Exercise Climber

The rock climber exercise has nothing to do with climbers, despite the similar name. It came to CrossFit from aerobics, and, despite its multiple joints, is not considered basic. In particular, it is used mainly as:

• warming up;
• exercising abdominal muscles;
• as aerobic or cardio.

Note: in the case of using additional weighting materials, it may well be considered as basic.

But with the correct technique of execution, it can amaze even an experienced athlete with its load. What is the secret of the climbing exercise, and who is it for?

An interesting fact: the exercise was successfully used by athletes and dancers during the Soviet school of sports. In particular, it was used as a simplified form of burpee, and the main task was not to train the muscles of the press and leg flexors, but quite the opposite. The exercise performed at a high pace was supposed to increase the strength endurance of future athletes, and most importantly, to strengthen the arms and upper shoulder girdle for static load. Then it was used along with fitballs to improve coordination and training of the oblique abdominal muscles. It was only with the advent of crossfit as a sports revolution that the "climber" acquired its modern form.

What muscles work?

Rock climber exercise works on many muscle groups. Its main advantage is its versatility as it is suitable for both men and women. It will be an ideal start for obese people, because it combines polyjoint and aerobic characteristics. For the complete anatomy of the exercise, see the table below.

As you can see from the table, this exercise uses almost all the muscles on the human body. When using special rubber bands, you can significantly increase the emphasis of the load on the abdominal muscles, or on the leg muscles. Unfortunately, due to the inability to evenly distribute the increased load on the entire body, the climber was included in the list of aerobic exercises.

However, for toning up the body before training, this is the perfect solution.

Note: A load vest can be used to increase the load on the upper shoulder girdle. Full differentiation and amplification of the load is achieved exclusively through the simultaneous use of harnesses and a vest.

Execution technique

Let's take a step by step how to do the exercise correctly. The technique seems extremely simple. However, if at least one of the points is not observed, the climber's benefits of the exercise are significantly reduced.

Consider a technique for beginners and more advanced athletes.

For beginners:

1. Take the classic lying position (hands are at shoulder level, palms parallel to each other).
2. Align the body (no bends or arcs).
3. Slowly pull one leg up.
4. Then lower it to its original position
5. Repeat the operation with the other leg.

For beginners, it is important to follow the correct breathing technique when performing the exercise, and maintain a confident but stable rhythm. Exhale is performed during the active phase of the exercise. While in the negative phase, inhale. In this mode, work until the deltas completely fail. Those. about 60-120 seconds.

For professionals:

Pros often use more sophisticated climber variations. Whether it is a variation with a rotating body, or a two-legged version. But it is possible to complicate the simple technique of the climber's exercise.

1. Take the "grasshopper" support lying - hands are much lower than shoulder level with a narrow setting of the palms.
2. Align the housing.
3. At a fast pace, pull up one leg, touching the knee to the body.
4. Then lower it to its original position.
5. Repeat the operation with the other leg.

In this case, due to the shift in the center of gravity, almost all the load is taken by the abdominal muscles, and the deltas themselves work somewhat more actively, since they are in the highest phase of tension due to the non-standard position.

A more complete technique for the climbing exercise can be seen in the video.

Execution variations

There are several basic types of exercise. Each of which is a more complex version of a simple "climber".

It:

• Two-legged climber - allows you to shift the load on the legs, and harder to use the heart muscles.
• Climber with a turn of the body - maximum load on the muscles of the press and core.
• The bent climber is an extreme option for those looking for powerful front deltas.
• Climber with a load - helps to work out all muscle groups more, in addition, develops an explosive speed, which is useful when running.

Let's look at the technique of each as it gets more complicated.

Two-footed rock climber

The two-legged climber is designed to take stress off the oblique abdominal muscles. Instead, the leg muscles are additionally trained for explosive strength.

How to do it correctly? Everything is very simple (but this does not mean that the exercise is simple):

• Take an emphasis lying - hands are above head level, parallel to each other with a wide grip).
• Maintain slight deflection in the body (no more than 10 degrees).
• At a fast pace (in a jumping style), pull both legs to the body, and then at the same pace return them to their original position.

In fact, in this case, the athlete imitates the movement of a frog, and a high pace and full use of the leg muscles increases the heart rate in comparison with a simple climber by about 25-30%.

Note: When working with this style of exercise, it is recommended to use a heart rate monitor in order not to exceed the maximum allowed heart rate. Since in case of excess, the benefits of doing it are leveled by the increased load on the heart, which, when working at a certain heart rate, receives microtraumas, leading to the "sports heart" syndrome.

Climber with body turn

This is another variation of the exercise that significantly reduces the load on the leg muscles while maximizing the use of the core and abdominals, especially the obliques and lateral abdominal muscles.

How to do it right?

1. Take the "grasshopper" support lying - hands are much lower than shoulder level with a narrow setting of the palms.
2. Align the housing.
3. At a fast pace, pull up one leg, touching the knee to the body.
4. At the moment of pulling up the legs, turn the body in the direction of the turn.
5. Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds.
6. Expand the body to its original position with the return of the leg.

In this case, the climber is considered to be doing the abdominal exercise.. Therefore, it can be used in combination with burpees, or with other sets of exercises that involve the oblique and lateral abdominal muscles.

To complicate the exercise, professionals, when turning the body, extend their arm upward, leaving their weight on the 1st leg and 1st arm. In this case, additional emphasis is formed in the athlete's deltas.

Climber on bent arms

This variation is almost identical to the classic exercise with the exception of one small nuance. To maximize the load on the deltas and triceps, the arms in the initial position do not rest on the joints, but slightly bend (as in the first phase of push-ups) and remain in this position until the end of the approach. This increases the load on the entire shoulder girdle and makes the exercise technically difficult.

Training programs

The climber is a versatile exercise that is suitable not only for beginners, but also for professionals. Wide differentiation in technique turns it into a full-fledged basic complex that engages almost all muscles in the body. At the same time, in the absence of additional weighting, it is almost impossible for them to be injured.

Important: remember that a whole complex is hidden under one name. Therefore, when drawing up your own program, carefully look at the "view" column so as not to get unnecessary load in the complex.

Recommendations

Rock climber is one of the basic exercises in the framework of the CrossFit system. Because it complies with all its principles:

• working out the main muscle groups;
• the ability to work at a high pace for the progression of the load;
• the possibility of complication;
• low injury risk.

Various assumptions can be made about the benefits of exercise for the climber. In particular, by itself, it is ineffective and requires preliminary fatigue of muscle groups with other basic exercises. It is especially effective to perform the exercise after the "Roman chair" with a dumbbell behind the head. In this case, the muscles of the core and rectus abdominis muscle almost completely drop out of the exercise, and the load directly falls on the oblique muscles.

If for some reason a person does not have the opportunity to visit the fitness center to do CrossFit, it is recommended to buy a load vest and harnesses.

In this case, with the help of a rock climber, you can really work out the whole body, and the load will be comparable to a full-fledged bodybuilder in the gym. The harnesses will provide additional work on the muscles of the abs and legs, while the load vest will evenly distribute the weight, increasing the load on the shoulder girdle.

A climber with harnesses will not only allow you to pump your legs strongly, but will also give a very unusual effect - in particular, this is a significant increase in running speed.

Watch the video: Maxi Climber a Scam? My Review (May 2025).