movement habits

Today we are talking about movement habits under the technical pillar of climbing 

Movement habits are tendencies we have when we are on the wall, for example often opting to build your feet up high rather than using the lower feet available.

Or tending to climb slowly and statically rather than making use of momentum in your movement.

Now I first want to say that movement habits aren't necessarily a bad thing. Our movement habits are simply how we tend to solve problems on the wall. These habits are serving a purpose.

I like to think of climbing movements as being on a spectrum rather than a black and white/right or wrong movements.

You don't have to choose between being completely static in your movement or all out dyno-ing every move.

And just because you tend to use high feet doesn't mean you should all of a sudden practice only using low feet.

High feet serve a purpose and there's a time and a place to use them.

However, having the ability to use low feet at your disposal will allow you to solve problems that might not be possible with high feet.

Being a skilled climber ultimately means having access to both ends of the spectrum of different techniques and also knowing when to choose each.

The best place to start to address your movement habits is to first identify them. I recommend filming yourself climbing on a number of different styles and angles then reviewing your videos looking at the following five categories:

• Feet

• Hips

• Shoulders

• Core

• Pacing

Because I want to avoid categorizing things as "right" or "wrong", I encourage you to simply observe what's happening without being critical of yourself.

What trends do you see within and across styles? Are there angles you're clearly more comfortable on? Are there habits you can see regardless of style or angle?

Let me know what trends you find!