Why Flexibility Matters More in Bouldering Than Most People Expect

When people – including new climbers – are asked what it takes to be good at bouldering, their usual answers are skills and strength (specifically, grip strength, pulling strength, and core strength). Observers can often see all those things. What’s often missing from the list is flexibility. More experienced climbers and coaches will say that flexibility is an underrated factor in determining whether someone will make progress at bouldering or plateau and fail to improve.

In bouldering, the body needs to go into some specific problem positions that have nothing to do with brute strength. In bouldering, particularly in high foot placement-type moves, having more range of motion helps. It helps keep the hips close to the wall despite high foot placement. It helps in accessing holds far out of your range of motion by rotating your hips to reach for those holds. Flexibility can also help in lowering the body into a deep drop-knee. This gives the climber a more linear way of moving through the problem. For Bouldering Cheltenham, visit https://www.270climbing.com

A climber with limited hip flexibility and tight hamstrings will likely try to make those moves using nothing but raw pulling power, strength, and energy. But as most people know, that will not get you very far. Instead of using strength, someone with better flexibility can use a flexibility-assisted technique to get to the hold.

Flexibility may also help reduce injury risk. It helps the body go into the required positions without straining it or putting it under effort due to compensation and tension.

Climbers who make quick progress in the gym are not always the strongest at that gym.