Even in sport climbing, warming up is an essential part of both outdoor climbs on crags or boulders and indoor activities. Generally, when outdoors, we are more motivated to warm up on easy passages or routes below our limit, while in the gym we tend to bypass this phase with with a careless attitude and certain that no one will notice.
Our tendons and joints may not agree with this type of approach to our training, and even if we don't immediately feel any particular pain, we may pay the price with some strains at the end of the activity or, in many cases, even a few days later.
This critical part of any sports activity called "warming up" starts from a common denominator: raising body temperature, mentally preparing ourselves to give our best, and loosening and warming up our muscles and joints. For us climbers, after a brief moment of light aerobic activity (jumping rope for even just five minutes is great), it is important to start activating our forearms and shoulders right away. Here are some exercises that should become part of everyone's routine before jumping on the boulder wall.
1 - Fist and Open
Standing with arms at sides, start with a relaxed fist and fully extend the fingers. Open and close fists with both hands for about one minute: this serves as a basic warm-up for the fingers and forearms. The exercise can be varied by repeating it at a different arm angle, first with hands at sides, then with arms extended upwards or in front of you. This exercise is great for climbers to prepare their hands and fingers for rock climbing.
2 - Wrist Circles
From the same position as before (arms by your sides), rotate your wrists in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction while keeping your fists closed but relaxed. Twenty rotations in total are sufficient to warm up your wrists and forearms. Again, movements should be smooth and not forced.
3 - Arm Circles
From a standing position, we spread our arms so that they are parallel to the floor. We make light rotations, starting with relatively limited angles and gradually increasing the radius of rotation. They should not be too fast or at our limit of arm opening: the exercise should be fluid and still leave us with a feeling of "comfort". Twenty clockwise rotations and the same number counterclockwise allow us to start warming up our shoulders and arms.
4 - Arm Scissors
One of the most popular exercises and also most likely to be performed incorrectly! Start in a natural standing position (feet slightly apart), open your arms to perform rotations. Bring your hands in front of you and cross them to form an X, alternating which hand is on top each time until you return to the starting position. The exercise should not be performed at lightning speed, forcing the natural angle of shoulder opening. The movement should be continuous and natural: repeat 20 to 30 times. This exercise will begin to work the muscles of the chest, shoulders and upper back.
5 - Scapular Activation
There are numerous exercises for scapular activation that can be done on the ground, at the bar or standing. This is the simplest and involves small rotations of the shoulders that are simultaneously executed on both sides. Starting from a natural standing position, we bring the shoulders towards the ear and then down, trying to bring them closer together (we feel the sensation behind the back) during the descent phase. Only the shoulders should move, while the arms and neck remain soft but firm. Of course, it is excellent for the shoulders but also to relax the muscles in the neck and upper back.
6 - Lateral movements
In a quadruped position, start with your palms facing downwards and oscillate your body to the right and left, shifting your weight from side to side. Then repeat with your palms facing upwards, gently resting on your wrists.
7 - Arm Extensions
From the same quadruped position, we alternately extend the right arm and the left arm, pushing well forward and keeping the core and upper abdomen stable: in this way, as well as warming up the shoulders, we begin to do a more complete workout by recruiting the core muscles
Cover image by Matteo Pavana, La Sportiva