How to strengthen your back
Lots of climbing can make your upper body unbalanced. Try these exercises to straighten it out
Push (with the rings set low to the ground)
A variety of push-ups—arms at the side, arms wide, one arm close and one arm wide; alternating shoot-outs—from a push-up position, one arm stays still, while the other goes straight out in front as far as you can, pauses for a second and then returns (five each side).
Pull (with rings set high)
Normal pull-ups; typewriters—pull up, then bring your chin towards the right ring, then the left ring, and continue going back and forth without leaving a locked-off position.
Pull (with rings set just above waist height)
Make your body horizontal by putting your feet on the ground and bending your knees 90 degrees, now pull up with both hands, then let go with one arm and as slowly as you can, lower yourself on one arm (five each arm); reverse push-up—sit on the ground, grab the rings, leaving your feet on the ground straighten your body and pull yourself to the rings aiming for the nipple line, hold, lower slowly until arms are fully extended, pull back up.
No more hunchback
Quasimodo and rock climbers have lots in common. They live on society’s fringe, love locations with a view and, well, they have similarly deformed physiques. “Climbers are notorious hunchbacks,” says Stacey Weldon. If climbers just climb, their upper bodies get unbalanced: the front gets strong but tight, and the back stays relatively weak. It’s a recipe for injuries, says Weldon knowingly. To recover from various shoulder and ligament injuries she focuses on opposition training with gymnastics rings. “I use Power Rings,” she says. “They’re adjustable so you can do a variety of workouts on them.”
