Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

frequently less secure feel, the open-hand position can be trained to become your strongest grip position on all but smallest crimp and incut holds (which require a crimp grip). This grip is most effective on rounded or sloping holds, and particularly when pulling on pockets. If you’re unfamiliar with the open-hand grip, it will feel quite awkward and unlikely at first. But rest assured that your open-hand grip strength will improve quickly with targeted training.
PINCH GRIP
     
    The pinch grip is vital for latching on to protruding holds such as pebbles, tuffas, and opposing edges. Due to the protruding nature of indoor climbing holds, use of the pinch grip is far more common indoors than on natural rock faces. Fortunately, our hands are designed to excel at pinching. Difficulties in using the pinch grip in climbing tend to relate more to the size, smoothness, and positiveness (or lack thereof) of the pinch. Like all the other grips, however, you can improve your use of this grip through targeted training at pinching holds of different shapes, widths, and depths.

Arm Positions and Movements
     
    Regardless of how you grip the rock, it’s the arms that utilize this point of contact to create torque, leverage, and upward movement. Therefore, it’s vital to distinguish between grip position—the point of contact—and the arm position that connects this point of contact to your torso.
     
    Finger Positions

     
    1. Full crimp.
     

     
    2. Half crimp.
     

     
    3. Open hand.
     

     
    4. Pinch grip.
     

    The five primary positions are the down pull, the undercling, the side pull, the reverse side pull or Gaston, and the mantle or press down. As in training the finger positions described above, it’s essential that you incorporate all five arm positions into your training. Later on you’ll learn about System Wall Training, the best method of targeted strength and endurance training for the various arm positions.
DOWN PULL
     
    The down pull is by far the most common arm position used in climbing, as it’s the arm position you would use to ascend a ladder hand-over-hand. With each grip on the rock, the arm begins in a position above your head with the palm facing downward. From this starting position you can either hang straight-arm in a static rest position or pull downward to aid in upward movement. When used to aid in locomotion, the down-pulling arm often concludes its work in the lock-off position typified by the arm bent at an acute angle with the elbow pointing downward and your hand pulled in tight against the side of your chest. This range of motion from the above-the-head, straight-arm position to hand-against-chest lock-off is the single most fundamental arm movement in climbing. Consequently, your strength and endurance at this pulling motion will increase if you simply climb a few days per week. Still, targeted pull-down and lock-off training is useful to accelerate the development of strength and endurance.
UNDERCLING
     
    An inverted, downward-facing handhold demands gripping the usable surface palm-up while contracting the arm muscles with the arm bent in an elbow-down or elbow-back position. In a fashion opposite to executing a down-pull movement, the undercling pull is usually released slowly in an eccentric contraction as you move up the rock. Although many of the muscles used are the same as in down-pulling, strength gains at underclinging largely require training that isolates the arm in this invert position.
SIDE PULL
     
    As the name implies, this arm position involves pulling inward on a hold that’s out to your side and facing away from your body. This position places your arm in a naturally strong position, and thus difficulties in using side pulls often relate to poor body position and foot placement (bad technique) rather than lack of strength. Consequently, the most effective methods of training the side-pull position are those that involve actual climbing. For example, System Wall Training (described later in this chapter) provides highly specific training that fosters improvements in body position and use of the feet while side pulling. Similarly, climbing a gym route using only side-pull arm positions and the associated body and foot techniques is a highly effective form of isolation training.
REVERSE SIDE PULL (AKA GASTON)
     
    The more difficult reverse side pull is called into play in using side-facing edges that are located in front of your body or just above your head. For