Yoga for climbing: more flexible – and stronger in your flexibility

Be the most flexible version of yourself

Imagine you’re hanging from some really poor holds and there’s only one solution: a hook that’s brilliant, but unfortunately very high up. So you have to lift your heel right up (flexibility) and then push your weight upwards via that foothold (strength). In this situation, you’re generating strength at the very limits of your individual flexibility. A prime example: Margo Hayes on her ascent of ‘La Rambla’.

Yoga is therefore something of a foundation for ‘supple’ climbing – because it involves strength exercises performed at the limits of your maximum flexibility.

Training beyond the maximum possible range of motion

In exercise science, this is similar to training the ROM (range of motion): you strengthen the muscle across its entire range of motion, which varies from person to person depending on their musculature and joint structure. Training across the full ROM means contracting the muscle from its maximum stretched position to its maximum shortened position.

This offers significant benefits for building strength:

• The muscles are activated along their entire distance.
• Stretching under load provides a stimulus for muscle growth.
• The muscle stretch reflex triggers an additional contraction.

In short: the combination of stretching and activation is ideal for building larger and stronger muscles. In yoga, this is precisely what you do – holding your maximum individual stretch positions whilst applying force to maintain the pose.

In short: yoga makes us more flexible – and all the stronger for it.

Exercises for climbers who love a challenge

Yoga teacher Nici from Ländle Yoga recommends these poses:

• Peacock (Sanskrit: Mayurasana)
• Side Crow – also known as Eka Pada Koundinyasana; even more challenging on a SUP board
• Rock Star – also known as Wild Thing or Camatkarasana

Other recommended exercises:

• Side Plank
• Reverse Plank
• Handstand variations
• Headstand variations

Breathing: a key element in both yoga and climbing

The second argument in favour of practising yoga regularly concerns breathing – it plays a key role in both disciplines. The yogic concept behind this is pranayama, a term derived from prana (life energy) and yama (control). Put simply: pranayama is the practice of controlling life energy.

In a yoga class, a teacher guides you towards correct breathing – when climbing, you have to teach yourself.

If you want to practise proper breathing, you can follow the structure of a yoga session. Step one: direct your focus inwards through deep abdominal breathing. Step two: apply the correct breathing pattern whilst under strain during movement to climb more efficiently. In this way, breathing becomes an integral part of a successful climb.

The breathing pattern of climbing

• Easy sections and rest points: Your breathing should be deep. Diaphragmatic breathing plays a key role here – especially when you’re trying to catch your breath on a good hold.
• Strenuous stretches: Your breathing becomes faster; ideally, your climbing movements do too. It often becomes shallower as a result. Caution: Pure chest breathing leads to acidosis in the long run, as the lactate produced anyway is removed even less efficiently. So make sure to take deep breaths even at a higher rate.
• Crux and maximum-effort moves: Here, you tend to hold your breath – because it feels more stable and allows you to exert maximum effort. The downside: waste products such as lactate are cleared away less effectively, which severely impairs your overall performance. Sports science therefore advises breathing out even during powerful strokes.

Proper breathing also shifts your focus – away from ‘Get the party started’ playing in your ears, and towards the rock: noticing your footholds, anticipating your movements. This fosters a positive mindset and the conviction that you’ll make it through the move.

Three breathing exercises

• Abdominal breathing, even in everyday life: breathe in deeply – hold your breath – breathe out deeply. This works best whilst lying down, for example before going to sleep.
• Alternate nostril breathing: breathe in through the left nostril, hold your breath, breathe out through the right; breathe in through the right nostril, hold your breath, breathe out through the left. Close the opposite nostril with your thumb or middle finger, whilst resting your index finger on your forehead.
• Rapid breathing: breathe in slowly and breathe out in quick bursts through your nose.

And if you’re still not convinced: have a look at the video of Adam Ondra’s ascent of ‘Silence’. Then it should be clear what to do. On that note – happy yoga!