Crushing Tip #21
Stand Up
You’ve undoubtedly heard the advice: keep your arms straight! But, of course, you can’t keep your arms straight the whole time or you wouldn’t be able to flex them to pull yourself upward.
When you’re hanging on holds, indeed, it’s a good idea to keep your arms straight. But the second part of this advice that’s left out is how to begin initiating your upward movement. Typically, beginners will initiate the move with their arms, pulling themselves up. Instead, try to always initiate your upward movement with your legs. Keep your arms straight and move yourself upward by pressing with your feet. Eventually, you’ll have to flex your arms, but try to do so only after you’ve initiated the upward movement with the legs–even if it’s just a little bit.
Teach yourself what this feels like by climbing easy routes in the gym. Hang from straight arms and try to drive yourself upward as far as you can by high-stepping your feet and using only your leg muscles to stand up on every hold.
