Intro to Climbing Footwork

Footwork is one of the most important and challenging aspects of learning to rock climb. We've all had a word or two to say the moment we feel our feet slip from a tiny hold below us. After falling back to the ground for the millionth time and brushing it off as slippery shoes or a chalky grip, it's time to reevaluate. If you're having trouble staying on the wall, sticking certain moves, or progressing in your climbing ability, try focusing on footwork!

To start, let's check in with the basics– When climbing, which should you place first, hands or feet?

If you answered hands, you might be climbing in a way that uses energy inefficiently and makes moves more difficult. Read on to figure out why and what you can work on to improve your climbing skills.

Why Focus on Footwork?

New and more experienced climbers make the mistake of relying on their hands and arms more than their feet and legs. Reaching for hand holds first can feel intuitive, but ignoring your feet until it's time to drag them up after you may be what's keeping you from crushing a climb.

If you primarily rely on the strength of your upper body to pull you up each move, you are probably tiring out quickly on routes. Even the best climbers can only do so many pull-ups at a time! You might also find yourself stretching out to reach holds above with little success. When we move our hands first and feet second, we tend to end moves in scrunched, smaller positions, making the next reaches and movements more tiring and difficult. When we rely on placing stead feet and pushing up through our legs, we can stretch our bodies further, making those movements smoother and those next holds much easier to reach.

As you practice placing feet first, you'll be able to focus on using arms for balance and support as you move and legs for power, length, and overall endurance on climbs. Approaching footwork with the same focus and precision, you likely aim to have in your hand placement will help unlock healthier climbing habits and techniques, plus boost your overall strength, balance, and grade range!

Next, we'll discuss the parts of the foot and shoe most important for skilled footwork and some techniques unique to these different areas.

Placing Feet- Where & How

When climbing, you will primarily use the front portion of your foot, from the ball of your foot to the tips of your toes. Especially as you climb more challenging routes and encounter smaller and smaller holds, you will be focusing on using the tips of your toes and the inner and outer edges of your shoe to maintain contact and security.

Place the tips of your toes on a hold. From this position, you can maintain contact with the wall and swivel from the ankle. Your feet are incredibly strong, and focusing on that pointed toe will force all that energy to one spot, helping keep you securely on the wall by putting more pressure on the contact area between your shoe and hold.

Avoid placing the middle section of your foot directly against holds or trying to place your arch flat across a hold. It can feel natural to put your feet like this as there is more contact between the rubber of your shoe and the rock. However, this placement creates many issues, including a limited range of motion and the pushing out of hips from the wall.

Edging

You'll most typically engage in edging footwork when using your shoe's outer and inner edges. You'll use the edge of your shoe, not along the side of your toes but just past, and adjust the height of your heel as needed for the best grip. Your heel should be level with your toes. A low heel angle (heel dropped below the hold) while using this technique will cause you to slip off the hold more easily.

Heel Hooking

Besides the front portion of your foot, there are times when your heel will come in extremely handy. The heel hooking technique involves using your heel to hook around a hold while using your body's tension to hold yourself as opposed to your heel. To successfully heel hook, focus on keeping your center of gravity away from your heel to maintain that tension better.

Practicing Footwork

Last, we'll talk about ways to practice these skills. Footwork should be precise, silent, and carefully watched.

Take another lap on your favorite problem but focus all your attention on your feet this time. As you place your foot each time, aim to be as gentle and quiet as possible. Silent, soft feet help conserve energy and promote a flow of movement in your climbing. It would be best if you also aimed only to place your foot on a hold once, avoiding picking your feet up and readjusting. Finally, ensure you're watching your foot through its movement and placement rather than turning away to focus on something else while you feel your foot make contact. It's much harder, to be precise, if you don't watch the placement!

Ninja Climbing

If you are still struggling to place those feet or want a little extra practice, here are some fun ways to get that technique down! You can first practice by hopping on a less challenging route and concentrating on silent, smoothly placed feet. Slow it down as you climb and imagine you're performing a well-rehearsed dance– all movement should be intentional! Go through the route until you remember the actions that will come next and anticipate where and how you need to place your feet.

As a challenge or to practice with friends, stick to a bouldering problem and aim for those silent, intentionally placed feet while the rest of the group watches and listens. You can play with whatever rules you want, but if you hear someone's feet or see them place a foot multiple times, they're off the wall and back in the queue!

Footwork practice is a fun one to work on, as it just requires more climbing! As you incorporate these focuses into your climbing, let us know how your climbing improves!