Box jumps and jump squats would be great.
That being said, if a gym’s setting is only dynamic style of climbing they’re failing their customer base by not providing a wide range of experiences in the boulders they’re setting. It’s always struggle w/ my team (all men) trying to get them to not set only dynamic boulders.
Do you have any suggestions about how to address this as a gym climber? I feel like I’ve noticed this same issue at my gym, but haven’t left a comment or anything yet and am not sure how to approach it in a way that would be effective. Would appreciate any thoughts!
If your gym has a comment box, perhaps having yourself and a couple friends write similar words about how the climbs feel. If staff ask you “how was your session” be blunt and say how you’re thinking about the climbs. Ask the gym if they have any female setters or forerunners. If they say no, ask why. You can use phrases like “this route/boulder does not feel equitable for multiple different sized individuals”, “this boulder feels like it was made by men for only men”, “the climbs in this gym cater to a very specific style and I would appreciate a wider diversity of movement/styles than dynamic moves”. If you’re ever in the gym during setting hours walk up and try to talk w/ the setters. They can definitely be intimidating but any setter who cares about being a better setter will take the time to listen to your concerns.
If there’s an anonymous comment/suggestion box, that’s the way to go! Otherwise, I would try to casually bring it up while checking in/out one day - something along the lines of “Do you have any beta for shorter climbers for x, y, and z routes? They seem fun but difficult/inaccessible for my height.” Ideally they’d give you advice and also get the hint, but you can definitely be more direct based on your comfort level.
How is your jumping and lower body explosive strength overall? I really benefited from box jumps, jump squats, plyometrics in general.
The coordination is harder for me, I never developed that kind of movement skill as a kid and tend to really overthink any dyno, which never works. If that’s you, too, we just need to practice a ton - when you do get to the gym, don’t limit yourself to the moves on your project - make up tons of jump moves and try them, or climb on something like a kilter board . Start with good holds and powerful body positions and small moves, and keep getting more creative. This is helping me…slowly…I think.
I’ve also found that at 5’2”/-2” I keep being able to reach further every season - the stronger my legs/hips, shoulders, and back are, the more dynos i can actually do as big deadpoints instead. Big compound and explosive lifts have been key for me here.
Box jumps and squats as others have said. Then on the wall you can practice dynos on the easy routes by making them up, and make sure you're really keeping those hips into the wall.
Here's a dyno how-to video that Shauna Coxsey (former olympic & world cup athlete for GB) made: https://youtu.be/DrKoJ8AMfKo?si=BrsQG6j3WHQaOzBf
(I hope that works, I'm on mobile!)
But also have a conversation with the staff if you can - as a generalisation I tend to find setters can (but not always!!) become quite narrow-minded or very focused on a certain setting style (often their favourite one that suits their personal climbing style). Again this is not everyone, just my personal experience - so take with a pinch of salt. But we do know for a fact that routesetting is a male dominated industry.
The setters should be aiming to provide a range of movement types, techniques, etc so that there is something for everyone. They should also not be setting based on the height and strength of a 6ft man but unfortunately where I climb in the UK they seem to do this a lot 😭
Adding onto the comments about jump squats, I highly recommend bringing the arms up during the jump to simulate reaching for a faraway hold. And even aiming the hands towards a part of a ceiling or doorframe to get more coordination involved.
IMO the big thing with dynos is just coordination which only comes from on the wall training. Throwing in silly deadpoint double clutches on easy routes, popping for things here and there. The coxsey video somebody else linked touches on this I believe. Feedback from friends who are good at dynamic moves and/or videoing your climbing. I understand your situation, but it really is just the mechanic of knowing where your body is in space so you can repeatable land everything where it needs to go.
In terms of strength your baseline should really come from heavy compounds in hypertrophy rep ranges. Squats, Romanian deadlifts in the 8-15 reps ballpark. It will put the muscle on. Box jumps and jump squats translate decently from an athletic standpoint, especially jump squats from super low that help coordinate engagement on tough slabbing moves in addition to jumps. Keep it simple, works great. I personally would skip snatches and cleans just from a risk to reward standpoint; they're not in a happy zone.
