Purpose:
The purpose of this one is twofold:
- To develop body tension through the ‘connective chain’
- To enhance footwork skills on steeper ground
Where: on a systems board/spray wall
You’ll need a wall with lots of holds for this one. Systems boards, like a Kilter Board, work quite well but best is a dense spray wall.
When: during the Learning Window
It is possible to run this drill at any point in your session, depending on how difficult you make it but the Learning Window is probably optimal as you will learn the most during this phase
Take particular care if completing during the Options section. While it is possible, you do risk injury after a tough session
The Drill:
On your selected wall, choose two footholds low down. Where they exist, the kick board is ideal. Gold standard would be to begin with a true sitting start but you’ll need to work with what you’ve got.
- Grasp two handholds to suit you
- While keeping your feet on the same holds, work your hands higher and higher up the wall until you either fall off or cannot reach higher
- Repeat
VARIANT: adjust the size of the footholds, not just to make it easier but to develop ability to stand on different types of holds as well
The Outcome: How do you know when it’s working?
Over time, you should find that you become much better at keeping your feet on the wall when on steeper terrain. You may also find your core strength increases as a consequence