There’s no such thing as too much core strength in climbing.  Having a strong core allows us to keep our hips into the wall, transfer weight through our feet on steep terrain, hold swings, and general move efficiently on rock.  Luckily as well, core training has a pretty low risk of injury so it’s something you can do a lot of.

To keep core workouts as fresh as possible, here’s an article from Eric Hörst of Training for Climbing that highlights the core exercise windshield wipers.

“This [windshield wipers] is a fantastic—and relatively difficult—exercise that targets the abdominals, obliques, and all the muscles of the upper torso and shoulders. Initially, it may take you a few tries to get the hang of this exercise, but motor learning and technique gains will come quickly! After a few workouts, you’ll feel a noticeable difference in your climbing-specific core strength…and perhaps you’ll come to agree with me that this is your new favorite core exercise!” – Eric Hörst

Windshield Wipers Core Exercise:

Windshield wipers are a fairly difficult core exercise, but are extremely useful in that they don’t just work your abdominals and instead require you to use your complete core to do them properly.

In his article, Hörst does a great job of outlining exactly how to do windshield wipers even including some great cues to help make sure you are doing them properly.  Click through below to learn all about windshield wipers and then be sure to try them out during your next training session!

Full Article: Training for Climbing – Windshield Wipers Core Exercise

(photo courtesy of trainingforclimbing.com)

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• Bouldering Training: Free Core Strength Workout
• Complete Core Training with Eric Hörst
• Anderson Brothers Core Training
• Ask Kris 005 :: Improving Core Strength for Climbing