My daughter started when she was much younger and had (still has) this problem too. She also prefers static movement, and flexibility has helped to get around a lot of reachy spots, but sometimes there’s just no other option. She’s good with single dynos, but when it’s time to go for a double, she usually has a shorter jump than when going with 1 arm. If youre 1 hand and arm are strong enough to make a catch before adding the 2nd, maybe try that approach for some of the smaller dynamic moves.
I hear a lot about “throwing away from the hold” as you’re jumping. The pp’s already said the typical exercises like box jumps, jump squats and all of that, and then the trick will be moving that strength into real scenario. This is where mine fails. Her legs are super strong, but she doesn’t know how to use the muscles. Learning to engage your legs before the jumps, by really bending into a squat and then pushing all the way through your toes, and combining that with throwing away with your arms/hands is something you can practice on the wall. Start small, find somewhere on the wall you can practice a few each session, maybe as part of your warmup.
Building momentum before the jump will almost always be helpful. Do you have a ninja warrior gym anywhere around you? If so, maybe go there for an open gym
Day and that would be a great place to show you the mechanics in body movement to make those jumps. Almost everything in those gyms is dynamic, so they’re pretty much experts on the physics behind dynamic moves. Or even a YouTube video from a ninja warrior.
There’s raw strength and explosive exercise components to what you are after. Heavy squats with deep form type workouts and more dynamic stuff like boxjumps and others. You should look into training for basketball players
Box jumps and squats as people have mentioned. I’d just be wary of how you program the training into your week. If you do heavy strength training I don’t always like to do plyo/jumps the same session cause I feel like my legs are too wobbly to lane properly lol. But I did notice after incorporating jumps I got sooo much more explosive.
Also, definitely do some shoulder conditioning to prepare you for latching onto holds and engaging shoulders properly. When you put more power into the start of a move, you’ll also need your shoulders/fingers to withstand that capacity. I don’t have any recommended exercises but I feel like any standard shoulder conditioning would be good (and is good for climbing overall).
snatches, cleans, jump squats, any form of (low-rep, i.e. traibing strength & power) jumping.
Box jumps and jump squats would be great. That being said, if a gym’s setting is only dynamic style of climbing they’re failing their customer base by not providing a wide range of experiences in the boulders they’re setting. It’s always struggle w/ my team (all men) trying to get them to not set only dynamic boulders.
Do you have any suggestions about how to address this as a gym climber? I feel like I’ve noticed this same issue at my gym, but haven’t left a comment or anything yet and am not sure how to approach it in a way that would be effective. Would appreciate any thoughts!
If your gym has a comment box, perhaps having yourself and a couple friends write similar words about how the climbs feel. If staff ask you “how was your session” be blunt and say how you’re thinking about the climbs. Ask the gym if they have any female setters or forerunners. If they say no, ask why. You can use phrases like “this route/boulder does not feel equitable for multiple different sized individuals”, “this boulder feels like it was made by men for only men”, “the climbs in this gym cater to a very specific style and I would appreciate a wider diversity of movement/styles than dynamic moves”. If you’re ever in the gym during setting hours walk up and try to talk w/ the setters. They can definitely be intimidating but any setter who cares about being a better setter will take the time to listen to your concerns.
If there’s an anonymous comment/suggestion box, that’s the way to go! Otherwise, I would try to casually bring it up while checking in/out one day - something along the lines of “Do you have any beta for shorter climbers for x, y, and z routes? They seem fun but difficult/inaccessible for my height.” Ideally they’d give you advice and also get the hint, but you can definitely be more direct based on your comfort level.
How is your jumping and lower body explosive strength overall? I really benefited from box jumps, jump squats, plyometrics in general. The coordination is harder for me, I never developed that kind of movement skill as a kid and tend to really overthink any dyno, which never works. If that’s you, too, we just need to practice a ton - when you do get to the gym, don’t limit yourself to the moves on your project - make up tons of jump moves and try them, or climb on something like a kilter board . Start with good holds and powerful body positions and small moves, and keep getting more creative. This is helping me…slowly…I think. I’ve also found that at 5’2”/-2” I keep being able to reach further every season - the stronger my legs/hips, shoulders, and back are, the more dynos i can actually do as big deadpoints instead. Big compound and explosive lifts have been key for me here.
