm up can really make the difference in your performance and will help prevent injury, so I am glad you asked about it. Before you start any activity, it is great to get the heart pumping and the blood flowing a little bit. Try jumping rope, doing jumping jacks or any aerobic exercise for a few minutes. After the blood is flowing, do some arm circles, forwards and backwards, and then do a full body stretch.

If you are unfamiliar with stretching, I highly suggest getting a book to teach you about proper technique. Stretching with the proper technique can be the difference between preventing injury and causing it, so it is very important to learn how to stretch properly at a young age.

After you are nice and limber, you can start bouldering, but only climb the problems that are very easy for you. After you have done a few climbs that are easy and well within your climbing ability, you should feel your climbing muscles being worked out but not enough to make you tired. You are now warmed up and ready to climb hard. Remember these steps: get the heart pumping a bit, stretch it all out, climb easy, and then climb hard. Hope this helps and have fun!

Bio:
Stephen Spaeth is a four time All-American athlete and has taught hundreds of people how to swim, play water polo, kiteboard, and rock climb. He recently co-founded Brooklyn Boulders, NYC’s only dedicated rock climbing facility, and can be found spending his free time rock climbing, heliboarding and surfing hurricane swell.

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I found some really good pieces of advice in the book Proper warm-up for body builders I'd like to share. A good brisk walk-in will act as a general warm-up and pulse raiser. Work a bit on mobility of major joints (hips and shoulders especially) for easier routes; they will tend not to place too much stress on the body. If the climb is harder think about the major stress points involved and warm up and mobilise fingers and forearms especially (finger damage is very common amongst climbers) with some stretching. Try some easy bouldering before launching on to a hard route or even a couple of easy warm-up routes. Basically aerobic activity / loosen joints / stretch soft tissues; for routes that will not stress the body too much you don't need to go mad, for harder routes the better you warm-up the better you will climb and the less damage you will do.

 

 
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