Simian Boy once gave his thoughts on The Virtues of Down Climbing and now I’m going to add mine…
If you want to get better at climbing, then you have to practice down climbing. Why? Down climbing helps you focus on the one thing most climbers, especially newbie climbers, often forget – your feet. When you down climb, the first thing you think about is: “Where am I going to put my foot?”
Many new climbers often underestimate just how much their legs can do for them when they climb. It has been said that you can tell the difference between a beginner skier and an experienced skier by listening to them complain about the parts of their bodies that ache after a day’s worth of skiing. A beginner skier will complain that their arms ache the most, while an experienced skier will complain that their legs ache the most. Similarly, the first part of a newbie climber’s body to give way in climbing is the arms and that is because they often forget about their legs. To reiterate the fact that many newbie climbers give little value to the power of their legs, you’ll hear many of them offer this statement when citing how they plan to get better at climbing: “Let me build more strength in my arms first.”
Why are your legs so important in climbing?
- The more weight you transfer to your feet, the less mass you have to haul up with your arms – this is great especially if your upper body strength is poor.
- The most common reason why a newbie fails to make it to the next hold is because they can’t reach it or they are unable to get a good purchase on the hold because their too low. Just moving your feet up a few centimeters can be the difference between making it to the next hold and falling off. The most common mistake a newbie makes is that they forget to move their feet up.
Personally, I believe that the greatest virtue of down climbing lies in the fact that it makes you think about your feet and it teaches you to focus on your footwork. So the next time you’re climbing at the gym, try down-climbing a couple of routes. Ideally, you should start with the routes climb as a warm-up.
Happy Climbing!
CG's Diary 