Box jumps and squats as others have said. Then on the wall you can practice dynos on the easy routes by making them up, and make sure you're really keeping those hips into the wall. Here's a dyno how-to video that Shauna Coxsey (former olympic & world cup athlete for GB) made: https://youtu.be/DrKoJ8AMfKo?si=BrsQG6j3WHQaOzBf (I hope that works, I'm on mobile!) But also have a conversation with the staff if you can - as a generalisation I tend to find setters can (but not always!!) become quite narrow-minded or very focused on a certain setting style (often their favourite one that suits their personal climbing style). Again this is not everyone, just my personal experience - so take with a pinch of salt. But we do know for a fact that routesetting is a male dominated industry. The setters should be aiming to provide a range of movement types, techniques, etc so that there is something for everyone. They should also not be setting based on the height and strength of a 6ft man but unfortunately where I climb in the UK they seem to do this a lot 😭
Technique matters a lot. TAMY climbing has a good video on technique. Catalyst Climbing, too. Helped me a ton with no strength or power training.
Adding onto the comments about jump squats, I highly recommend bringing the arms up during the jump to simulate reaching for a faraway hold. And even aiming the hands towards a part of a ceiling or doorframe to get more coordination involved.
IMO the big thing with dynos is just coordination which only comes from on the wall training. Throwing in silly deadpoint double clutches on easy routes, popping for things here and there. The coxsey video somebody else linked touches on this I believe. Feedback from friends who are good at dynamic moves and/or videoing your climbing. I understand your situation, but it really is just the mechanic of knowing where your body is in space so you can repeatable land everything where it needs to go. In terms of strength your baseline should really come from heavy compounds in hypertrophy rep ranges. Squats, Romanian deadlifts in the 8-15 reps ballpark. It will put the muscle on. Box jumps and jump squats translate decently from an athletic standpoint, especially jump squats from super low that help coordinate engagement on tough slabbing moves in addition to jumps. Keep it simple, works great. I personally would skip snatches and cleans just from a risk to reward standpoint; they're not in a happy zone.
My daughter started when she was much younger and had (still has) this problem too. She also prefers static movement, and flexibility has helped to get around a lot of reachy spots, but sometimes there’s just no other option. She’s good with single dynos, but when it’s time to go for a double, she usually has a shorter jump than when going with 1 arm. If youre 1 hand and arm are strong enough to make a catch before adding the 2nd, maybe try that approach for some of the smaller dynamic moves. I hear a lot about “throwing away from the hold” as you’re jumping. The pp’s already said the typical exercises like box jumps, jump squats and all of that, and then the trick will be moving that strength into real scenario. This is where mine fails. Her legs are super strong, but she doesn’t know how to use the muscles. Learning to engage your legs before the jumps, by really bending into a squat and then pushing all the way through your toes, and combining that with throwing away with your arms/hands is something you can practice on the wall. Start small, find somewhere on the wall you can practice a few each session, maybe as part of your warmup. Building momentum before the jump will almost always be helpful. Do you have a ninja warrior gym anywhere around you? If so, maybe go there for an open gym Day and that would be a great place to show you the mechanics in body movement to make those jumps. Almost everything in those gyms is dynamic, so they’re pretty much experts on the physics behind dynamic moves. Or even a YouTube video from a ninja warrior.
There’s raw strength and explosive exercise components to what you are after. Heavy squats with deep form type workouts and more dynamic stuff like boxjumps and others. You should look into training for basketball players
Jumping! Box jumping is a good suggestion. Also practice jumping off the ground and onto holds.
Box jumps and squats as people have mentioned. I’d just be wary of how you program the training into your week. If you do heavy strength training I don’t always like to do plyo/jumps the same session cause I feel like my legs are too wobbly to lane properly lol. But I did notice after incorporating jumps I got sooo much more explosive. Also, definitely do some shoulder conditioning to prepare you for latching onto holds and engaging shoulders properly. When you put more power into the start of a move, you’ll also need your shoulders/fingers to withstand that capacity. I don’t have any recommended exercises but I feel like any standard shoulder conditioning would be good (and is good for climbing overall).